Neil Finn told Performing Musician magazine: "The theme of the song is, of course, that you are creating your own weather, you are making your own environment, always." (Source Weather With You Songfacts).
Weather With You
Crowded House Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At Fifty Seven Mount Pleasant Street
Well, it's the same room, but everything's different
You can fight the sleep, but not the dream
Things ain't cookin' in my kitchen
Strange affliction wash over me
Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire
Well, there's a small boat made of china
It's going nowhere on the mantelpiece
Well, do I lie like a lounge-room lizard
Or do I sing like a bird released?
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, you always take the weather
Everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather, the weather with you
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, you always take the weather
Everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, you always take the weather
You take the weather, the weather with you
(Everywhere you go)
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, you always take the weather
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go, you always take the weather
Take the weather, the weather with you
Crowded House's "Weather With You" reflects on the modern human experience of feeling both grounded in one's surroundings and lost in one's thoughts. The song begins with the singer singing about walking around a familiar room while humming "Stormy Weather." Everything remains the same in the familiar space, but the singer feels different, unsure, and anxious. He notes that you can fight to stay awake, but you cannot resist your dreams. The nostalgic first verse sets the stage for the rest of the song.
The second verse highlights the singer's dissatisfaction with his present circumstances. He feels that something is wrong, that there is a "strange affliction wash[ing] over me." To illustrate the depths of his despair, he invokes Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire, saying that even they couldn't conquer the blue sky. The third section of the song shifts to the image of a small boat made of china on a mantelpiece. This fragile item is going nowhere and represents the singer's feelings of futility and aimlessness. The section ends with the question of whether he should continue to pretend ("lie like a lounge-room lizard") or finally express himself ("sing like a bird released?").
Ultimately, the chorus of "Weather With You" is a call to take control of one's mood and mindset by taking the weather with you wherever you go. By doing so, the singer suggests that you can ground yourself in your surroundings and create an emotional home for yourself.
* Interestingly, this song features a cameo from the New Zealand-born actor Sam Neill, who recites the line "you better look out below" during the instrumental break.
* "Weather With You" was nominated for APRA Song of the Year in 1991.
* The song was released in the U.K. and Australia as a double A-side with "Sister Madly."
* This song also features on the soundtrack of the 2005 romantic comedy, "The Wedding Date," starring Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney.
* "Weather With You" reached No. 7 on the U.K. Singles Chart and No. 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
* This song is also featured in the game "SingStar" as one of the available songs.
* Crowded House performed this song on top of a London double-decker bus as part of an impromptu set during the Notting Hill Carnival in 1996.
* The lyrics of the song talk about a fictitious street called "57 Mount Pleasant Street."
* This song was written by the lead singer of Crowded House, Neil Finn, and the band's keyboardist, Paul Hester.
* In 2018, Neil Finn released a reworked version of the song with his son Liam Finn.
Chords: G, C, Em, D (Verse) G, C, Em, D, C (Chorus)
Line by Line Meaning
Walking 'round the room singing Stormy Weather
I am wandering aimlessly while singing a sad song about difficult times
At Fifty Seven Mount Pleasant Street
I am in a specific location, representing the stability in my life despite the turmoil I feel inside
Well, it's the same room, but everything's different
Although the room is unchanged, my perspective is altered by my emotional state
You can fight the sleep, but not the dream
I can resist resting, but I cannot control the visions and thoughts that come to me when I sleep
Things ain't cookin' in my kitchen
My life is chaotic and disordered
Strange affliction wash over me
A bizarre, troubling feeling has overtaken me
Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire
Even the most powerful forces in history are powerless to control nature
Couldn't conquer the blue sky
The sky, a symbol of the natural world, is immutable and beyond human control
Well, there's a small boat made of china
There is a delicate object that seems fragile and out of place in my surroundings
It's going nowhere on the mantelpiece
The object lacks purpose or utility, and simply sits there without direction
Well, do I lie like a lounge-room lizard
Am I passive and idle, like a reptile basking in the sun?
Or do I sing like a bird released?
Or am I free and expressive, like a bird that has been set free?
Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you
No matter where you are, your emotional state is always with you
Everywhere you go, you always take the weather
No matter where you are, your emotional state accompanies you
You take the weather, the weather with you
You carry your internal state with you, wherever you go
(Everywhere you go)
This refrain emphasizes the idea that emotional states are universal and unavoidable
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, MUSHROOM MUSIC PTY LTD
Written by: Neil Mullane Finn, Brian Timothy Finn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jagpriddle
Walking 'round the room singin' Stormy Weather
At Fifty Seven Mount Pleasant Street
Well it's the same room
But everything's different
You can fight the sleep
But not the dream
[Verse 2]
Things ain't cookin' in my kitchen
Strange affliction wash over me
Julius Caesar
And the Roman Empire
Couldn't conquer the blue sky
[Verse 3]
Well, there's a small boat made of china
It's going nowhere on the mantlepiece
Well, do I lie like a lounge-room lizard
Or do I sing like a bird released?
[Chorus]
Everywhere you go
Always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go
Always take the weather
Everywhere you go
You always take the weather with you
Everywhere you go
Always take the weather
The weather with you
@neelghai
If you are watching this classic in 2024, then just remember, you have got this and that you are a Legend❗☺💯
@sherrymorris8628
The are legends not I ❤
@tiedupsmurf
These were great days
@maraiyajhonson276
So excited they are coming to New Zealand in March next year 2021 🤘🏽
@jammydodger5253
Ahahaha
@elicarson483
No you are
@mucy2807
I am a 52 yr old bloke in the UK and I heard this loads on the radio in 1992, I think when it came out..I was 21 and had my whole life ahead of me. And while I worked on a mushroom farm in Suffolk Uk with an amazing woman, Rita. What I would give to go back and tell her. This song remind me of why you shouldn’t waste chances. Thanks Crowded House. Night all.
@kimspanswick883
No Regrets
Just Remember wot a Good time 😍
@dannycostello1978
I hear you.
@eulaniak.5499
Me to