Songwriter: Roger Penzabene Norman Whitfield Barrett Strong

Producer: Luther Vandross

[Verse 1]
Sunshine, blue skies, please go away
My man has found another and gone astray
With him went my future, my life is filled with gloom
So day after day I stay locked up in my room
I know to you, it might sound strange but I wish it would rain

[Chorus]
Ooh yeah, yeah (Rain)
I wish it would rain (Rain)
Oh yes I do

[Verse 2]
Because so badly I, I want to go outside
But I know deep in my heart, that I shouldn't to cry
But I just got to cry, ooh yeah
Because crying eases my pain
To the world outside my tears I refuse to explain
Just wish it would rain

[Bridge]
(Rain, rain)
Uh-huh (Rain, rain)
Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain
(Rain, rain)
Oh (Oh), so bad (Oh)
So bad (Rain, thunder), thunder
(Uh-huh) Uh-huh, (Uh-huh), Uh-huh
(Uh) Uh, (Uh) Uh, (Uh) Uh, (Uh) Uh
Well, ooh well, oh well, oh well

[Verse 3]
Day in day out my tear-stained face
Stays pressed against the window pain
My eyes search the skies desperately for rain
Because raindrops will hide my teardrops
No one will ever know that I'm crying, crying
This hurt I feel inside, words could never explain
Oh, I wish it would rain

[Outro]
(Rain) I wish it would rain (Rain, rain)
You're walking all over, walking all over my heart, boy
I wish it would rain
Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain all over the world, baby
Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain, let it rain
All over the world
I just wonder why you wanna be so cold with me, ah baby
Why you, why you, why you wanna be so hard with me? Ooh boy...

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known simply by her first Aretha. She is the reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” with a legacy that spans five decades. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Aretha began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklin’s church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Aretha embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records with modest success.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, she released a steady string of US top ten hits through 1973 including “Spanish Harlem”, “Chain Of Fools”, “Baby I Love You”, “Since You’ve Been Gone”, “Daydreaming”, “The House That Jack Built”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", ”Think“ and her first chart-topper “Respect” – a song that also won Aretha her first of 18 Grammys. During this time, several of her songs were also successful overseas.

By the mid-70s, Aretha’s commercial success waned and she left Atlantic for Clive Davis' Arista Records in 1980. Her 1982 song “Jump to It,” returned her to the top 40 for the first time in six years. 1985’s Who’s Zoomin' Who? got her back into the top 10 twice with its title track and “Freeway Of Love”. Four more songs reached the top 40 through 1986.