Springtime Sadness - Songs for Rainy Days
Rain showers bring spring time flowers. But sometimes when it rains, it pours. That can be said about the weather, or how life is going. If you want to be cozy, sad, or you want to reminisce on old times, here are a few songs that can help you settle into the perfect rainy day mood.
“A House In Nebraska” - Ethel Caine
This nearly 8 minute long sadcore masterpiece has exactly what you’re looking for if a rainy day makes you long for an unrequited love. “A House In Nebraska” is the third track on Ethel Caine’s fantastic 2022 debut studio album Preacher’s Daughter. The album is a concept album in which the character of Ethel Caine runs away from home, only to meet a gruesome end at the hands of a psychopathic cannibal. “A House in Nebraska” is a glimmer of beauty in such a wicked tale, with layers of reverb, hard piano chords, a slow burn build into an angelic anthem of pain and loneliness, all pairing so well with Ethel Caine’s gut wrenching lyrics that plenty can relate to; having lost someone that you may not have ever had in the first place.
“I Will Be There When You Die” - My Morning Jacket
Jumping to the opposite end of the spectrum from the last song, “I Will Be There When You Die” is a heartwarming song about being right by your love’s side through life. A fairly straightforward acoustic track from another debut studio album, The Tennessee Fire, My Morning Jacket’s Jim Jones sings with conviction during the chorus, letting his love know that through hardships and all, he will be there along the way until he can no longer do so. For a rainy day, it’s more about the vibe of the song, sounding like a recording of a friend that you’re sitting in an empty gymnasium with, sheltering from a storm, but knowing the two of you will come out on the other side stronger than ever.
“We’re In Love” - Boygenius
Friendships can be just as romantic as a love between life partners. Boygenius (particularly Lucy Dacus, who takes lead here with understated grace and poise in her vocal performance) reminds us that all relationships are important, meaningful, heartbreaking, or even existential. An excerpt from Elif Batuman’s introductory essay for 2023’s the record states “Lucy first sang We’re In Love a capella, to Phoebe, in Phoebe’s bed, on New Year’s Day 2022. They were holding each other’s faces: a function of totally legal drugs. Lucy was weeping and did not blink”. A song born from a tender moment with a friend, a song about accepting the faults of your friends and still showing unconditional love, pairs nicely with a light rain pattering on your bedroom window as you cuddle up in a blanket, thinking about how lucky some of us are to have such amazing people in our lives.
“Circle” - J Mascis
Hear me out; sometimes wallowing in your own self pity is a great antidote for when you’re feeling your lowest. It can be cathartic to just absolutely shit on yourself for a short period of time. Though, let’s try not to make it a habit, yeah? We’re amazing. A cover of Edie Brickell and New Bohemian’s 1988 song of the same name, there is no burying the lead with this one. “I quit, I give up, nothing’s good enough for anybody else, it seems”.J Mascis turns this mid tempo soft rock jam band classic into a much sadder solo effort. With the instrumentation being stripped down to an acoustic guitar and some mellotron strings towards the end of the song, Mascis’ vocal delivery is really what sends this home as his longing twang makes you really feel the hurt in his every word. This one is for the spring days that feel like there is a single rain cloud hovering over only yourself.
“Paul” - Big Thief
Rain can make us feel contemplative. Blame it on visual media, those music videos or sappy TV episodes where someone is looking out of a window, wondering if they perhaps made a mistake by leaving a lover. Enter “Paul”, from Big Thief’s 2016 album Masterpiece. Adrianne Lenker and company take us back to a relationship in which there was too much pain amongst the fun. A mellow, folky indie ballad, “Paul” is perfect for replicating the aforementioned music videos and TV episodes, where you can watch the rain drops on the window, seeing two drops combine into one and thinking to yourself “that could have been us…” Maybe not though. Maybe it’s just that this song feels like it was made to be listened to next to a fireplace during dreary weather.
“Off You” - The Breeders
Is this song about a relationship with a person? Is this song about a relationship with drugs? Is it both? Is it neither? Is it about a house on Nantucket Island that The Breeders frontwoman Kim Deal owned, in which when people would say they’re “off island” she would respond by saying “I’m off YOU”? (According to one random comment I found online, this is something she said during a radio interview in Australia). What this song is about doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that it’s striking, it’s intimate, with its heavy breaths, its random synth stings, its unique form that makes it feel as though it’s being formed before your very ears. You can hear that a cigarette is being smoked between each line delivery. The somber tone of this masterpiece from The Breeders 2002 album Title TK is perfect for a rainy afternoon drive, one where you know you have to go somewhere, but you don’t know where you’re going. Like the song seems to be doing, you too are figuring it out as you go along.
“Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You” - Julia Jacklin
Ever felt stuck? Ever felt like you know you probably should break away, but don’t know how to, or maybe don’t want to? Julia Jackson sure knows the feeling, and with one of the most ear-wormiest hooks she’ll help you ruminate over these tragic feelings of a love that’s grown cold, and maybe even a bit boring. “Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You”, from the 2019 album Crushing, tugs on all the heartstrings. Add a couple great, fuzzy, emotional guitar solos into the mix, and some proper belting at the end of the song, and you’ve got yourself the perfect remedy for a rainy day where your heart and your head are feuding over the right thing to do.
“Andale” - Free The Birds
Rainy days don’t necessarily have to be a bummer. Enough melancholy for now, let’s dance! This lo-fi boogie from Free The Birds (a side project from Turnstile frontman Bendan Yates) is a wonderfully cozy uptempo bop. Ever wondered whyy “lLo-Fi Hip Hop Beats To Study To” is such a popular thing? Because it’s comforting, unassuming, and can warm up a chilly night. While it may be short, it’s a perfect way to give yourself a little extra pep in your step.
“Shelter” - The xx
Aside from the obviously tongue-in-cheek inclusion of “Shelter” on a list about rainy day songs (get it, because when it rains, you seek shelter? I’ll see myself out…), this perfectly atmospheric song about wanting to make your partner feel as loved as they make you feel is a fantastic song to slow dance to during a light rain storm. Thanks to spacious production from Jamie xx, Romy’s soft voice and sweet lyrics about finding a home in another person, and a somber vibe overall, this cut from The xx’s 2009 album xx is romantic, warm, and everything you could want when stuck inside.
“I Wish I Was The Moon” - Neko Case
A song open to interpretation, but supposedly about her father, Neko Case’s”I Wish I Was The Moon” is one of those uptempo songs that is truly devastating. Acoustic guitars, brush drums, fantastically melancholic lap steel stings, and a nearly gut wrenching guitar solo help to drive home the fact that while there is plenty for people to be thankful for, not all of us are capable of recognizing it. Oh, how amazing it would feel to shine as bright as the moon at night during your darkest times in life. “God blessed me, I’m a free man, with no place free to go” sums this up perfectly, as I’m sure plenty of us have recognized that while we’re free to do as we please, we may not want to, or have the means to do so. Another song for your “single rain cloud over just your head” kind of days, drink this smooth folky tune in, and let yourself feel.