To sort of echo the others, yes, this song is amazing. I like listening to it when driving at the end of a long night, just having dropped off the last of my friends, speeding through narrow streets that are usually very heavily congested, and just turning this on. Ideally, it would be raining outside as well...
But a quick attempt at actually offering an interpretation:
Overall, the song seems to me sort of a resigned, but tireless attitude in the face of adversity...
"No, I don't suppose
Downpour, downpour"
I can think of 2 possible interpretations. (i) The literal one: he's looking up at the sky, kind of thinking 'you've got to be kidding' but then it starts raining, or (2) the somewhat deeper one, it's the guy starting to think something, and is then interrupted by circumstances, in this case the rain. What makes it even more tragic is the fact that it happens during a picnic (more on this below... READ ON!)
"It always rains on a picnic
Downpour, downpour"
This, with the title, provides the biggest hint, in my opinion, as to the meaning of the song. In the 2 interpretations I offered of the first couple of lines, I opt for the 2nd one, as it allows us to reach a holistic interpretation of the song. So anyway, this guy is just starting to think of something, possibly productive, possibly not, it doesn't matter; what does matter is that it never comes to fruition, interrupted as it is by external circumstances beyond his control (in this case the rain, but that can be seen as a metaphor for any cicrcumstances beyond our own control that mess things up). The tragic part of this song is the fact that it happened on a picnic - obviously our protagonist has put in effort to get a picnic organized, but still things get messed up. It suggests, in a way, that we simply cannot ever be in full control, and that things may at any time go wrong, without us being able to do anything about it. The picnic, and it raining, is just a big metaphor for anything of this kind that might happen - I'm sure everyone and anyone reading this can think of an example of something like that.
"Don't let go quite yet
Downpour, downpour"
Thankfully, there is a hopeful ending. Don't give up trying, even after setbacks. Accept the fact that this kind of stuff is just a part of life that we cannot escape, so chin up and keep trying.
Alternatively, one can see the title 'it ALWAYS' as meaning that it's useless even trying, but I choose to reject that as a possibility, both because the music, after the beginning with the sound of rain*, is fairly upbeat, and of course, the last couple lines seem quite explicitly hopeful rather than dejected.
*As a personal thing, I imagine happiness when I hear the rain falling. It reminds me of what it's like at the end of a long day, when you're with friends, and everyone's tired, and you're just together and don't need to speak, everyone is just sort of being quiet and thinking to him/herself. Can't really explain it much better, and I'm actually off on a tangent here, no longer really interpreting the song at face value. Still, I think it can't be too bad trying to offer a bit of a personal side to the meaning I see in it!
To sort of echo the others, yes, this song is amazing. I like listening to it when driving at the end of a long night, just having dropped off the last of my friends, speeding through narrow streets that are usually very heavily congested, and just turning this on. Ideally, it would be raining outside as well...
But a quick attempt at actually offering an interpretation:
Overall, the song seems to me sort of a resigned, but tireless attitude in the face of adversity...
"No, I don't suppose Downpour, downpour"
I can think of 2 possible interpretations. (i) The literal one: he's looking up at the sky, kind of thinking 'you've got to be kidding' but then it starts raining, or (2) the somewhat deeper one, it's the guy starting to think something, and is then interrupted by circumstances, in this case the rain. What makes it even more tragic is the fact that it happens during a picnic (more on this below... READ ON!)
"It always rains on a picnic Downpour, downpour"
This, with the title, provides the biggest hint, in my opinion, as to the meaning of the song. In the 2 interpretations I offered of the first couple of lines, I opt for the 2nd one, as it allows us to reach a holistic interpretation of the song. So anyway, this guy is just starting to think of something, possibly productive, possibly not, it doesn't matter; what does matter is that it never comes to fruition, interrupted as it is by external circumstances beyond his control (in this case the rain, but that can be seen as a metaphor for any cicrcumstances beyond our own control that mess things up). The tragic part of this song is the fact that it happened on a picnic - obviously our protagonist has put in effort to get a picnic organized, but still things get messed up. It suggests, in a way, that we simply cannot ever be in full control, and that things may at any time go wrong, without us being able to do anything about it. The picnic, and it raining, is just a big metaphor for anything of this kind that might happen - I'm sure everyone and anyone reading this can think of an example of something like that.
"Don't let go quite yet Downpour, downpour"
Thankfully, there is a hopeful ending. Don't give up trying, even after setbacks. Accept the fact that this kind of stuff is just a part of life that we cannot escape, so chin up and keep trying.
Alternatively, one can see the title 'it ALWAYS' as meaning that it's useless even trying, but I choose to reject that as a possibility, both because the music, after the beginning with the sound of rain*, is fairly upbeat, and of course, the last couple lines seem quite explicitly hopeful rather than dejected.
*As a personal thing, I imagine happiness when I hear the rain falling. It reminds me of what it's like at the end of a long day, when you're with friends, and everyone's tired, and you're just together and don't need to speak, everyone is just sort of being quiet and thinking to him/herself. Can't really explain it much better, and I'm actually off on a tangent here, no longer really interpreting the song at face value. Still, I think it can't be too bad trying to offer a bit of a personal side to the meaning I see in it!
As always, comments and criticism appreciated...