Track 5: "Break in the Rain"

Podcast

Sep 22

Welcome to I Owe You an Explication, I’m your host, Sean Della Croce and today we’re discussing the song “Break in the Rain”.

Stream Illuminations here: https://ffm.to/qqk1jjd

Cover Image by Alex Crawford

All songs written and recorded by Sean Della Croce

Produced by Alan Deremo

What this Song is About

I grew up in a 200 year old log home right outside of Nashville, Tennessee. This is going to sound cheesy because it is, but our house was right on the county line—as far out of town as you could be without actually being out of town. When I was growing up I used to imagine who might have lived in the house before us. We knew the "back room" had once been used for storing and drying tobacco (at least that's what I remember being told), and I always imagined that that room held some stories. I spent hundreds of hours playing in the creek by our house, and sometimes when it rained, Poplar Creek would flood and rise up into the yard like something out of Bridge to Terabithia. We moved out of that house when I was a young teenager, but I never stopped thinking about it.

"Break in the Rain" is this: The narrator is the person who first lived in that house all of those years ago. She is sitting in a rocking chair (of course) lamenting. She reflects on everything that has changed in her life and all that modernity has taken from her. And at some point she becomes so forlorn that she imagines rocking that chair right off the porch, faceplanting into the ground and being washed away by a rising tide. I see how that can sound depressing, but for my money, it feels sort of liberating—like a change of perspective. Grounding…literally.

The Lyrical Crux

A few people have pointed out the sort of religious undertones in this song. I can see that, but it wasn't particularly intentional, and I am not coming from any specific point of view with this. To a certain extent it might be an affectation of being raised on country music, but I really think it's just the way this song was meant to emerge. It's just the form "Break in the Rain" was supposed to take when it entered the world.

To the extent that this song is about a forced goodbye or grief, I think my favorite line is this "I've got these two feet but damn them/a broken heart can't beat worth living". Loss is so often a physical phenomenon in our bodies. In her book The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion points out a tendency among the bereaved to sigh. This song is that sigh. It is trying to answer that question: how can one keep living with a broken heart? It's a real toe-tapper.

Music Notes

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the contribution of Vince Gill on this song. He's a tremendous figure in country music, and a creative hero of mine. I must admit, I grew up around Vince. My mother has been his publicist for nearly 30 years and some of my earliest memories are of standing side-stage at his concerts. I am in love with his voice. And I deeply respect the fearlessness and honesty that he brings to his lyrics. So when we recorded this song, he was the first person I thought of. I'll let his performance speak for itself.

I must also note that Greg Leisz lends an incredible performance on the Weissenborn guitar—It kicks off the song, and his solo is breathtaking.

Closing Reflections

When I really think about it, this song emerged from SENTIMENTALITY and to me, by the end, that resolves into SURRENDER. The whole chorus is about being too tired to put one foot in front of the other. It's about being fed up and finally deciding to let go. For some context, I've seen a lot of change in my hometown over the last 20 years. Some of it is good and some if it is really bad. When I go to drive by my grandfather's old house or the place where my dad lived while I was in high school, they have just been wiped off the map—Replaced by some horrible tall and skinny, overpriced, inaccessible mcmansion townhomes. The only thing that remains the same is the ground where they stood. It's a shame, and it drives people out of neighborhoods that they once called home. For a sentimental sap like me, that's hard to take. It makes me want to jump in a creek and wash away to some other place.