Rain is an important step in the water cycle and the first step for proper water management of landscape irrigation. For those living in warm dry regions it is hard to imagine growing crops or landscapes with just the rain water harvested from your geographic area. According to the EPA, nationwide, landscape irrigation accounts for nearly one-third of all residential water use, totaling nearly 9 billion gallons per day. The water used for this irrigation often comes from rain water, or snow melt, falling outside the geographic location. For example seven western states rely heavily on Colorado river water to supply water to 40 million people. Between 85 and 90 percent of the Colorado river discharge originates in Colorado and Wyoming as snow (frozen rain) melt. Water management is largely how we transport and store the water.
Summer time is just around the corner and that means many of you will be loading up the car, the kids and the dog and heading out for summer vacation. One thing you don’t want to forget is your mix tape. A few weeks ago when I was putting together my presentation for the Community Associations Institute in Los Angeles, where they understand the value of edutainment, they asked me to assemble a sound track of songs about rain since rain is desperately needed in Southern California. So I thought I would share with all of you my top 10 songs about rain because we know how beautiful and necessary the summer rain can be. For all of you who believe a collective of minds thinking the same thought can move mountains, I figure a little rain dance can’t hurt. Please enjoy my list of the top 10 songs about rain.
1. Riders On The Storm – The Doors – The DJs in Phoenix where I grew up couldn’t play this song enough during the summer monsoon season. Maybe the Doors performed this song to describe the randomness of life, but for me it means big thunderstorms with lots of lightning and rain.
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2. Here Comes The Rain Again – Eurythmics – From 1984 you get the sound of synthesized rain and a lesson in love at the same time. That is a hard combination to beat.
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3. Fire And Rain – James Taylor – We are hoping we see rain again and James Taylor makes a point of telling us life is full of ups and downs. I like to interrupt this as – we are either going into a drought or coming out of a drought.
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4. It Never Rains In Southern California – Albert Hammond – Can you tell me one other song by Albert Hammond? Bet you know this one, but I don’t think the song was a self fulfilling prophecy for Albert.
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5. Rain On Me – Cyndi Lauper – This girl wants to have fun and she likes the rain too?
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6. Right As Rain – Adele – This song is not really about rain, but it does have rain in the title and who doesn’t like Adele. Maybe she gave up on love in this song but she can sure sing.
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7. Have You Ever Seen The Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival – I have seen the rain come down on a sunny day, who hasn’t? Right now I’ll take any rain I can get sunny day or cloudy, just send us some rain.
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8. Let It Rain – Eric Clapton – What I’m learning is many of the songs featuring rain are not happy. In this song you learn what rain sounds like played on the piano by Leon Russell and this song is really one of Clapton’s best songs ever.
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9. No Rain – Blind Melon – “I like watchin’ the puddles gather rain”. That was enough for me for this song to make the top 10 list. The video with the bumble bee costume, I am not so sure about. Let me know what you think.
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10. I Wish It Would Rain – The Temptations – No it doesn’t seem strange to me that we wish it would rain. In 1968 Motown’s flagship act gets into the rain act.
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That’s my list. Please let me know if you have some favorites I missed, and here’s to a summer of beautiful, useable rain.
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