Institute for Music and Health

Words: Arthur Freed; Music: Nacio Herb Brown (1929)

Lyrics

I’m singin’ in the rain,
Just singin’ in the rain.
What a glorious feeling:
I’m happy again!
I’m laughing at clouds
So dark above,
The sun’s in my heart
And I’m ready for love.

Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place.
Come on with the rain,
I’ve a smile on my face.
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain:
I’m singin’, just singin’,
In the rain!

Background

This is a now-iconic song about being happy regardless of if times are bad. With this in mind, it is interesting to note that it was composed just before the Great Depression.

This already-popular song became immortalized in the 1952 movie-musical of the same name. In the famous dance routine, in which Gene Kelly sings the title song while twirling an umbrella, splashing through puddles and getting soaked to the skin, Kelly was sick with a 103 °F fever at the time!

Performances

Here is the famous movie performance:

And here is a 1929 performance by the always fun Ukelele Ike (Cliff Edwards):