Comments: 86

• Yu from ChinaAbsolutely love this song.
• Duke from Fresno, CaFred in Laurel MD... the song SCRATCHY was by Travis Wammack a great guitarist (flipside FIREFLY). Cathy says all the gang loves you, then played backwards... He was 17 when he did that record in 1962. It made #80 on the Billboard charts in 1964. He was Little Richard's band leader from 1984 to 1995. Note: this list is incomplete.
  
  Travis Wammack (Fame Records, 1972)
  Not For Sale (Capricorn Records, 1975)
  That Scratchy Guitar from Memphis (Bear Family Records, 1987)
  Scr-Scr-Scratchy! (Zu Zazz Records, 2000)
  Snake, Rattle & Roll in Muscle Shoals (Snakeman Records, 2005) http://traviswammack.com/
  
• Johan from Stockholm, SwedenThese are the top fourteen songs voted 2012 by MOJO readers and Beatles fans:
  1. Tomorrow Never Knows
  2 Hey Bulldog
  3. Rain
  4. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
  5. And Your Bird Can Sing
  6. For No One
  7. Dear Prudence
  8. It´s All Too Much
  9. Long Long Long
  10.I´m Only Sleeping
  11.You Know My Name
  12.Helter Skelter
  13.I Want You
  14.She Said She Said
  
  That is 10 Lennon, 2 McCartney and 2 Harrison
• Carl from Apg, MdSydney of Dallas, TX writes:
  "Although that in the promo clips for Rain, The Beatles seem to be wearing the same type of clothes in the promo clip for Girl. Who knows which song is actually first?????"
  "Girl" was on Rubber Soul LP (both England and U.S.) and would have been recorded earlier than "Rain".
• Sydney from Dallas, TxI LOVE THIS SONG!!!! ( and I'm only thirteen) I really think that is kinda cool that Paul had the chipped tooth. A lot of kids in my class like Paul and they thought that it was scary and all I had to do was tell them that Paul had a chipped tooth and that quieted them down. I have read many things where John said that a few songs were 'The first song with backwards music.' but I believe that if you look at the song timeline, it seems that either Tomorrow Never Knows or I'm Only Sleeping was the first song with backwards music. Although that in the promo clips for Rain, The Beatles seem to be wearing the same type of clothes in the promo clip for Girl. Who knows which song is actually first?????
• Myla from San Diego, CaOne of my top 3 songs of the Beatles! Never get tired of it. Although it was John's song, I think Paul's bass really clinched it.
• Marty from Buffalo, NyRain represents a pivotal moment in music history and Sixties culture. Like nothing that had come before, it announced the arrival of Psychedelic Rock in the Spring of 1966. At this point in their career the Beatles wer more influenced by LSD than pot, having begun their acid fueled explorations roughly a year earlier. The film for the song they sent to the Ed Sullivan Show was the first true music video. They probably never looked cooler than they did in the Rain video. Suddenly EVERYTHING was different!
• Ben from Rohnert Park, Cai think she said she said is ringos best drumming
• Jerry Mac from Hermosa Beach, CaDefinately an underrated song that captures the creativity of the band and the period. I agree with Brian from Boston that their confidence reached an apex at this point and in my opinion, it is their finest period for song writing and recording. From Ringo's tap-tapping, Paul's droning bass lines, and the mix of rhythm/lead guitar reverbness (is that a word?), this record is a snapshot of that era and the genius of the band. It is one of those songs that I could never get enough of or tire of hearing.
• Brian from Boston, MaThis is an incredible song.I like the fact that this is not an overplayed Beatles song.It is not very often I hear it on the radio wich is good.I like the Beatles during every phase of their career however this period with Rubber soul Rain Paperback writer and the Revolver album is my favorite.I don't even know how to describe it but for some reason or another they just seemed to be at their best during this period.They had a tremendous confidence that seemed to come thru on every song during this time.Maybe it has to do with the creativity having been fueled by marijuana use It really started with Help wich to me was really the first album that sounded a lot different than the previous albums.It is amazing how they evolved in such a short period of time. 65 to 66 that to me was a tremendously creative period for the Beatles.I also imagine that the Beatles probably lost a large portion of their fans during this time.I am of course refering to the teens and pre teens that enjoyed the simple pop love songs .The music that came before the Beatles really does not matter anymore.They changed everything.To me pre Beatles music is "oldies" and post Beatles music is classic rock. The music before the Beatles sounds dated.Many of the Beatles songs sound just as a relevant today as they did forty years ago.
• Sasha from Perth, AustraliaThis song really reminds me of sunny days, especially in gardens...hurr, must be on account of the music film. Ironically, 'Sun King' really reminds me of rainy weather and ocean storms, also. But that's fine, I like rain. As in this song, and the weather. Gosh, confusing, hah.
• Ahmed from Karachi, PakistanThey did a video for it along with Paperback Writer for the Ed Sullivan Show, too bad they didn't show up for the show but sent the videos.
• Kevin from Baltimore, MdFreddie Mercury did a version of this. He sounds like he was young and drunk. Not to impressive, however, he was still great. Not nearly as much as John. I know this was recorded in the key of A and then slowed down, however, it seems like there is a alternate tuned guitar. Does anyone have any idea what key(open tuning)?
• George from Belleville, NjRain is genious and brilliant and powerful all rolled into one.A phychedelic masterpiece,a heavy rock record that to this day cannot be equalled by another band.The Beatles when they played their music and sang their songs had a special magic the likes of which you won't hear again in the music industry and this is another fine example of that.
• Guy from Woodinville, WaIronically, back in the day when Rain came out, I did not like it! (Admittedly, at 11 years old, I was a big Beatles fan, but not much of a critical listener--I didn't even notice that Eleanor Rigby was all strings until someone pointed it out to me years later :) Over the years, it slowly sneaked up on me that Rain was truly a great, creative, pioneering song. All the stuff people have cited: Ringo's drums, Paul's bass riffs, John's philosophy and backward lyrics. But nobody has mentioned what is my intimate little favorite part of the recording: the slow growling sound of John's guitar. I love that sound--especially the final one before the fadeout, so expressive! Turns out that unique sound was made by slowing down the tape playback. Those boys were so experimental in the studio! And as someone else noted, to think that this creative, pioneering song was relegated to a single's B side, not even put on an album!! When you look back at the arc of quality and sophistication that the Beatles experienced in those 7 short years from 1963 to 1969, it absolutely boggles the mind. I'm so glad I was there!
• Richard from Carmel, InTo John in Sunnyvale who asked "Does anybody know how the chart listing was determined for B sides? SongFacts says Rain reached #23 in the United States." I believe the answer is that the chart listings were based both on record sales and radio air play. Also, Todd Rundgren does a cover of this song in which he tries to reproduce it completely faithfully, including all of the studio tricks.
• Victor from Los Angeles, CaJohn, london----interesting...
• Mitch from Melbourne, Australiathey wrote this after going to melbourne on a tour and it was raining heavily.
• Charlie from Virginia Beach, VaThis is great song. They were a great band. I have the Beatles albums and the other day it was Raining and I started singing this but could'nt find it in the collection so I came to this site and it reminded me that this was on the 45 which I have.
• Bobbi from Newington, CtKen Townsend didn't turn the loudspeaker into a microphone, Geoff Emerick did. (And, if I'm not mistaken, he got into trouble for it, poor guy.)
• Micky from Los Angeles, CaIt really surprises me that Ringo would say this is his best drumming-------there are so many others he was better on than that.
• Helbs from Liverpool, AustriaI'm surprised this is not a more well-known Beatles song. It's probably my favorite.
• Superllama from Tallehase, FlI love this song; the Paperback Writer/Rain single was one of their better singles.
• Reed from New Ulm, MnMcCartney plays such an innovative bass line-------truly one of the most imaginative musicians there has ever been.
• Chloe from St. Louis, Moincredible....way too incredible...its unfair to anybody else who tries to record anything. the music itself makes everything else go away for a few minutes. but the lyrics....like i said, unfair. 'its just a state of mind, rain i dont mind, shine the weather's fine'. its pretty much my philosophy. kind of reminds me of 'nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about.' wierd, how because of this incredible music, a 26-year-old guy from 1966 and a 13-year-old girl from 2009 can be on the same page for a little while.
• Matt from Ny, NyThis track is truly a miracle of creation on so many levels.
  
  The lyrical message and John's vocals are brilliant. The Epiphone guitars they used here recorded so beautifully and the arpeggiation of the chords with use of the fourth tonic in the scale really gives it that Lennon sound.
  
  The bass here is truly remarkable not only the riffs but the sound, which was gotten by plugging the bass directly into the desk along with the use of compression.
  
  And if Ringo believes this is one of his best performances I won't argue. No drummer can reproduce Ringo's style and this is a perfect example of it.
• Modernrocker79 from Kearny, NjFirst Rock song to use backward singing. Others had use backward tape before. There was a song called "Scratchy" in 1964 that used spoken words backwards. The Beatles "Rain" uses backward vocals first in Rock Music.
• Steve Dotstar from Los Angeles, CaI like the 3/4 part..(raiin raiin raii ah aa aa aa aa aiiin....)
• Max from Vancouver, Canadaafter reading catcher in the rye, i think that lennon got his inspiration for this song from that book. The main character Holden was confused, depressed and unhappy the entire book, except for one part at the end as he sits in the park watching the carousel go round and round, rain pouring heavily down all around him, and for once he is filled with happiness and claims he couldn't be bothered by the rain.
  
  it makes sense that lennon liked this book, b/c his speech about jesus's disciples being ordinary and nothing special is pretty much straight out of the book as well.
  
  lennon>>>mccartney
• Rosario from Naples, Flthsi song is SO cool.
• Sean from Manchester, United KingdomThe rest of REM is influenced by the Beatles especially Peter Buck. Not everyone likes the Beatles.
• Belczaar from Sacramento, CaWhat a great single! Rain, and Paperback Writer. Paul's bass got a makeover for this one. Looking for a way to make the bass sound fuller, recording engineer Ken Townsend had the idea to take a loudspeaker, reverse the polarity, which made the speaker into a microphone. That is why the bass sounds so much better than it did on earlier recordings. Townsend was reprimanded by EMI for damaging company equipment.
• Joe from Chicago, IlThis song was also one of the first to have a music video in 1968.
• Susan from Toronto, CanadaMichael Stipe has repeatedly knocked the Beatles, which is ridiculous to me because R.E.M.'s entire sound seems to me a total rip-off of the sound of RAIN!!!
• Yunasa from South Pasadena, CaThe garbled backwards sounds like 'Sherris nau das niarifit... nairifit.'
• Steve from Fenton, MoIt's a tribute to the greatness of the Beatles catalog of music that a song this great is kind of unceremoniously cast aside as a B side and doesn't make it onto an album/CD until after the group broke apart.
• Nick from Bethlehem, PaThis is my favorite Beatles song, and favorite rock and roll record of all time! I first heard it on "Ringo's Yellow Submarine" Radio special in 1983 on 66 WNBC AM. I then borrowed my Uncle's copy of "The Beatles Again" (then later named "Hey Jude"). Loved it. I bought a Capitol Star Line 45 reissue of it, and then about eleven years ago I found the original 45 with the picture sleeve.
• Liam from New York, Nyoldies.about.com/od/thebeatles
  
  Rain" is not the very first recording to feature "backmasking," but it is the first to incorporate backwards music into a mix.
  The song's other sonic innovation came from Paul, who suggested slowing the entire backing track down to give the song a droning, "Indian" effect. While the recording is in the key of G, the actual song was played in A; John's vocal, on the other hand, was intentionally recorded even slower than the final track and sped up to achieve further disorientation. (The backing vocals, added later, appear to have been recorded as is in the studio.)
  
• Lateeka from Kelowna, Canadaanyone hear U2 play this? not very impressed.. but whatever beatles are hard competition
• Lateeka from Kelowna, CanadaIt's just a state of mind
• Joe from Hackensack, NjFred the Beatles were the first rock act to use backward vocals maybe others tried backward bits or speech on songs before like novelty songs but The Beatles were the first to use backward vocals on Rain on a rock record.
• Fred from Laurel, MdThis was not the first rock song to use backward recording of vocals. In 1963+/-1 yr, there was a single titled "Scratchy," I don't remember the band's name, but the recording was somewhat obscure. (Not to be confused with "Scratchin" by the Ventures!) It was a rock instrumental, except for a break in the middle, where a seemingly nonsense line was spoken, then that line was immediately played back in reverse. The line (fwd) sounded something like, "Capitan! A. J. deGang lub you!" The reversal was pretty much indescribable. I was introduced to it by a schoolmate (I was in HS then), and a bunch of us had a hoot listening to it and trying to figure out what was being said. Anyway, looking back, it may or may not have been a national release (this was in the DC area), but whether or not it was, I suspect there have been other recordings predating Rain that used reverse recording. Reel-to-reel tape recorders had been on the consumer market for a few years by then, and even minor record cos. could have been experimenting with them for several years before that.
• Fred from Laurel, MdAlan, New Balt., MI: Actually, I was hearing it constantly during summer '66. Along with its flip, Paperback Writer; as well as I Saw her Again (Mamas&Papas), Last Train to Clarksville (Monkees), Can't Hurry Love (Supremes), Pied Piper (Crispian St. Peters), Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd (Roger Miller), Wild Thing, and Love Is All Around (both, Troggs), Sunny (Bobby Hebb), Summer in the City (Lovin Spoonful), Dangling Conversation, and Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine (both, Simon&Gar.), Mother's Little Helper (Stones), and I can't remember what the Beach Boys' or Four Tops hits were that summer. But I did hear Rain quite a bit. This was in the DC suburbs. I was working at Dahlgren, VA that summer, and I think the station we got was in La Plata, MD.
  
• Echo from Normalville, Mamy hands fell off trying to play this on the bass
• Taylor from Manchester, EnglandTomorrow Never Knows is the first Beatles song to have backmasking not Rain. Rain is the first song in rock that has backword vocals though.
• Brett from Ridgewood , NjThe Beatles first used backmasking on Tomorrow Never Knows which was recorded before Rain and that was George Harrison idea to record a backward guitar solo so it was not Martin or Lennor who thought of recording backward tapes first it was Harrison.
• Dan from West Hartford, CtMartin thinks that he invented the backwards masking; see http://www.triplo.com/ev/reversal/ for Martin's account.
• George from Yonkers, NyThe song is very influenced by Indian music and it's one of the first psychedelic hits ever.
• Nicole from Lake Forest, CaThis is my new favorite Beatles song. I just heard it for the first time a month or two ago, when I got Hey Jude on vinyl. It is absolutely amazing. Its weird that I had never heard it before. Same with the Innere Light. I heard that for the first time when I got Past Masters 2. And those are really good too. The backwards part at the end is genious.
• Joe from Montvale, NjI love the early use of backward tape with psychedelic music and the use of the backward coda. The bass was recorded with the loudspeaker acting as a microphone.
• Sal from Bardonia , NyFirst rock song to have backwards vocals and also to first to have backward tape in a fade out.
  Sal Bardonia,NY
• Nathan from Bruges, BelgiumThis is brilliant! Everything in this song is just perfect: the drumming, the backwards music, the singing!
• Bram from Zoetermeer, NetherlandsNow, this is a very good song of John's. Such a great melody! One of the better Beatle-songs. Quite different than other songs of the Beatles. John was often able to find some original idea's for new songs. I like this one..
• Fremont from Concord, NhI beg to differ with Ringo. I think his best drumming is on "The End" or "A day in the life". He still did an awesome job on this though.
• Joe from Lethbridge, CanadaActually, Paul was in a moped accident in Cheshire on December 26, 1965. Paul chipped his tooth and hadn't yet got it capped when they made the video. This was also supposedly one of the clues that Paul had been replaced by someone else. By the way I love this song too. Definitely one of my favourites. Whoever the new guy was that replaced Paul was fabulous on the bass!!!
• Brian from Sydney, CanadaPaul was in no motorcycle accident-I don't even think he rides bikes. Are you confused with the Dylan motorbike accident? Paul did get a cut on his lip that required stitches and the doctor who did them did a piss poor job.
  
• Brian from Sydney, CanadaPaul and Ringo's playing is perfect. They were certainly a tight band. Paul said that he and Ringo used to try to play together-that is, when Paul would play his bass note that was in the root of the chord, Ringo would play the bass drum adding a deep pounding emphasized bass. This was certainly the case in this song. Check out how they coincided the starts and stops in the song-perfect!!
• Joey R from Boston, MaI don't think enough is said about Paul's Bass or Ringo's drums on this one. The rhythm section in Rain is one of the most cohesive,innovative, and kick ass grooves I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.
• Michael from Brooklyn, Nyi remember identifying with this song as a kid, i still do
• Fyodor from Denver, CoVickie, I've heard that Paul had been in a motorcycle accident shortly before the promo film.
• Sietske from Oisterwijk, NetherlandsThis is like one of the best songs ever! Luckily I do have an LP player (thanks dad) and the Hey Jude album, so yay me! :D I can listen to this song like over and over again!
• Jerry from Portland, OrIn an interview, John Lennon said he was looking out a hotel window during a tour, and it started to rain and people on the street were literally running to get out of the rain and also shielding (hiding) their heads. That was the song's inspiration.
• Steve from Fenton, MoI agree with Tim in MA. I personally think this is one of John's five best Beatles songs. On a few efforts to determine the best albums ever, the Beatles Revolver tops the list, and if not is usually in the top five. And that's with leaving off Rain and Paperback Writer, which any other group would have included. The Beatles left the singles and B sides that ended up on Past Masters off the other albums because they were released as singles and they thought it tacky to release it on the album also. Additionally, Day Tripper and We Can Work It Out was left off Rubber Soul. Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields was left off Sgt. Pepper.
• Jonathan from Johnstown, PaI don'tcare if it wouldn't go to #1, RAIN SHOOULD HAVE BEEN THE A-SIDE OF THAT SINGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  My Aunt Debbie put the "Hey Jude" Album on tape once, and This was on it, so, I coudn't wait for
  me to find out which CD it was on. I got PM 2 for a belated birthday gift. I was so happy when Rain was on it!(I knew already!)
• Vickie from Sydney, AustraliaI saw the video to this song for the first time on cable TV recently. Check out John's eyes on the close-up.He can hardly open them. Does he look stoned or what? Also what's the story with Paul's tooth? On his close-up, the tooth is chipped or missing and he has a fat lip. Was he in a fight the night before this promo was shot?
• Shobu from Trenton, NjThe lyric of this song actually concerns the media and the way journalists treated the Beatles like 'fair-weather friends'; acting sycophantically and adoringly one moment, then turning their backs on them when they were less fashionable (for example, after Lennon's "Bigger than Jesus" comments).
  
  "When the rain comes, they run and hide their heads/They might as well be dead".
  
  Source: Mark Lewisohn.
• Harmonica from New York, Nymaybe the rain is nuclear rain. that's why they run and hide their heads and might as well be dead. i'm probably wrong...
• Lee from Clearwater, Fl Sara, you pointed out something I had not seen before. I would have noticed it, but sometimes i get wrapped up in the music, and don't pay attention to the lyrics. (Ya can miss half the song that way.) anyway, Thanks.
• George from Itaberaba, Brazil"Paperback writer"/"Rain", to me, is the best Beatles' single, better than "Strawberry Fields/ "Penny Lane". Two wonderful songs, at my Beatle's top3, with "Walrus". I don't know why this single isn't considered their best, it's the best single ever
• Harry from Cornwall, EnglandI love Paul's bass on this song it sounds so lush
• Barry from New York, NcThe Grateful Dead played this song during the Vince Wellnick era. One great version of this was its final appearance on June 30, 1995 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. It was the set opener, and then was followed by "Box Of Rain," "Samba in the Rain," and "Looks Like Rain."
• Mike from Bedford, EnglandIt's definitely available on Past Masters Vol2 (the white one)
• Tim from Dalton, Mawell Jon, airplays on radio count in the charts, too..."Rain" is the most underrated Beatles song, just spectacular
• Jon from Sunnyvale, CaCan anybody help someone born in the CD age? Does anybody know how the chart listing was determined for B sides? SongFacts says Rain reached #23 in the United States. Wasn't it the B side for Paperback Writer? Paperback Writer went to number one but Rain only went to twenty-three? Would someone buy the single and say "Oh, I'm not buying this for the A side, I'm buying it for the B side?" I really like Paperback Writer but too bad so few know Rain!
• Ted from New York, Nythis song is awesome. My favorite beatles song with Paperback Writer a close second. Ironic since they were released as a record together. I'm a dedicated bassist and i love the bassline in this song. The drum intro is also fabulous. And the drony, slow, gloomy sound is awesome. The song really just sounds like....rain. The title and vocals are perfect.
• Loretta from Liverpool, Englandthis song is realy underrated. i love it. like i said, the singles are very abundant, but it was never released on CD, so nobody of the younger generation except me (and the few others of my generation that appreciate analogue sound) has real access to it. I hope that they release "Hey Jude" along with the new Capitol versions of records on CD so people can discover this great wonder of the beatlesque world.
  
  If you're someone who was born when (or can only remember when) CD's dominated, my message to you: Analogue is better. There is a layer of trebles and overtones that CD's clip off. vinyl is purer sound. There is so much music that is still on vinyl and tape that will never reach your ears if you never get a player. If you have never heard this song (Rain), you don't know what you're missing. There are hundreds of albums on record which are not on CD, some of which may be better than this song. I'm not against the digital revolution, but I think that in a time where music is recorded in serieses of 1's and 0's, we should not forget the music which is recorded in scratches on a sheet of plastic.
• Loretta from Liverpool, Englandi love this song. i love the rain. also, for some reason, I have found that this is the most abundant single to be found. i own 39 copies of this.
• SaraI LOVE the philosophy in this song: "when it rains and shines... it's just a state of mind... Rain, I don't mind... Shine, the weather's fine..."
• Alan from New Baltimore, MiA really great tune, probably the most underappreciated since you never hear it on the radio and it just barely made it on an album before the Beatles broke up.
• Nick from Buffalo, NyThis song represents the change going on during that time. This song in the middle of the (I want to hold your hand) Beatles to the (Strawberry Fields) Beatles. It's awsome There hair was getting longer there sideburns inching down & John would throw on glass' here and there...
• Ian from Urbana, IlDon't you think (in reference to the comments below), considering the dates of the interviews, that perhaps he would have left out the fact that he was ripped in '66, and had no problem telling the whole truth by '80?
• Charles from Charlotte, NcNot released on an LP until 1970 when it appeared on the 'Hey Jude' album which consisted entirely of singles and their B sides that were not previously included on any album.
• Stykman from Little River, ScNEVER MIND!!---JOHN 1980: "That's me again-- with the first backwards tape on record anywhere... I got home from the studio and I was stoned out of my mind on marijuana... and, as I usually do, I listened to what I'd recorded that day. Somehow it got on backwards and I sat there, transfixed, with the earphones on, with a big hash joint. I ran in the next day and said, 'I know what to do with it, I know... listen to this!' So I made them all play it backwards. The fade is me actually singing backwards with the guitars going backwards. (sings) 'Sharethsmnowthsmeanss!' That one was the gift of God... of Ja actually-- the god of marijuana, right? So Ja gave me that one."
  
• Stykman from Little River, ScActualy, John Was Tired----JOHN 1966: "After we'd done the session on that particular song-- it ended at about four or five in the morning-- I went home with a tape to see what else you could do with it. And I was sort of very tired, you know, not knowing what I was doing, and I just happened to put it on my own tape recorder and it came out backwards. And I liked it better. So that's how it happened."
  
  
• Gary from Croydon, EnglandThe band Oasis were originally called Rain - half in reference to this song, and half in reference to the typical Mancunian weather.
• John from London, EnglandThe backwards ending sounds like "Settle down and worries won't come near...rain or snow".
  This is a John song.

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