Though her recording career had begun in the late 1970s with her eponymous debut album, it was with 1990's I Fell in Love that Carter's career really took off, with the album and title song topping the US country albums and singles charts, respectively. The album, which featured straight-ahead, retro-sounding country (her prior work had combined country, rock and roll and pop sounds), was among the first successes of the 1990s "neotraditionalist" movement in country. 1993's Little Love Letters featured the hit "Every Little Thing", which was accompanied by one of the top-rated music videos of the year.
Carter's winning stream ended with 1995's Little Acts of Treason, which, while critically well received, failed to achieve the commercial success of the Carter's two previous releases.
She also found limited amounts of fame with the song "It takes one to know me", which was released on the albums "Johnny Cash the Legend" and "Johnny and June duets". Originally recorded in 1977 with a full string backing group, it was lost in a tape collection in Hendersonville and uncovered in 2003. It was then remastered by her brother John Carter Cash. In the remastered version, John added his and his wife Laura's backing vocals and a guest appearance from Carlene herself - more than 35 years after she wrote and recorded the song.
She was played by Victoria Hester in the movie Walk the Line.
The track 'Every Little Thing' is also featured in the pinball machine 'Red and Ted's Road Show' released by Williams Electronic Games in 1994. Carter also does the voice of one of the main characters in the pinball game
The Rain
Carlene Carter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Has it been dear
Since we felt the rain
Endless were our summers
Until the weather changed
Our love was lifted like a harvest
No winter in your eyes
Now cold winds cut Right through us
Stranded and lost without you
My pain lives in this house
It's like your heart here
Empty and cold dear
My wild birds flying south
I know that you can hear me
Crying
Where did I
Go wrong
What brought this storm
Into your heart
After loving me so long
Someday
Maybe you'll blame
All this on the rain
But until then
Love's the one thing
I'll never feel again
And after all my tears have
Drowned me
And nothing else
Remains
I'll be one step short of heaven
Seeking shelter from the rain
Someday
Maybe you'll blame
All this on the rain
But until then
Love's the one thing
I'll never feel again
Carlene Carter's "The Rain" is a poignant ballad that speaks of heartbreak and the changing seasons of love. The song's opening lines are melancholic as the singer asks her lover when they last felt the rain. The line could be interpreted as a metaphor for the loss of emotion, leading to a dry and barren landscape. The following lines describe how the couple's love was abundant and bountiful, "like a harvest," but now the "cold winds" of change have frozen the landscape, and the harvest has died.
The next verse continues the theme of a barren landscape as the singer describes feeling "stranded and lost" without her lover. She continues to paint a bleak picture, comparing her heart to a deserted and empty house. The use of wild birds flying south creates a melancholic tone, synonymous with the dying of summer and the passing of time. The final verse sees the singer lamenting the loss of love, and the possible reasons for its demise. The line "someday maybe you'll blame all this on the rain" implies that the singer is not quite sure why her lover has left her but is searching for answers. The final line of the song is hopeful yet tragic, as she seeks shelter from the rain but is still one step short of heaven.
Line by Line Meaning
How long
Asking about the duration since the last time they experienced rain
Has it been dear
Addressing the person she is singing to as dear and continuing the inquiry about the period of drought
Since we felt the rain
Repeating the question and emphasizing the absence of rain that they have been feeling
Endless were our summers
Recalling how their summers used to be endless, with no rain or winter to interrupt
Until the weather changed
Noting that the weather then changed and is possibly the reason for their separation
Our love was lifted like a harvest
Metaphorically describes their love as a harvest that was uplifted and thriving before the weather changed
No winter in your eyes
Not seeing the coldness and detachment in the eyes of the person she is singing to prior to their separation
Now cold winds cut Right through us
Feeling the coldness in their relationship and how it has affected both of them
And so the harvest dies
Metaphorically describing the death of their love as the death of the thriving harvest due to the change in weather
Stranded and lost without you
Feeling lost and alone without the person she is singing to
My pain lives in this house
Emphasizing how the pain from their separation is felt in their shared home
It's like your heart here
Comparing the emptiness felt in the house to the emptiness in the heart of the person she is singing to
Empty and cold dear
Describing the emptiness and coldness felt in the heart of the person she is singing to
My wild birds flying south
Metaphor referencing the migratory behavior of birds, to convey how their love has flown and disappeared like the wild birds flying in a southerly direction
I know that you can hear me
Believing that the person she is singing to can listen to her despite the separation
Crying
Expressing the emotion of weeping over the lost love
Where did I
Questioning where they went wrong in their relationship
Go wrong
Continuing the inquiry on what went wrong in their relationship
What brought this storm
Asking what caused the storm that brought an end to their relationship
Into your heart
Asking what happened that caused the person she is singing to to close off their heart to her
After loving me so long
Questioning how the person she is singing to was able to shut her out of their life after they had been together for so long
Someday
Expressing hope that someday they will be able to reconcile
Maybe you'll blame
Speculating that the person she is singing to will blame the separation on the rain
All this on the rain
Reiterating how the rain could be the cause of their separation
But until then
Acknowledging that until then, they will remain separated
Love's the one thing
Declaring that love is the one thing she would never feel again
I'll never feel again
Emphasizing how she will never be able to feel love again
And after all my tears have
Conjuring up the image of the person she is singing to drowning in her tears after everything is gone
Drowned me
Visualizing how she has drowned in her tears
And nothing else
Stating that there is nothing left in her life other than the tears she's cried and the pain she's felt
Remains
Elaborating on how all that is left in her life is her pain
I'll be one step short of heaven
Expressing the struggles that she has faced and the hope she still has
Seeking shelter from the rain
Metaphor referring to how she will find shelter from the rain, a metaphor for her pain and struggles
Someday
Reiterating her hope that someday they will be able to reconcile
Maybe you'll blame
Once again, suggesting that the person she is singing to may eventually blame the rain for their separation
All this on the rain
Tying the whole song together by bringing the focus back on the rain, possibly as the cause of all their problems
But until then
Suggesting that until they can figure out what went wrong, they will remain separated
Love's the one thing
Reiterating that love is the one thing she will not be able to feel again
I'll never feel again
Concluding that she will never be able to feel love again
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PAUL JR. SCOTT, DOUGLAS SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind