Why Does It Always Rain on Me?

"Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" is a song by Scottish band Travis, released as the third single from their second studio album, The Man Who. The song became the group's international breakthrough single, receiving recognition around the world. It was their first top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number ten in August 1999. The song also peaked within the top twenty in Australia and achieved moderate success in mainland Europe, North America, Ireland and New Zealand.

"Why Does It Always Rain on Me?"
Single by Travis
from the album The Man Who
Released	2 August 1999
Recorded	1999
Studio	Abbey Road Studios (London, England) Chateau de la Rouge Motte (Domfront, France)
Genre	Post-Britpop[1]
Length	4:25 (album version) 3:14 (radio edit)
Label	Independiente
Songwriter(s)	Fran Healy
Producer(s)	Nigel Godrich
Travis singles chronology
"Driftwood" (1999) "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (1999) "Turn" (1999)

Fran Healy wrote the song while on holiday in Israel. He wanted to go somewhere sunny because in his hometown of Glasgow, Scotland it rained all the time. In an interview at the Live 8 concert, he explained that he was spending a short holiday in the southern vacation city of Eilat, Israel in the middle of the winter.[2] The city is known for its hot weather even during winter time, but surprisingly it began to rain for two days during his stay.

When Travis began to perform this song at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, after being sunny for several hours, it began to rain exactly when the first line was sung.[3]

In a poll by listeners of Absolute Radio the song was ranked 39th on a list of the top 100 songs of the 1990s.

Music video

The music video was directed by John Hardwick and filmed in Cornwall, with scenes filmed on Craddock Moor. The pool of water that the band jump into is part of a disused mining quarry known locally as "Gold Digger's Mine". The video features the band in a rain-soaked setting, with the band having locked frontman Healy, wearing a kilt, in the trunk of a 1970s Vauxhall Viva. Healy escapes, and chases the rest of the band into a disused mining quarry. The video continues with the band being shown in a floating living room, performing the song. The video ends with the living room floating away. It does not actually rain at any point during the video.

The underwater scenes were filmed by underwater cinematographer Mark Silk, in the tank at Oceanic SW Limited, Honiton, Devon. (The company went into administration in January 2019).

Track listing

UK CD1

1. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" – 4:27
2. "Village Man" – 3:18
3. "Driftwood" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) – 4:07

UK CD2

1. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" – 4:27
2. "The Urge for Going" – 6:04
3. "Slide Show" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) – 3:15

7" vinyl / Cassette / European single

1. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" – 4:27
2. "Village Man" – 3:18

American EP

1. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" – 4:27
2. "Village Man" - 3:18
3. "The Urge for Going" – 6:04
4. "Driftwood" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) – 4:07
5. "Slide Show" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) – 3:15

Australian single

1. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" – 4:27
2. "Village Man" – 3:18
3. "Driftwood" (live at the Link Café, Glasgow) – 4:07
4. "Baby One More Time" (live at the Bay Tavern, Robin Hood's Bay) – 3:30
5. "Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (video)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[4] 11 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[5] 15 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[6] 57 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] 18 Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 56 Ireland (IRMA)[9] 26 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 73 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 20 Poland (LP3)[12] 20 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[13] 4 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 87 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 10 UK Rock and Metal (Official Charts Company)[16] 1 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[17] 36 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[18] 35

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Australia (ARIA)[19] 81 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[20] Gold 35,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 200,000 ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. Blyweiss, Adam; Terich, Jeff; Whitacre, Wesley (22 March 2018). "10 Essential Post-Britpop tracks". Treble Zine. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
2. "Why Does It Always Rain On Me? by Travis Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
3. "Festival fun survives crime rise - BBC News Glastonbury 1999 Special Report". bbc.co.uk. 26 June 1999.
4. "Australian-charts.com – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
5. "Ultratop.be – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
6. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 7288." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
7. "Travis: Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
11. "Charts.nz – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
12. "Notowanie nr937" (in Polish). LP3. 14 January 2000. Retrieved 8 March 2019. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
14. "Swisscharts.com – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me?". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
16. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
17. "Travis Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
18. "Travis Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
19. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2000". ARIA. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
20. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
21. "British single certifications – Travis – Why Does It Always Rain on Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 August 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Why Does It Always Rain on Me in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.