The Story Behind The Beatles’ Stellar B-Side, “Rain”

Many Beatles fans consider “Rain” to be one of their best B-sides. This psychedelic track, written by John Lennon, was significant in the Beatles sphere for several reasons. From singing backward, to Ringo Starr’s favorite drum line, read more about this stellar deep cut, below.

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Behind the Meaning of “Rain” by the Beatles

If the rain comes
They run and hide their heads
They might as well be dead
If the rain comes
If the rain comes

Lyrically, this song saw Lennon chide people who complain about the weather. “This is a song I wrote about people who are always moaning about the weather all the time,” Lennon once said. “You know, whatever it is, it’s OK, it’s meant to be.”

Though this song was written primarily by Lennon, McCartney agrees with the sentiment.

“Songs have traditionally treated rain as a bad thing and what we got on to was that it’s no bad thing,” McCartney once said (per Genius). “There’s no greater feeling than the rain dripping down your back.”

It’s a relatively simple concept that is relayed by relatively simple lyrics. That being said the real magic of “Rain”–the draw–is the technical achievements that the band made while recording this track.

When the sun shines, they slip into the shade
(When the sun shines down) And sip their lemonade
(When the sun shines down) When the sun shines
When the sun shines (Sun shines)

Starr calls this his “favorite piece” he played while with the Beatles. “My favorite piece of me is what I did on ‘Rain,’” he once said (per Genius). “I think I just played amazing. I was into the snare and hi-hat. I think it was the first time I used this trick of starting a break by hitting the hi-hat first instead of going directly to a drum off the hi-hat. I think it’s the best out of all the records I’ve ever made.”

It’s high praise coming from Starr. But the drummer isn’t the only one who was particularly proud of “Rain.”

Lennon once boasted that the Beatles were the first to attempt singing backward to give their music an added layer of intrigue. He credits “Rain” as being the “First backwards tape on any record anywhere.” While there might be some contest to that claim, it certainly is a memorable effort in that vein.

Revisit the track, below.

(Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images)