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TL;DR:

  • Paul McCartney said The Beatles’ “Rain” didn’t portray rain the way songs traditionally did.
  • Paul and Ringo Starr discussed how the drums came together on the song.
  • The tune was a hit in the United States but it did not chart in the United Kingdom.
The Beatles in black-and-white
The Beatles | Mark and Colleen Hayward / Contributor

The Beatles‘ “Rain” was inspired by Paul McCartney’s attitude toward rain. Subsequently, Ringo Starr revealed what he thought about the drums on the song. The track became a modest hit in the United States.

Paul McCartney said The Beatles’ ‘Rain’ was different from traditional songs that ‘treated rain as a bad thing’

In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the origin of “Rain.” “‘ Rain’ was a co-effort with the leaning slightly towards John,” he recalled.

“I don’t think he brought the original idea, just when we sat down to write, he kicked it off,” Paul added. “Songs have traditionally treated rain as a bad thing and what we got on to was that it’s no bad thing. There’s no greater feeling than the rain dripping down your back.”

Paul McCartney said The Beatles added ‘a big, ponderous, thunderous backing’ to the song

Paul discussed how the drums came together on The Beatles’ “Rain.” “The drums became a giant drum kit,” he said. “If you slow down a footstep it becomes a giant’s footstep, it adds a few tons to the weight of the person.

“So we got a big, ponderous, thunderous backing and then we worked on top of that as normal, so that it didn’t sound like a slowed-down thing, it just had a big ominous noise to it,” he added. “It was nice, I really enjoyed that one.”

Ringo Starr liked his drumming on The Beatles’ “Rain.” “I think I just played amazing,” he said. “I was into the snare and the hi-hat.” Ringo said “Rain” may have been the first song he made where he hit a hi-hat when he started drumming.

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How ‘Rain’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

The Beatles’ “Rain” was the B-side to “Paperback Writer.” This is an interesting contrast, as “Rain” is psychedelic and strange while “Paperback Writer” is a straightforward pop-rock song.

“Rain” became a modest hit in the United States. The tune reached No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for seven weeks. The tune was originally a non-album single, but it appeared on the compilation album Hey Jude. That compilation peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 36 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Rain” never charted in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, “Paperback Writer” reached No. 1 in the U.K. for two weeks and remained on the chart for 11 weeks in total. Later, the tune recharted at No. 78 and lasted on the chart for two weeks. Notably, the album Hey Jude was not released in the U.K. so it did not chart there.

“Rain” went against songwriting tradition and it still became a hit.

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