| "Rain, Rain, Go Away" | |
|---|---|
 Lia Wallace Denslow's illustrations for a variant of "Rain Rain Go Away", from a 1901 edition of Mother Goose | |
| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | 17th century or earlier |
"Rain, Rain, Go Away" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19096.
There are few versions and variations of this rhyming couplet. The most common modern version is:
Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day. [1]
A further variation from the UK is:
Rain, rain, go away,
Come back another day.
Similar rhymes can be found in many societies, including ancient Greece and ancient Rome. [2] The modern English language rhyme can be dated to at least to the 17th century when James Howell in his collection of proverbs noted:
Rain rain go to Spain: fair weather come again. [1]
A version very similar to the modern version was noted by John Aubrey in 1687 as used by "little children" to "charm away the Rain...":
Rain Rain go away,
Come again on Saturday. [1]
A wide variety of alternatives have been recorded including: "Midsummer day", "washing day", "Christmas Day" and "Martha's wedding day". [1]
In the mid-19th century James Orchard Halliwell collected and published the version:
Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Little Arthur wants to play. [3]
In a book from the late 19th century, the lyrics are as follows:
Rain, Rain,
Go away;
Come again,
April day;
Little Johnny wants to play. [4]
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