Why Does It Always Rain on Me?

"Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" is a song by Scottish band Travis, released as the third single from their second studio album, The Man Who. The song became the group's international breakthrough single, receiving recognition around the world. It was their first top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 10 in August 1999. The song also peaked within the top twenty in Australia and achieved moderate success in mainland Europe, North America, Ireland, and New Zealand. In a poll by listeners of Absolute Radio, the song was ranked 62nd on a list of the top 100 songs of the 1990s.[2]

"Why Does It Always Rain on Me?"
Single by Travis
from the album The Man Who
Released	2 August 1999
Recorded	1999
Studio	Abbey Road (London, England) Chateau de la Rouge Motte (Domfront, France)
Genre	Post-Britpop[1]
Length	4:25 (album version) 3:14 (radio edit)
Label	Independiente
Songwriter(s)	Fran Healy
Producer(s)	Nigel Godrich Mike Hedges
Travis singles chronology
"Driftwood" (1999) "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (1999) "Turn" (1999)
Music video
"Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" on YouTube

Background

Fran Healy started writing the song while on holiday in Israel. According to Healy, he wanted to go somewhere sunny in the middle of winter because in his hometown of Glasgow, Scotland, it rained frequently. His accountant suggested the southern vacation city of Eilat, Israel which is known for its hot weather even during winter time. However, on the way to the hotel, it began to rain, which lasted until he left a week later.[3]

Healy said he wanted to write the song, and wrote the second verse starting with "Why does it always rain on you? Is it because I picked you up in '92?" but decided that it wasn't good and changed it. He said that that the line "Is it because I lied when I was 17?" refers to the time when he lied about his age to get a job behind the bar at the biggest club in Glasgow. The rest of the song was written six months later in Madrid at 1 o'clock in morning. He had just spoken to his manager on the phone who assured him that his career is taking off, but he felt things were not working for him, and wrote the lines "I can't sleep tonight / Everybody's saying everything is alright" and "I can't stand myself" which refers to him hating himself as well as not being able to stand up. "I’m being held up by invisible men" refers to people in the music industry who propped him up as well as holding him up like robbers.[3]

He recorded the music and vocals in France. He sang the song 20 times, and the producer Mike Hedges then spliced the best parts of the song together. Hedges suggested a cello intro at a session in Abbey Road Studios, while Nigel Godrich gave the song the guitar sound.[3]

Live performances

When Travis began to perform this song at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, after being sunny for several hours, it began to rain exactly when the first line was sung, and stopped at the end of the song.[4] Their performance was a talking point of the festival, and their career took off afterwards.[5] Their single was released a month after Glastonbury, and it reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, and it also helped push the album The Man Who to No. 1.[6][7]

Music video

The music video was directed by John Hardwick and filmed in Cornwall, with scenes filmed on Bodmin Moor. The pool of water that Healy (actually a stuntman) jumps into is part of a disused mining quarry known locally as "Gold Diggings” in Craddock Moor which is on the edge of Bodmin Moor. The video features the band in a rain-soaked setting, with the band having locked frontman Healy, wearing a kilt, in the trunk of a 1970s Vauxhall Viva. Healy escapes, and chases the rest of the band into a disused mining quarry. The video continues with the band being shown in a floating living room, performing the song. The video ends with the living room floating away. It does not actually rain at any point during the video.

The underwater scenes were filmed by underwater cinematographer Mark Silk, in the tank at Oceanic SW Limited, Honiton, Devon. (The company went into administration in January 2019). The director of photography of the video was Ben Davis with Derrin Schlesinger the producer.[3]

Track listings

UK CD1[8] "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" "Village Man" "Driftwood" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) UK CD2[9] "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" "The Urge for Going" "Slide Show" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) UK cassette single[10] "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" "Village Man" European maxi-single[11] "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" "Village Man" "Driftwood" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) "The Urge for Going"

US and Canadian promo CD[12] "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (radio edit) "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (album version) Australian and New Zealand enhanced maxi-single[13] "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" – 4:25 "Village Man" – 3:18 "Driftwood" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) – 4:06 "...Baby One More Time" (live at the Bay Tavern, Robin Hood's Bay) – 3:30 Multimedia Japanese EP[14] "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" "Village Man" "Driftwood" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) "The Urge for Going" "Slide Show" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[15] 11 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[16] 15 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[17] 57 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[18] 39 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 18 Germany (Official German Charts)[20] 56 Ireland (IRMA)[21] 26 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 73 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 20 Poland (LP3)[24] 20 Scotland (OCC)[25] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 87 UK Singles (OCC)[6] 10 UK Rock and Metal (OCC)[27] 1 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[28] 36 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[29] 35

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Australia (ARIA)[30] 81 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[31] Gold 35,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Silver 200,000 ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Blyweiss, Adam; Terich, Jeff; Whitacre, Wesley (22 March 2018). "10 Essential Post-Britpop tracks". Treble Zine. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
2. Colothan, Scott (28 August 2020). "The 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s revealed". Planet Radio. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
3. Simpson, Dave (5 October 2020). "Travis: how we made Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". The Guardian.
4. "Festival fun survives crime rise – BBC News Glastonbury 1999 Special Report". BBC News. 26 June 1999.
5. Hanley, James (19 June 2017). "Glastonbury Week Part 1: Fran Healy on Travis' breakthrough Glastonbury '99 performance". Music Week.
6. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
7. "Official Albums Chart Top 100: 22 August 1999 - 28 August 1999". Official Charts Company.
8. Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (UK CD1 liner notes). Travis. Independiente Records. 1999. ISOM 33MS.CS1 maint: others (link)
9. Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (UK CD2 liner notes). Travis. Independiente Records. 1999. ISOM 33SMS.CS1 maint: others (link)
10. Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (UK cassette single sleeve). Travis. Independiente Records. 1999. ISOM 33CS.CS1 maint: others (link)
11. Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (European maxi-single liner notes). Travis. Independiente Records. 1999. ISM 667678 2.CS1 maint: others (link)
12. Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (US & Canadian promo CD liner notes). Travis. Independiente Records. 2000. ESK 12564.CS1 maint: others (link)
13. Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (Australian & New Zealand maxi-single liner notes). Travis. Independiente Records. 1999. 668319 5.CS1 maint: others (link)
14. Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (Japanese EP liner notes). Travis. Independiente Records. 1999. ESCA 8058.CS1 maint: others (link)
15. "Australian-charts.com – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
16. "Ultratop.be – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
17. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7288." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
18. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16 no. 34. 21 August 1999. p. 11. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
19. "Travis: Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
21. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
23. "Charts.nz – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
24. "Notowanie nr937" (in Polish). LP3. 14 January 2000. Retrieved 8 March 2019. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
25. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
26. "Swisscharts.com – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
27. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
28. "Travis Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
29. "Travis Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
30. "2000 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
31. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
32. "British single certifications – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 September 2020.