#13: Creedence Clearwater Revival: Who’ll Stop the Rain:1969
Credence Clearwater Revival’s Who’ll Stop the Rain is pretty much in the front of my mind just now. Frontman, John Fogerty, wrote the song after going to Woodstock in August 1969. Fogerty’s songs often have a bit of a protest theme and many of them also use weather and natural events to bring home a message. We will visit a number of them during the course of this blog. But today, it’s about rain; Fogerty’s songs Who’ll Stop the Rain and Have you ever seen Rain are buzzing around in my head.
Yesterday I flew interstate; it had been a while coming what with covid restrictions and all; but yesterday was the day. Travelling by plane from where I live is a bit of an experience in itself. Firstly there is the trip to the bus station, then the 2 1/2 hour bus ride to the airport, then there is the time one has to allow for check ins and security and sometimes bus times and flight times don’t sync too well, so I have accepted it will take the best part of a day to get from my home to the home of either of my two adult off spring who actually live in the same country as I. Yesterday things were going pretty well. It was a 5.00am start but before 1.00pm, I would be being collected by my son; all good!
The flight was a bit late, there was lots of cloud to fly through and there would be showers in Sydney we were told as the plane began its descent. On landing everyone had to disembark through the front door as to exit via the back door, down those metal steps, and walk to the terminal was risky due to the light rain. But now I am in the terminal, I ring my son and tell him, I just have to collect my port and then I will be on my way to the Express Pick-up point.
But then it happens; the heavens open and it pours and pours! The ground staff cannot unload any luggage until the storm passes and all flights are grounded. Passengers off flights from several locations stand or sit around; all masked up and nowhere to go while it pours and pours outside for another 2 1/2 hours. It is fortunate I love observing people; there was much to observe and lots of time to do so.
My son sends me video clips of his street turning into a raging torrent, of parked cars being engulfed by flood waters, of the Police arriving and tow trucks turning around because the water is now too deep for them to be able to help and still it pours; who’ll stop the rain?
The storm passes, it is now safe for the ground staff to go outside and our luggage begins to arrive. I walk to our pick up point! AHHH, now I can relax!
Then there is the phone call. Roads to the airport are flooded and traffic is gridlocked all over; my son is going nowhere. Can’t take a taxi or an Uber as they will have the same problem; so it is back to the terminus to catch a train into the city, to then change trains and go back out on another line.
On Monday, the day before, all the trains and light rail went on strike, today they were back but working on a reduced time table. This just meant I had to wait around for a bit to make the connections.
Almost there! I ring my son again. He has to collect the children from day care and he can’t drive as traffic is still crazy and gridlocked; he has to walk there and walk the children home, that will take some time. I go to my little AirBnB apartment! It is well over 12 hours since I left home and it occurs to me that under normal circumstances it would have taken less time to drive here!
Never mind, all’s well that ends well and I did get to see all my precious people here and have lovely, long, hugs with my beautiful grandchildren, their very wonderful mum and my dear son. As I write this it is raining again, quite heavily, and rain is forecast for the duration of my stay and you know what? There is absolutely nothing that can be done about that!
Fogerty’s song uses rain as a metaphor for the problems faced by all of humanity throughout all of time. He notes that even good and wise people cannot stop the problems, he notes that politicians and those in power cannot stop the problems and often actually create them for those of less power and finally he makes a reference to the heavy rain that fell at Woodstock. Although the rain was drenching, it could not stop the concert goers from dancing and enjoying the music.
And perhaps that is the lesson; we are totally ineffective at being able to stop the rain but we can still sing and dance to the music even in the rain. So that is exactly what I intend to do this week because being with people I love cannot be dampened by a bit of rain.
Way leads onto Way 