Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1971 hit "Have You Ever Seen The Rain," written by frontman John Fogerty for the album Pendulum, was born out of personal heartbreak rather than the sunny imagery its lyrics suggest. Fogerty wrote the song as the band's success was peaking, yet he was privately grappling with the announcement that his brother and bandmate, Tom Fogerty, intended to leave the group, a loss he found devastating even as the band's popularity soared.

Creedence Clearwater Revival began in 1959 as The Blue Velvets, featuring John and Tom Fogerty alongside Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, before rebranding by the late 1960s and scoring hits including "Proud Mary" and "Bad Moon Rising." Fogerty later described the song's central image, of rain falling from an unseen storm even under a clear blue sky, as a metaphor for the band's outward success masking inner unhappiness. Decades later, at a 2012 concert, he said he no longer views the song with sadness, instead associating it with his daughter Kelsy and rainbows.