I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to rainy days, because that means spring. Although to be fair, this winter has been fairly rainy and slushy and gray and blah here in my part of Michigan. But I digress. I know a lot of my friends love to sleep to the rain, and I wholeheartedly agree with them. On the days I can't just snuggle up in bed though, there are some songs that just feel like they embody the rain. If you want the full experience of these songs but it isn't currently raining by you, you can use either this site or this one to simulate the sound of a storm (actually, you can do a bit of mixing with the second one--it's a lot of fun to play around with).
"Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson
This song starts with the sound of rain. The words talk about rain. It's played on a ukulele. It's a fairly obvious choice for a rainy day song, and a happy way to start off this list! (This song also makes me a little hungry--and has inspired my choice of breakfast more than once--but that's beside the point.) I like this song because it makes me picture a tropical island bungalow somewhere, where it's a little bit humid, and the rain is coming down perfectly in time with the song (as if that would ever happen, but this is my imagination here, so go with it), and maybe there's a door or window open so they can hear the rain better. But they're not going out. Because, like the song says, "ain't no need to go outside."
I kind of think of this as a nicer version of Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song," because it's not quite as... well... extreme (no P90X here). I think there's something about the acoustic guitars and the beat that's perfect for moderate foot tapping that makes this ideal for a rainy day.
"Bulletproof" by Melanie Martinez
This was the best video for this song that I could find without the pitch of the music being changed, so what you're seeing is not the proper single cover, but aside from that and some minor shadow consonants scattered throughout the performance ("This time, baby, [d]I'll be..."), I love this. Toning it down from La Roux's original puts a unique spin on it, bringing out a melody in the music that is lost among the production--or was maybe not even there to begin with, but accompanies the lyrics at their adjusted tempo beautifully. I'm pretty sure I've driven in the rain as this song played on a mix CD (I don't have Bluetooth like the rest of you kids have today), and it was a very nice feeling. There's not really a better way to describe it than that, and I'm sure all of my English teachers would be proud of me for such a thorough and specific description, but driving in the rain, when your car is cool even though it's muggy outside or when your car is warm even though it's cold outside, and your wiper blades are actually working and you're not in a rush to get anywhere, and there aren't as many people on the road because it's raining... it's a good feeling. That's what I associate with this song, so that's why it's here.
How's that for a description?
"You Belong to Me" by Jason Wade
If we can all grow up and move past the tired meme related to this film, this is a really beautiful song. If the vocals sound familiar--and you've listened to any radio station that plays soft rock or pop music in the last 15 years or so--then you might recognize the artist as Lifehouse's front man. Like "Bulletproof," I love that this is a really gentle version of this song, and it feels perfect for a cozy day or night in as it rains outside.
"In the Mourning" by Paramore
Remember how I mentioned that I always find myself listening to Paramore? That still holds true on rainy days. I have memories of walking around my college campus with this song playing, possibly because I had it stuck in my head (because it is gorgeous), which might be the reason I associate it with rainy days, but it still needed to go on this list. It doesn't have the same upbeat electric guitar or pointed cynicism that many other Paramore songs have; instead, it has the feeling of letting go of something, and that makes me imagine that the rain is kind of washing whatever that something is away (given that I was walking to or from a class, it was probably test anxiety of some kind at the time).
"Natural Disaster" by Pentatonix
This would probably be better suited to a thunderstorm than a mere rainy day, but it definitely needed to be here. You probably know Pentatonix at this point, but in case you don't, they're entirely acappella--without any instrumental accompaniment--unless they collaborate with someone. They do a lot of covers, putting their own spin on them and making it sound like we won't need instruments to make music ever again, but this is one of their original songs, and it's incredible. I love it when artists manage to make a song sound like what the song is about--in this case, a natural disaster--with just the way they sing and the emotion they put into the words, and they've managed to do just that.
"Manhattan" by Sara Bareilles
My love for Sara Bareilles is far from secret: "Gravity" was the obvious choice for the solo karaoke song everyone was pushing me to do when I went to my sorority's karaoke fundraiser, and I have long told my friends that I will actually pre-order Sara Bareilles' albums because I know I'll actually like all of the songs on them, rather than buying individual songs as they get stuck in my head I grow to like them.
The bluesy quality of Sara's voice paired with the piano and horns on this one makes it perfect for a rainy day, the kind one might experience in Manhattan. Or, you know... in Michigan. When it's gray for most of the year (which makes it totally fitting that the lyric video is in grayscale). In any case, this sets the mood so well: heartbreak now, but hope for the future. It's beautiful.
**Bonus!** "She Waits" by Louden Swain
I cried the first time I heard this song. Louden Swain's front man, Rob Benedict (of Supernatural fame) wrote it for--about?--his mom, because his father walked away from his family when Rob was young, and it devastated his mother. It's a story that's fairly well-known in the Supernatural fandom, especially by anyone who has been to a convention, but it's still one of the most emotional songs Rob and his band perform.
To be completely fair, I love this song in any weather (and there are some sunny-sounding Louden Swain songs, too), but the setting of this one, in my head, is a kind of old, gray, colorless house, which makes the feeling kind of match that of a gray, slushy, maybe-half-cold day: a bit tired, and even though it still has the potential for life, we're waiting to see it.
