“Yesterday, and days before,
Sun is cold and rain is hard.
I know, been that way for all my time.
‘Til forever, on it goes,
Through the circle, fast and slow,
I know, it can’t stop, I wonder.
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
Coming down on a sunny day.” (1971) “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” Recorded By: Creedence Clearwater Revival. Composer: John Fogerty
Too many today may mistake the title for a series of evangelistic tent meetings with sweaty preachers yelling sinners into heaven. For old folks like me, the name, Creedence Clearwater Revival are four California lads who wound up in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
John Fogerty, along with his brother, Tom, were two talented guys who formed a band in 1959. The name of their band changed a couple of times until in 1967 when they arrived at the title, Creedence Clearwater Revival.
CCR made great artistic strides in the rock arena of their day, even being one of the first bands booked for Woodstock in 1969. They, and their peers, saw the birth of what was once called, “Progressive Country”, or “Young Country”, or “Southern Rock”, as most understand the term. It had a gritty, southern style, usually with a southern drawl delivery in the vocals, yet holding to the east and west rock roots. The Eagles were very much in that lane. Their decades of success tells the story of their hard work along with endurance on the road and in the studio. Although the zenith of CCR’s success came in 1969-1970, classic rock stations tend to see CCR as a staple to the format. To date, they have sold well over 30 million records. Even though the group disbanded in 1972, in 1976, they released a greatest hits album, which is still in Billboard’s Top 200 charts, and has been awarded 10x platinum album sales. Very few old bands, who broke up long ago, can brag about numbers echoing in the rafters like that in radio and records.
One of my favorites from CCR is entitled, “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” You may remember it well. Stirring lyrics, even a bit blue in nature. The writer, John Fogerty, brings out some honest feelings, feelings that burp-up questions which most of us either speak of verbally, or at least groan silently within ourselves. After the song is over, you are left scratching your noggin with more questions. If a lyric could have a scratch-n-sniff element to it, this is it.
“I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain coming down on a sunny day?”
The line rings a great, giant bell inside one’s own mind. Sure, especially in the southern states of America, atmospheric conditions tend to collide at times where sunrays rain down as the precipitation falls simultaneously. Often growing up someone would see such a thing and say, “The devil is beating his wife”. However, the line written pierces through with a deeper meaning than weather conditions.
Allow me to delve just a tad.
During the late 60’s and early 70’s, CCR rolled out some huge hits. They had been playing together, trying to become rich and famous for 10-12 years, and finally it happened. They were at their peak. Sold out concert halls, smashing record sales expectations, and making outlandish bank deposits to the point of having to hire financial management teams to do the bookkeeping. Life for the four rockers was good. They had all they ever wanted, and then some. There were mansions, and cars to buy. It was nothing to purchase diamond jewelry as a quick treat while on the road. Songwriting, publishing sales, and performances couldn’t get much better. With such victorious earnings, along with all the benefits that goes with it, a band could party all day until they had to climb up on stage to work. Happiness had arrived..at last. Or, did it?
However, what most didn’t know was the bickering between bandmates, then among management admins, and longings for solo work. After awhile, the fighting among the members was too much for Tom Fogerty. The same year of the release of “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?”, Tom made his exit out of CCR. The corrosion of fighting over artistic differences, business issues, and disagreements concerning songwriting opportunities, ebbed to their brink. The current undertow took the band down river, ending in a shocking end in 1972. After much discussion, CCR disbanded.
At some point, a manager, or agent must have shouted out, “Why ruin a good thing?” After all, they had received everything they ever wanted, to be a successful band, wading in fame and wealth.
In a sobering moment, John wrote the lyric to one of their greatest hits.
For years many believed the meaning had something to do with the failure of the “Peace and Love Generation” of the 1960’s, and social justice marches, etc. If you sit in a field full of daisies while puffing on a bong, surely peace and universal love will come. Right? Apparently not. The rain still falls even while the sun shines down. However, John Fogerty made an admission in recent years in his solo concerts about the lyrics, and the misconception of its meaning.
The band grew tired of the fame and wealth NOT bringing the element of satisfaction along with the happiness promised. It seems The Rolling Stones were accurate. You can’t get no satisfaction, no matter how hard you try. CCR found it out at the very peak of their music career. While swirling in the atmosphere of partying day and night, while taking in more money than they could spend, the happiness never showed up. After the smoke had cleared, and the groupies had left the hotel rooms, and the limos were parked, the guys in the group were left empty day after day, night after night. The conversation behind closed doors consisted of the bewilderment of the vacuum of joy as it was sucked out of their personal lives. Frustration entered in as the artistic brains began to want more than what had been received. Surely “more” would bring that ever eluding element of happiness. One wanted to write more songs, more writing credits on the album covers. Another wanted more of the cut from the shared pie. One wanted more time off. It’s what can rip marriages apart. I…I…I, me…me…me.
So, Fogerty wrote this lyric about the irony, along with the sadness, of a highly successful band dragging around the globe without happiness, joy, and a sense of satisfaction.
“I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain…coming down on a sunny day?”
Ancient scripture teaches that whoever prides himself/herself as better, or dominate, he/she will be forgotten in the long run. In fact, the scrolls tell us that true success is giving one’s self away, not adding onto self. Jesus said that if you want to be great, be a servant. If you want to be first, be last. Building a house on shifting sand is a recipe for structural failure. The rains will come, even when the sunrays shine down. Pride’s fall is a great fall.
In my own admission, I have been at several pinnacles in life where I never thought the rains would fall on my sunny parade, and yet they did. In the end, standing on a rock, an immovable rock, is the most solid place to be when the rains fall and floods your space.
Have you ever seen it yourself? There’s great examples in fuel for the race.
“From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” – Psalms 61:2 (NAS)
Fuel For The Race 