Rain Is Falling

"Rain Is Falling"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Time
B-side"Another Heart Breaks"
ReleasedJanuary 1982 (US)
Recorded1981 at Musicland Studios, Munich
GenreArt rock
Length3:55
LabelJet
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Ticket to the Moon" / "Here Is the News"
(1981) 		"Rain Is Falling"
(1982) 		"The Way Life's Meant to Be"
(1982)
Time track listing
13 tracks
Side one
  1. "Prologue"
  2. "Twilight"
  3. "Yours Truly, 2095"
  4. "Ticket to the Moon"
  5. "The Way Life's Meant to Be"
  6. "Another Heart Breaks"
Side two
  2. "Rain Is Falling"
  3. "From the End of the World"
  4. "The Lights Go Down"
  5. "Here Is the News"
  6. "21st Century Man"
  7. "Hold on Tight"
  8. "Epilogue"

"Rain Is Falling" is a song written and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).

It was track seven on the album Time (1981) and was released as the third single from the album in the US in 1982.

As with many ELO songs written by Jeff Lynne, "Rain is Falling" uses rain as a metaphor for loss and sadness.[1] ELO writer Barry Delve calls it "classic ELO – a beautifully sung evocative ballad with a gorgeous melody, and sound effects that perfectly conjure up the emptiness of a rainy day."[1] Delve does highlight one major flaw in the song, that the third verse starts well with the lines "Looking through this window/A thousand rivers running past my door" but then the lyrics devolve into the album's time travel concept that have little to do with the rest of the song.[1]

Billboard called it a "grand orchestral showcase in which Jeff Lynne showcases his vocal diversity."[2] Record World said that "celestial falsetto choruses introduce Jeff Lynne's childlike vocal lead" and that "swirling playful keyboards create a magical backdrop."[3]

It was the band's first single in the United States that failed to chart in the Billboard Hot 100 since "Boy Blue" (1975). It came incredibly close, peaking at 101 in the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[1] Delve attributed the commercial failure of the single to the fact that the third verse makes little sense outside the context of the album.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e Delve, Barry (2021). Electric Light Orchestra: Every Album, Every Song. Sonicbond. pp. 98–99. ISBN 9781789521528.
  2. ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. January 16, 1982. p. 51. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  3. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. January 23, 1982. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-02.