Stormy Weather: 10 Songs About Rain and Storms and Things

Metaphors run rampant in this music challenge

Ethel Waters, the first singer of “Stormy Weather”, at the University of Michigan, circa 1956–1957. The photographer is unknown. “Stormy Weather” is a 1933 torch song and Waters was the first to sing and record it. It has been recorded by too many singers to list. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ethel_Waters.png

Dang it, Paul Combs! I’m trying to get three articles written and published at the moment, as it’s been more than a week since I finished anything, and now you have come up with this writer’s challenge. So I have to drop everything and get right on it!

The problem lately has been the need for more time. My sister was here visiting for a few days. And as of yesterday, I’ve started a part-time gig. This challenge was made on April 15, so I guess I’m not that late to the game. But since many of the best “rain” songs have already been covered in others’ stories, I had to think about this one. Thinking is overrated.

We don’t get much rain here in Albuquerque. Nine inches a year on average. That’s more than Phoenix and Las Vegas but less than most areas of the country. We live in a rain shadow, so the city gets all excited when it does rain. I swear, every time it sprinkles, the weather service calls it a flash flood warning.

With that, here is my contribution to the “Great Songs to Sing in the Rain” writing challenge.

In the Rain — The Dramatics. Such a no-brainer — it’s in the name of the challenge. The song begins with the sounds of a thunderstorm, then leads into a…