"Who'll Stop The Rain" as written by and John C. Fogerty....
Long as I remember the rain been comin' down
Clouds of mystery pourin' confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun.
And I wonder still I wonder who'll stop the rain.
I went down Virginia seekin' shelter from the storm
Caught up in the fable I watched the tower grow
Five year plans and new deals wrapped in golden chains.
And I wonder still I wonder who'll stop the rain.
Heard the singers playin', how we cheered for more.
The crowd had rushed together tryin' to keep warm.
Still the rain kept pourin', fallin' on my ears
And I wonder, still I wonder who'll stop the rain.
Clouds of mystery pourin' confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun.
And I wonder still I wonder who'll stop the rain.
I went down Virginia seekin' shelter from the storm
Caught up in the fable I watched the tower grow
Five year plans and new deals wrapped in golden chains.
And I wonder still I wonder who'll stop the rain.
Heard the singers playin', how we cheered for more.
The crowd had rushed together tryin' to keep warm.
Still the rain kept pourin', fallin' on my ears
And I wonder, still I wonder who'll stop the rain.
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Basically what John Fogerty is singing is that he is sick with all the empty promises that politicians use. 5 year plans and New Deals were terms that previous presidents have used. And when he is singing about the singers playing and the crowd rushing up to them, despite the rain, its symbolism for people of the politicians party. Democrats and Republicans both will support their candidate no matter what, even under all the plans "wrapped in chains of gold". And Mr. Fogerty is just standing in the corner, listening to all the empty promises, wondering who is going to stop all the bullshit in the political system. It's a rhetoric question, because its always been like this, and it always will be.
Whether or not Fogerty was referring to these "5 Year Plans" are typically associated with Soviet Union economic development plans, and they were copied by a lot of Communist states as well as some capitalist countries including our own. FDR's "New Deal" was such a plan, expanding the size and role of government in this country by leaps and bounds. Since these are very specific terms which were names of real and well-known government programs, it's hard to imagine that Fogerty wasn't aware of this.
Today, when I listen to it, I hear "I watched the tower grow" and I imagine the watchtower of government control over an ever-expanding subset of our lives. The control is sold to us with the promise of prosperity -- the golden chains represent wealth and flashy diversion from the fact that they are still chains nonetheless which will limit our liberty.
I'm not sure what Fogerty's politics were, but if this song is an indication, he sounds pretty Libertarian.
I agree with roq on the analysis of the rain and the references to Woodstock -- the imagery he used in the song may very well have been inspired by that scene while he applied the imagery to something with more political overtones.
I agree and thank you for your observations, some of which I hadn't thought of.
I will suggest that you could easily dovetail your views with another view being voiced here: Since gov'ts had all these lovely plans to organize things to bring opportunity to its citizens, why always the "golden chains" that bind that new-found productivity/prosperity to the schemes of cowardly troglodyte warmongers?
Also I hear there is a pretty strong anti-vietnam message embedded in the song.
pg. 195: That's really a protest song...I was going at it sideways. With "I went down Virginia," I'm talking about Washington, DC. "I watched the tower grow" is their Tower of Babel. I'm talking about the BS, really. Political spin. I think the song was done enough like a fable that you don't necessarily have to know what it all means or even worry about it.
pg. 320: "I went into "Who'll Stop the Rain," a song very much inspired by those times we lived through together (Vietnam).