"It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'" or "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" is a

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

first recorded in 1923 by "The Red-Headed Music Maker," the singer and instrumentalist

Wendell Hall Wendell Woods Hall (August 23, 1896 – April 2, 1969) was an American country singer, vaudeville artist, songwriter, pioneer radio performer, Victor recording artist, and ukulele player. Biography Hall was known as the Red-haired Music Maker ...

(1896–1969). Ukulele arrangement on the song was by

May Singhi Breen May Singhi Breen (née May W. Singhi; February 24, 1891, New York City – 19 December 1970, New York City) was an American composer, arranger, and Ukulele, ukulelist, who became known as "The Original Ukulele Lady". Her work in the music publish ...

. The recording was a hit in the US and also in Britain, where it was sung during the

1925 FA Cup final The 1925 FA Cup final was an association football match contested by Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United and Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City on 25 April 1925 at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium in London, England. The final was the s ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

supporters, making it a popular football song of the era. This song is an example of the folk tradition of transmission with local variants. Antecedents from the 19th century are known.

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg w ...

suggested that the song goes back at least to the 1870s, and includes verses in his ''American Songbag'' (1927). By the 1920s, many variants were already extant in popular culture. Hall most likely codified what already existed and added original verses. His recording sold in excess of two million copies. The song may be somewhat familiar to modern listeners because of its use in a number of films, especially vintage animated cartoons, typically in the form of a brief vocal refrain, or as an instrumental musical comment. It is featured at the end of a 1930 Pathé Studios cartoon titled ''Noah Knew His Ark'', and part of it is sung in '' The Plumber'', a 1933

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit, Oswald Rabbit, and Ozzie) is an animated series, animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short film ...

cartoon. This tradition has continued into modern times: a part of the song was sung in the 2014 film ''

Against the Sun ''Against the Sun'' is a 2014 American survival drama film. Based on a true story from World War II, the film was written, produced, and directed by Brian Falk and starred Garret Dillahunt, Tom Felton, and Jake Abel. The film was released via ...

'' and was also featured over the end credits. In 1991, Greg & Steve recorded the song, along with "

Rain Rain Go Away "Rain, Rain, Go Away" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19096 and many different variations of it have been recorded. Lyrics and melody There are several versions and variations of this rhymin ...

", for their album ''Playing Favorites''. In 2019, the song entered the public domain in the United States, and in 2024 sound recordings from 1923 of the song entered the public domain.

References

1923 songs 1924 singles {{1920s-song-stub