"Mandolin Rain" is the third track from ''

The Way It Is The Way It Is may refer to: Music * ''The Way It Is'' (Bruce Hornsby album), by Bruce Hornsby and the Range ** "The Way It Is" (Bruce Hornsby song), the title song * ''The Way It Is'' (Glenn Hughes album), or the title song * ''The Way It Is' ...

'', the debut album for

Bruce Hornsby and the Range Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

. The song was co-written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, and featured Range member

David Mansfield David Mansfield (born September 13, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Mansfield was raised in Leonia, New Jersey. His father, Newton Mansfield was a first violinist in the New York Philharmonic. David played guitar, pedal steel guita ...

on the title instrument.

Background

It appears to be partly inspired by the song "

You Don't Miss Your Water "You Don't Miss Your Water" is a soul song and the debut single written and recorded by American singer William Bell. It was released by Stax Records in 1961. It is Bell's signature song and best known recording. Overview The song was written ...

" by William Bell due to it employing the same hook (heard at the beginning of both songs), and by a similar swing feel (albeit with different chords). Co-writer of the song John Hornsby said the song is about missing someone badly. "...it’s about trying to pull through when so many things remind you of her – a tune, a ferry whistle, mainly a summer storm."

Charts

The song, released in late 1986, peaked at number four on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

in March 1987, following on the success of their previous single, the #1 hit and title track to their debut album, "

". It also reached number one on the

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart for three weeks, and number two on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for two weeks, also in early 1987. The song peaked at number 38 on the

country chart Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

References

External links

Bruce Hornsby Artist Biography
{{Bruce Hornsby 1986 singles Bruce Hornsby songs Songs written by Bruce Hornsby Songs written by John Hornsby RCA Records singles