It can also be an anthem to living worry free despite the challenges of the world. It is about remaining positive in spite of the negative things that you are facing, a song particularly important in the face of some of the coming challenges of the 1970s. The lyrics reflect an optimism about life. Raindrops keep falling on my head But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red Crying's not for me, 'cause, I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining Because I'm free Nothing's worrying me It won't be long 'till happiness steps up to greet me Raindrops keep falling on my head But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red Crying's not for me 'Cause, I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining Because I'm free Nothing's worrying me So I just did me some talking to the sun And I said I didn't like the way he got things done He's sleeping on the job Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep fallin'īut there's one thing I know The blues they send to meet me Won't defeat me It won't be long 'till happiness steps up to greet me Raindrops are falling on my head And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed Nothing seems to fit Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling It begins with some cheerful ukulele strumming, then jumps right into lyrics that sound like a nursery rhyme: Also, there’s this interesting recording by the King of Pop.īurt Bacharach would go on to team with a few other writers to write the theme from Arthur and win another Best Original Song Oscar.“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” is so odd that it's almost a novelty song. Remember when the hosts of TV shows used to take a break and just sing you a song? I kind of miss that.Ī whole scad of cover versions kept popping up, including those by Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, Englebert Humperdinck, Andy Williams, and The Manic Street Preachers. For example, here’s a video of the legendary Dean Martin singing it as a part of one of his television appearances. After the huge success of the song, it became popular with other performers as well. Other singers had been approached about recording the song, including Ray Stevens and perhaps Bob Dylan before the job went to Thomas, resulting in the biggest hit of his successful career, sitting at number one for four weeks. It might have been mildly embarrassing for a singer who’d already had several hit songs (“Hooked on a Feeling” for one) on what he thought was his own steam to be given a leg up by the movie instead of the other way around. He claims that it wasn’t until the movie arrived in theaters and became a big hit that radio stations got with the program and gave “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” a shot…after which it shot to number one on the Billboard singles charts. Considering their towering position in the business, the crystalline charm of “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” isn’t all that surprising.īut according to singer BJ Thomas, radio programmers were resistant to playing it when it was first released. The songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David had been pumping out pop gems for acts like The Carpenters, Dionne Warwick, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, and The Shirelles since their first big seller “The Story of My Life” hit number 15 on the singles charts for Marty Robbins in 1957. The fact that it was written by one of the more honored and loved songwriting teams of the last fifty-plus years does go a long way to softening any scorn a person might be tempted to heap on it. With Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid‘s October 1969 release date, the song seems like a sort of kick-off to the early 1970s, the decade which brought us the “Love Is…” comic strip and quite a few of our Cheesetastic Classics. It is forever associated with that part of the post-hippie era in which there was an attempt to create quite a lot of feel-good content. I personally can’t hear it without thinking of standing next to my Dad and singing it from the sheet music while he played the piano. This is one of those songs which is pretty strongly tied to the era in which it was recorded.
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