Who'll Stop The Rain – English Lyrics

• By: Creedence Clearwater Revival

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the timeless sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revival with "Who'll Stop The Rain." This iconic folk-rock track, deeply rooted in American culture, offers a rich vocabulary for expressing feelings of frustration and hope amidst adversity. Learning the lyrics provides insight into idiomatic expressions related to weather as a metaphor for life's challenges, and its powerful message makes it a special song for understanding English through music.

[English]

Long as I remember the rain been comin' down

Clouds of mystery pourin' confusion on the ground

Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun

And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain?

I went down Virginia, seekin' shelter from the storm

Caught up in the fable, I watched the tower grow

Five Year Plans and New Deals, wrapped in golden chains

And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain?

Heard the singers playin', how we cheered for more

The crowd had rushed together, tryin' to keep warm

Still the rain kept pourin', fallin' on my ears

And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop the rain?

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
rain /reɪn/ A1	noun - water that falls from the sky in drops
cloud /klaʊd/ A1	noun - a visible mass of condensed water vapor suspended in the atmosphere
mystery /ˈmɪstəri/ B1	noun - something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain
shelter /ˈʃɛltər/ B1	noun - a place giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger
storm /stɔrm/ A2	noun - a violent weather condition with strong winds and usually rain, thunder, or snow
tower /ˈtaʊər/ B2	noun - a tall, narrow building or structure
man /mæn/ A1	noun - an adult male human
find /faɪnd/ A1	verb - to discover something by searching or looking for it
wonder /ˈwʌndər/ B1	verb - to feel curiosity or amazement noun - a feeling of amazement and admiration
cheer /tʃɪr/ A2	verb - to shout for joy or in support
fall /fɔl/ A1	verb - to drop down from a higher position
crowd /kraʊd/ A2	noun - a large group of people gathered together
play /pleɪ/ A1	verb - to engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation

Key Grammar Structures

• Long as I remember the rain been comin' down

  ➔ Present Perfect Continuous (been comin')

  ➔ The use of 'been comin'' instead of 'has been coming' is a colloquial contraction common in song lyrics and vernacular speech. It emphasizes the *duration* of the rain falling up to the present moment. The structure highlights an action that started in the past and continues to the present.

• Good men through the ages tryin' to find the sun

  ➔ Gerund as object of preposition ('through')

  ➔ The word 'tryin'' is a gerund (a verb acting as a noun) functioning as part of the prepositional phrase 'through the ages tryin' to find the sun'. It describes the action of 'trying' as occurring *within* the timeframe of 'through the ages'.

• Five Year Plans and New Deals, wrapped in golden chains

  ➔ Apposition

  ➔ 'Five Year Plans and New Deals' are in apposition to 'wrapped in golden chains'. Apposition means two nouns or noun phrases are placed next to each other to explain or identify the first one. Here, the plans and deals *are* the things wrapped in chains.

• Still the rain kept pourin', fallin' on my ears

  ➔ Continuous aspect (kept pourin', fallin')

  ➔ The use of 'kept pourin'' and 'fallin'' emphasizes the *ongoing* nature of the rain. 'Kept' + -ing form indicates a continuous action in the past. It's not just that it rained, but that it *continued* to rain.