Songfacts®:

• This song is about enjoying being depressed, that strange sensation of feeling so good to feel so sad. And yes, it's rather tongue-in-cheek, which you can suss when lead singer Shirley Manson pleads, "Pour your misery down on me!"
  
  When the members of Garbage met for the first time, they found that they shared a love for dark music. It seems counterintuitive, but some people - Garbage included - can be uplifted by depressing songs.
• In a 1995 interview with Addicted to Noise, Steve Marker, the band's guitarist, said, "It's really just us poking fun of ourselves... We're poking fun at the alternate rock angst, wearing your heart on your sleeve thing and at ourselves for writing such dark songs."
  
  This is a similar sentiment to the sarcasm behind The Smiths' 1984 single "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now."
• Shirley Manson is from Scotland, where it rains frequently. She thinks of the song as an example of the Scots' self-deprecating humor.
• The song was written somewhat spur-of-the-moment when the band was sitting around playing acoustic guitars. It started with the line, "I'm only happy when it rains," and was built around the opening lyric.
• Garbage drummer Butch Vig sees this song as "an homage to The Jesus And Mary Chain."
• Samuel Bayer directed the music videos for this song and "Stupid Girl." He started off as a painter, bringing a very unconventional approach to videos.
• This song was used in the 2019 movie Captain Marvel in a scene set in 1995 where Captain Marvel steals a motorcycle.
• Garbage released a song called "Vow" as their first single, but "Only Happy When It Rains" was their breakout hit. Both songs are from their 1995 self-titled debut album.