Falling Of The Rain

Billy Joel

Once upon a time in the land of misty satin dreams
There stood a house and a man who painted nature scenes
He painted trees and fields and animals and streams and he stayed
And he didn't hear the fallin' of the rain

In the forest green lived a girl who put her hair in braids
And she sang as she walked all around the wooded glade
She was glad when the rain came falling on her face and she sang
Cause she didn't mind the fallin' of the rain

Will it always be the same as we recall?
Does it touch you when the rain begins to fall?
Ah, but I don't want to know and I don't want to see
Another rainy day without you lyin' next to me

High upon a hill far away from all the dusty crowd is a boy
With his eyes on the ground; his head is bowed; he is a fool
And his mind is filled with hopeless dreams and he waits
But he will not see the fallin' of the rain

Will it always be the same as we recall?
Does it touch you when the rain begins to fall?
Ah, but I don't want to know and I don't want to see
Another rainy day without you lyin' next to me

So now the boy becomes the man who sits and paints all day
But the girl with the braids in her hair has gone away
And it seems that time has brought things to an end; nothing's changed
Cause you can't stop the fallin' rain.


Lyrics submitted by kevin

Falling of the Rain Lyrics as written by Billy Joel

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Falling Of The Rain song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

8 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment
    The piano in the beginning of this song is so pretty! It's a great song all around becuase is provides such imagery...You can clearly see everything he describes.
    musicchick44on June 18, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    i agree! i love this song and i know how to play it! falling of the rain symbolizes life changing? what does the bridge mean?
    joelhendrixLOVEon September 19, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    i agree! i love this song and i know how to play it! falling of the rain symbolizes life changing? what does the bridge mean?
    joelhendrixLOVEon September 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This song is one of his best, and least known, I seem to like all the songs that no one knows about, esspecially since my favorite album is Cold Spring Harbor. I think the best part of this song is right at the end, it just describes life so perfectly and the effects of time and change, "nothing's changed, 'cause you can't stop the falling of the rain". That is honestly one the the greatest lyrics of all time.
    mbruno14701on January 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I love this song. The last lyrics are so perfect... Things just end sometimes, and there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing ever really changes...
    deltabeanon September 03, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This is an incredible song on an incredible album, but it's really been overlooked. It seems to be the optimistic view of the theme of the album. Life can be hard, but if you just look past the difficulties it doesn't matter.
    naceguy122on March 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation
    I believe that the rain represents the rough, cold reality of life. Basically, the man/boy doesn't understand that life is tough and will involve challenges. Meanwhile, the girl is aware of them, yet makes the effort to stay optimistic in spite of them. "...Nothing's changed because you can't stop the falling of the rain." Within this line, Billy is pointing out that there will always be challenges in life, and you can't control whether there will or wont be. However, what you can control is the way you handle them. You can either live life like the man/boy by simply ignoring/running away from the hardships of life, or you can live like the girl, who stayed happy even though she faced challenges.
    That70sGuyon January 29, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    When he talks about the girl with the braids in her hair and the boy who sits and paints all day, my brain automatically goes with Anne of Green Gables and Bob Ross.
    dunnj684on August 09, 2019   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!