1983 · Behind the Songs
The saddest hit of the synth era — rain as a metaphor for a dying love.
Talking about the weather
For the third single from Touch (1983), Eurythmics reached for something grander than synthesizers alone. “Here Comes the Rain Again” pairs Lennox’s aching vocal with a full orchestral arrangement, turning a simple metaphor — rain falling like a memory — into one of the most dramatic singles of the synth-pop era. The song is about watching a relationship dissolve; the weather just gives the sadness a shape.
Charts and legacy
Released in late 1983, the single reached No. 8 in the UK and No. 4 in the US, becoming the duo’s biggest American hit to that point. It proved Eurythmics could do sweeping emotion as well as cool detachment, and it remains one of Lennox’s most beloved vocal performances.
What to listen for
The strings: they enter gradually and then take over, giving the song a cinematic weight no drum machine could provide. And Lennox’s voice at its most vulnerable — the cool mask of “Sweet Dreams” completely gone.