My Fair Lady: The Rain In Spain
Rex Harrison Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Poor Professor Higgins!
Night and day
He slaves away!
Oh, poor Professor Higgins!
All day long
On his feet;
Up and down until he's numb;
Doesn't eat;
Doesn't touch a crumb!
Poor Professor Higgins!
Poor Professor Higgins!
On he plods
Against all odds;
Oh, poor Professor Higgins!
Nine p.m.
Ten p.m.
On through midnight every night.
One a.m.
Two a.m.
Three...!
Quit, Professor Higgins!
Quit, Professor Higgins!
Hear our plea
Or payday we
Will quit, Professor Higgins!
Ay not I,
O not Ow,
Pounding pounding in our brain.
Ay not I,
O not Ow,
Don't say "Rine," say "Rain"
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
By George, she's got it!
By George, she's got it!
Now, once again where does it rain?
On the plain! On the plain!
And where's that soggy plain?
In Spain! In Spain!
The three
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
In Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire...?
Hurricanes hardly happen.
How kind of you to let me come!
Now once again, where does it rain?
On the plain! On the plain!
And where's that blasted plain?
In Spain! In Spain!
The three
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
The song "Rain in Spain" is from the musical "My Fair Lady," which tells the story of a Cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle who is taken in by Professor Henry Higgins, a phonetics expert. In this song, the ensemble of characters are encouraging Professor Higgins to relax and take a break from his work. They try to help him improve his diction by teaching him the correct way to say "rain." Throughout the song, they repeat the phrase "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain," to help Higgins improve his pronunciation. Eliza is successful in transforming her accent, thanks to Higgins' efforts and becomes a lady of a higher class.
The repetition of the phrase "poor Professor Higgins" in the beginning highlights the strenuous work the professor puts in to educate Eliza's accent. He is portrayed as someone who is always working and never resting. The ensemble pleads with Higgins to take a break or they will quit. The catchy tune and the use of repetition reinforce the humor of the song while also highlighting the importance of proper diction.
Line by Line Meaning
Poor Professor Higgins!
We feel sorry for Professor Higgins because he's working tirelessly day and night.
Night and day
He works relentlessly without a break.
He slaves away!
He works very hard and exhaustively.
Oh, poor Professor Higgins!
We sympathize with Professor Higgins and his situation.
All day long
He works all the time, without any time for rest.
On his feet;
He works standing up all day long.
Up and down until he's numb;
He keeps moving around so much that he loses all feeling in his feet.
Doesn't rest;
He doesn't have any time for rest or relaxation.
Doesn't eat;
He forgets to eat or doesn't have time for it.
Doesn't touch a crumb!
He doesn't take even a small break for snacks or meals.
On he plods
He moves forward with determination, even when it's difficult.
Against all odds;
Despite the challenges he faces, he keeps working hard.
Nine p.m.
He works very late into the night, past normal working hours.
Ten p.m.
He continues to work late into the night.
On through midnight every night.
He works well past midnight every night, without any rest.
One a.m.
He continues working late into the night.
Two a.m.
He still has not stopped working, even in the early hours of the morning.
Three...!
He works continuously, even when others might sleep.
Quit, Professor Higgins!
We plead with Professor Higgins to stop working so hard and take a break.
Hear our plea
We want Professor Higgins to listen to us and take some rest.
Or payday we
If he doesn't stop working, it could affect his salary.
Will quit, Professor Higgins!
If he doesn't stop, we might have to quit our jobs working with him.
Ay not I,
I feel that it should be pronounced one way.
O not Ow,
When the word 'rain' is pronounced, it should not sound like 'rine.'
Pounding pounding in our brain.
The pronunciation of the word 'rain' is frustrating us.
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
The precipitation in Spain mostly falls in flat, low-lying areas.
By George, she's got it!
By George, she has finally got something right!
Now, once again where does it rain?
Where does it usually rain?
On the plain! On the plain!
In flat areas with little elevation.
And where's that soggy plain?
Where is the flat, wet region being referred to?
In Spain! In Spain!
It is located within the borders of Spain.
The three
The three people singing the song.
In Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire...?
Could this flat area be found in these places?
Hurricanes hardly happen.
The possibility of a hurricane hitting these regions is minimal.
How kind of you to let me come!
Thank you for having me as your guest!
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALAN JAY LERNER, FREDERICK LOEWE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Tangent_Pixel
It took me 25 years to realize they were talking about plains and not airplanes
@MeggieTheWerewolf
They .... are....?
@missdragon5892
@@RenaissanceEarCandy Plain as in an area of land.
@Namastephie
Renaissance Ear-Candy lol, the only difference between an airplane and an aeroplane is spelling. Not to mention that either spelling makes no sense. @tangent is cute and funny because she probably was young when she first heard it. But when people correct others and they are wrong ...🤦🏼♀️ It’s plaines
@missdragon5892
@@Namastephie No like plains as in the plains of africa, like an area of land.
@Namastephie
Miss Dragon 😂 I know what it means -years ago my 8th grade music class did a whole study on MFL. I was just pointing out to the other commenter that there is no difference in meaning of airplane and aeroplane as well as being wrong for thinking it’s about any kind of *plane
@hindsightpov4218
It’s not a coincidence when Henry stops lecturing Eliza to just say it properly and sincerely says that he believes in her that she was finally able to do it.
@anaussie213
Yep, and in fact a large part of teaching is having faith in your students ability to learn. He provided her the motivation to learn, and then the encouragement that she could succeed.
@silverkitty2503
she was inspired to do it ...she had put the work in ....and the work was paying off slowly...she needed inspiration and the LOVE of language
@ianashby6294
Classic movie