In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
It is the springtime of my loving
The second season I am to know
You are the sunlight in my growing
So little warmth I've felt before
It isn't hard to feel me glowing
I watched the fire that grew so low, oh
It is the summer of my smiles
Flee from me, keepers of the gloom
Speak to me only with your eyes
It is to you, I give this tune
Ain't so hard to recognize, oh
These things are clear to all from time to time, ooh
Oh, oh
Oh
Talk, talk, talk, talk
Hey, I felt the coldness of my winter
I never thought it would ever go
I cursed the gloom that set upon us, 'pon us, 'pon us
But I know that I love you so
Oh, but I know
That I love you so
These are the seasons of emotion
And like the wind, they rise and fall
This is the wonder of devotion
I see the torch
We all must hold
This is the mystery of the quotient, quotient
Upon us all, upon us all, a little rain must fall
Just a little rain, oh, yeah
Oh, ooh, yeah-yeah-yeah
The second season I am to know
You are the sunlight in my growing
So little warmth I've felt before
It isn't hard to feel me glowing
I watched the fire that grew so low, oh
It is the summer of my smiles
Flee from me, keepers of the gloom
Speak to me only with your eyes
It is to you, I give this tune
Ain't so hard to recognize, oh
These things are clear to all from time to time, ooh
Oh, oh
Oh
Talk, talk, talk, talk
Hey, I felt the coldness of my winter
I never thought it would ever go
I cursed the gloom that set upon us, 'pon us, 'pon us
But I know that I love you so
Oh, but I know
That I love you so
These are the seasons of emotion
And like the wind, they rise and fall
This is the wonder of devotion
I see the torch
We all must hold
This is the mystery of the quotient, quotient
Upon us all, upon us all, a little rain must fall
Just a little rain, oh, yeah
Oh, ooh, yeah-yeah-yeah
Lyrics submitted by iknoweverything
The Rain Song Lyrics as written by Robert Plant Jimmy Page
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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Great version of a great song,
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so i was bored one day and was listening to this song, and using some other comments i wrote a small text document about what i thought the song was about. should probably share it since the previous comments helped me understand the song.i was also on drugs when i wrote it so it may seem a bit out there...ha.
The opening of the song is surreal and seems a bit trippy. It has a somber sound, and it makes it seem as if the song is a sad one. But after careful dissection of the lyrics, it is clearly about the ups and downs of love, not the complete loss of love. The season metaphor is present throughout the song, and it is a brilliant metaphor at that. This opening stanza to me symbolizes the beginning of what Plant thought of as true love, which he juxtaposes with spring, and how it grows into warmth. The rain in the spring is not sad, rather a beginning. It is rain which brings the beauty of spring and summer to life. The line "You are the sunlight in my growing - so little warmth I've felt before. It isn't hard to feel me glowing - I watched the fire that grew so low" is about how his love makes him feel...She is the "sunlight" that causes him to grow as a person, and it is a feeling that has never been felt in his life (so little warmth i've felt before). He is so happy with her that he is so outwardly obvious about his happiness (it isn’t hard to feel me glowing), and he watches their love grow from a spark to a fire (i watched the fire that grew so low).
The following stanza to me is far less in depth, as he is now using the summer metaphor to describe how his love is present. He casts away any sadness, and then he gives his dedication to his woman, saying that he wants to look into her through her eyes, and he feels that he is able to do such. He then says "Ain't so hard to recognize - These things are clear to all from time to time." This line to me is him saying that he is convinced that he had found true love, and that every now and again things that someone is absolutely certain about become clear, as his love for his woman has become totally clear to him.
The third stanza is a bit of a retraction, as he is recalling the sadness he used to have. The weird thing about this song is that one single word in this stanza can change the entire meaning of the song. For years i thought the line was "I never though you would ever go," which would insinuate that he had lost his love. Only recently, when i looked at the liner notes of the LP, did i notice the line was "it would ever go," a reference to the winter. The winter to him symbolized loneliness and his lack of love for a woman in his life, and he never thought he would escape the wretches and toil that winter sets upon some people. And from here starts the notion that there will be bumps in a relationship, as noted by "I curse the gloom that set upon us," but throughout all of the gloom he knows that he will still love her.
The final stanza summarizes the song and the idea Plant tried to convey. Love is just like the seasons, and like the winds they will rise and fall...there will be ups and downs. The wonder of devotion to one person, he see the feelings (the torch) that we all must have in a relationship. The term quotient refers to division or in the case of this song, proportion. The mystery is that we need to have a balance of sorrow and jubilation, and that it is inevitable, as undesirable sorrow may be. The final line sums up the song: "Upon us all, a little rain must fall...just a little rain..." The rain of course in this case being the sad times in a relationship.
my ex had made listen dis song.. after break up i always felt sad listening to this music. I read the meaning of this music and it has changed my attitude towards this song. This is by far the best interpretation i have come across for this song. Thanks for sharing ur inputs with everyone :)
This was amazing to read. Some things I already figured out myself, but some other things you said made this song so much more valuable to me! Thanks
@flipsaari2 This is a beautiful interpretation. I feel it\'s the correct and best one, too.
@flipsaari2 - 'Thank You'. Always loved this song, before I met my beloved sweet, tender, pretty Wife. She passed away unexpectedly, in our short 7yrs together. Due to a medical we did not keep on top of. I was looking to our twilight years together from our early 50s. You're Interpretation on your first two point hit it for me. Your the Best interpreter since David (biblical David).
This song makes me wish I'd lived in 70's.
Growing up in a time with such crap as Linkin Park really depresses me when I hear a song like The Rain Song. The sheer beauty and feeling in the lyrics and guitar (the guitar!) makes everything in my generation sound half-baked, disconnected, manufactured.
The song itself is a masterpiece; I can't believe I didn't hear about it before I heard it. Here's my take on the lyrics: this person loved somebody who didn't necessarily love them back. Then the lover thinks the lovee loves him, and he gets his hopes up (the summer of my smiles--the warmth of love). Finally, the lovee hooks up with someone else, and the lover is disappointed, but figures this is just the way things go.
The acoustics of this song are simply phenomenal. The guitars, the piano...again, you simply don't get this in new music.
bring it back i couldnt agree more<br /> the music of our day sucks dick , rap is cool if ur like at a party or somthing, but it has no meaning what so ever and is just made to make money <br /> wish i grew up in the 70s
Agreed. I am 45 and grew up in the 70s and thought I was in nirvana with 60s and 70s motown, rock, funk, prog rock, punk, hard rock, metal, even some of the pop music was good - at least it was fun. Then came the 80s - ugh! - and everything started going down hill. Don't get me wrong - I still like some of the music today but it doesn't have the passion or musical virtuosity of the earlier periods. There were so many genres, so many styles - it was like a musical banquet for your ears.<br /> <br /> Record companies have done their part to destroy rock 'n roll by "corporatizing" (think plastic, overpackaged) it but it's more than that. Today's musicians seem lazy and don't really learn their instruments or explore styles so they are limited in what they can create. In addition, I think it was sad when black and white music split into separate genres. I think part of the richness of the old styles came from the blending of white folk/country with black blues/jazz.<br /> <br /> Artists like Michael Franti are beginning to meld the two together again and coming up with some rich sounds (he blends rap, rock, reggae, and more) but for the most part, alot of today's music sounds too much like the emo crap that originated in the 90s.<br /> <br /> Here's hoping for a musical renaissance in the near future that will make our ears happy again.
I agree man, I was born in 1995. I spent the first 10 years of my life listening to crap like the Backstreet Boys, because it was catchy.<br /> <br /> A couple years ago I got into Led Zeppelin, The Who, Jethro Tull, Bruce Springsteen... and now I refuse to listen to almost anything that isn't classic rock, besides the good ones like Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon.<br /> <br /> But anyway, this might be my favorite Led Zep song. I don't think I can add anything to what it means, but I love it. Especially because it's somewhat obscure... it's so beautiful.
I never understood why anyone would say this. The nice thing about living now is that you have all the great music from the 70's as well as the 80's, 90's and 00's. The 70's can be your favorite era but to say you don't like any music after is a little short sighted.<br /> <br /> Oh, and I grew up in the 70's and that decade had it's share of terrible music. Remember disco? Plus there were terrible progressive bands like ELP that thought they were classical musicians. YUCHH!<br /> <br /> There is great music from every decade. Now you just have to search a little more. There is none of the great FM free form radio stations like they used to have in the 70's. But we have the internet currently, so you just have to be open minded and look for good music.<br /> <br /> I think saying you wished you lived in the 70's is a very narrow minded way of looking at things. It basically pigeon holes you into one "type" of music. You can't grow.
I love all music, but I still say I wish I grew up in the 60's/70's, I'm only 20 and I'm already getting tired of all the new fangled technology we have nowadays ;)
lightwing1 said it best: "...the 80s - ugh!"<br /> the 80s were the worst decade ever as far as art is concerned. i think crack cocaine ruined society for about 10 years.<br /> look at the movies from the 80s. for the most part, horrible. only a few make the cut, and even those (raiders of the lost ark, terminator, die hard) would not make the top 10 in any other decade. (there are a few more good ones, but they are either sequels - aliens, star wars - or were in production during the 70s - shining, raging bull).<br /> <br /> same goes for music. 80s were so so horrible. the only good bands were ones that were even better in the 70s (fleetwood mac, dire straits, van halen, acdc, aerosmith, etc) i mean damn one of the best albums of the 80s was a compliation of eagles songs from the 70s. all of you here are blaming "rap" for today's bad music, but first consider the 80s: def leppard, poison, bon jovi, journey, reo speedwagon, motley crue, gnr, rem, depeche mode, the cure, etc... there was horrible, horrible music way before Rap. the best band to come out in the 80s was probably the beastie boys.<br /> <br /> either way, the 70s were amazing for music. i think the 90s (radiohead, modest mouse, blur, rhcp, early weezer, etc) were pretty great as well. but the 80s, that was shit music. i am glad i was too young to like music during the 80s or i might have been fucked up in the head for real.
@bring_it_back There's plenty of fantastic music from the recent years. It's not the most popular or well-known stuff anymore, but there's still plenty of it. Porcupine Tree, Queens of the Stone Age, Modest Mouse, Radiohead, Deftones, Elbow, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Devin Townsend, Sigur Ros, Arctic Monkeys, Beck, The National, Black Keys, Wilco, Silversun Pickups, TV on the Radio, Tool, Coheed & Cambria, Opeth...(just gonna end this laundry list here)<br /> <br /> And to other replies here, there are many fantastic rap artists with lots of meaning in their lyrics. There's also lots of great music from the 80's - I have no idea why one would mention R.E.M., Depeche Mode, and especially The Cure as "horrible" music, those are all great bands. Sonic Youth, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Queensryche, Judas Priest - as well as some 70's acts that were still very great in the 80's like Rush.<br /> <br /> But anyway, I echo robsun's statement. There's always great music somewhere, and wishing you were born in the 70's for example is really illogical since now you can listen to all the music from the time and access it much more easily than you could then. YouTube, digital stores, streaming, and if you insist on physical media then you can still find older stuff in stores or order it online.
re: Quotient A quotient refers to division, or in this case, proportion. The "mystery of the quotient" is that our lives have a balance or sorrow and jubilation.
You rule! I've been turning that phrase "mystery of the quotient" over in my head for two days trying to make something concrete out of it...<br /> <br /> I only wish I had been alive when zep was still together, to see them in concert...
Like most Zep fans, it is nearly impossible to tag any of their songs as "the best" or as your favorite... there are just too many works of art to choose from!
This song is definitely one of my favorites, no doubt. I would say that it is their most emotionally touching work.
As for the song itself, I think many fans are missing the true meaning of the song. It is not about a dead or dying relationship that has run its course. It is about a vibrant and growing one. The first verse speaks of the "winter" in the past tense, as does the third.
The key verse to me is not the last one - it merely states the fact that rain WILL fall on us. It is the previous verse that really hits me:
"This is the wonder of devotion - I see the torch we all must hold."
Our relationships are destined to have "winters", some short and some long, but if you are devoted to your loved one, the torch of love will see you through the rain.
omg. i agree! i wanna say this is my favorite, but there are so many that i love, that i can't even say it without doubting myself. really, i think every song of there's is just beautiful and amazing.
Is it just me or is this the most soothing song of all time?
It seems that everyone is missing the point of the website--"song meanings". I think there are probabaly other sites out there named "who thinks they are smart", and "who is the greatest Led Zeppelin fan" or even "I am bette than you.com" or something like that.
Anyways, the Rain Song is not a tenuous reference to a bible quote, nor is it some cheap attempt at a ballad. Sure, Harrison may have helped influence the song, but ultimately, it is a love song.
The song deals with a relationahip that has gone sour, but will be rekindled once again. The winter is the time that things aren't going that smoothly, the spring time is the relationship beginning again. Sunlight, rain is all love. you need sunlight and water to grow a plant, which in this case, is the love or relationship.
Ultimately, this song proabably deals with Robert Plants usually tumultuous relationship with wife, but really, it applies to everyone.
Great song.
ps> Music is not black and white, and there is no way to quantify one song versus another. The comparisons and judgements based upon Stairway is ridiculous.
Well, it is simple. This song is about lost love, new love, and the loneliness it replaced. Hence "This is the springtime of my loving; the second season I'm to know....." The singer lost his passion...and his love... "I watched the fire that grew so low...." His new love has enervated him...."You are the sunlight in my growing". OK? "So little warmth, I've felt before"..... He lost his love, his world had turned cold and dark and gray......She gave him sunlight and,,,,,,,,well c'mon people!!!!!!!! And..... Emotions rise and fall, and, in any event, a little rain MUST fall. (Shit happens!!!) But in the end, his new love came and saved him. (Our intrepid hero! !!)....... I can relate to this song in a VERY real way. For 10 years now; so I have had a long time to think about it and put it into perspective. Anyhoo....keep loving the ZEP!!!!!! Oh, and make sure you go on YouTube and look up videos for the "Band of Joy". It is a pre-Zeppelin Plant and Bonham group. Way cool...................BYE JOE
Finally! Someone who get's the meaning of the song and doesn't try to fold it into some little obsolete corner of their life.
Fantastic Interpretation Joe!!!! I felt the same about the song but I couldn't nail it down. I used to think of the ups and downs of the same girl but I believe you're correct. He lost a first love, felt down and then got restored by a new one. The sound of the song supports your hypothesis. Because of you Joe, I enjoy the song more. Thanks very much. John.
Wow! I can't believe nobody has commented on this! This song reminds me of when I really liked this guy Mickey and he fucked with my head, played me, and broke my heart. So it always makes me kinda sad when I listen to it, because the song talks about how loving someone a lot is amazing, but how there's also always rain falling on the fire...and that's how I felt. I was in love (lust?) and my fire got rained on.
Isn't sad to listen to this song and then listen to the music of our generation.....man, Led Zeppelin surely had 4 incredible musicians (the best at each instrument). Deep deep lyrics and beautiful music.
Great song. Led Zeppelin's first ballad. "Inspired" by George Harrison, in fact Jimmy Page quotes two of the beginning chords of the song "Something".