In 1971, John Fogerty wrote the song he wants to be remembered for. Eerily it began to mirror his life
John Fogerty wrote “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” as Creedence Clearwater Revival’s success was giving way to internal unhappiness. The song’s image of rain falling in sunshine came to represent the band’s impending break-up, while also capturing a broader sense that the optimism of the 1960s was fading.
Released in January 1971, the song reached number eight in the US and number two in the UK. Fogerty later said its metaphor reflected the band’s condition; years afterwards, the birth of his daughter Kelsy in 2001 gave him a more hopeful association with it. He came to regard the song as his defining anthem and thought of her when he performed it.
In short
- Fogerty wrote the song amid Creedence’s growing unhappiness.
- It reached number eight in the US and number two in the UK.
- His daughter’s birth gave him a hopeful connection to it.
Explained simply
John Fogerty was the singer, songwriter and lead guitarist of Creedence Clearwater Revival, an American rock band that became famous in the late 1960s. Although the group enjoyed major success, tensions grew among its members as their careers developed.
“Have You Ever Seen the Rain” uses the image of rain falling while the sun shines. Fogerty later linked it to the contrast between the band’s public success and its internal strain, and to a wider feeling that the optimism associated with the 1960s was fading. The song also gained a personal meaning for him after his daughter Kelsy was born in 2001.