It Ain't Gonna Rain No More

Wendall Hall

Old-time; bluegrass breakdown, very widely known

ARTIST: Lyrics assembled and arranged by Wendall Hall and Fred Forster

Listen to: Paramount # 20305-A 5102 Al Bernard acc. on uke by Frank Ferera Nov. 1923

Listen to: Wendell Hall w/uke 1923

CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes

EARLIEST DATE: 1911 Odum; 1922 Brown; 1923 (recording by Hall)

RECORDING INFO “Aint Gonna Rain No Mo”: 3. Solomon, Jack & Olivia (eds.) / Sweet Bunch of Daisies, Colonial Press, Bk (1991), p175 [1938] (It Ain't Gonna/Gonner Rain No More) 4. Sandburg, Carl / American Songbag, Harcourt Brace Jovan..., Sof (1955/1928), p141 5. Scott, John Anthony (ed.) / Ballad of America, Grosset & Dunlap, Bk (1967), p212 (T'ain't Gonna Rain (No More)) 6. Visconti, Carl (ed.) / Paint Creek Folklore Society Song Tune Book, Paint Creek, Sof (1986), p 1 (It Ain't Gonna/Gonner Rain No More) 7. Fields, Arthur; & Fred Hall (eds.) / 50 Favorite "Get Together" Songs, Piedmont Music, sof (1933), #29 (It Ain't Gonna/Gonner Rain No More) 8. Home Spun Songs, Treasure Chest, Sof (1935), p43 9. Brand, Oscar. Absolute Nonsense, Riverside RLP 12-825, LP (195?), trk# B.09 10. Brehm, Louise. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., University of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p370/#557 [1935/07/07] 11. Cannon, Gus. Walk Right In, Stax SCD-8603-2, CD (1999), trk# 8 [1963/06/10] 12. Gaster, Marvin. Uncle Henry's Favorites, Rounder 0382, CD (1996), trk# 9 (It Ain't Gonna/Gonner Rain No More) 13. Golden Gate Quartet. Folk Music Radio, Radiola MR 1133, LP (1982), trk# B.02 14. Hall, Wendall. Minstrels and Tunesmiths, JEMF 109, LP (1981), trk# B.09 [1923/10/12] (It Ain't Goin' to Rain No More) 15. Howard, Clint; and Fred Price. Ballad of Finley Preston, Rounder 0009, LP (1972), trk# 4 16. Lipscomb, Mance. Garwood, Donald / Masters of Instrumental Blues Guitar, Oak, Fol (1967), p54 17. Lipscomb, Mance. Texas Sharecropper and Songster, Arhoolie F 1001, LP (1961), trk# A.06 [1960] 18. Parish, Roscoe. Old-Time Tunes from Coal Creek, Heritage (Galax) 005, LP (1975/field), trk# 4 [1970s?] 19. Snipes, John. Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina and Virginia, Smithsonian SF 40079, CD (1998), trk# 15 20. Thompson, Joe. Family Tradition, Rounder 2161, CD (1999), trk# 2 (It Ain't Gonna/Gonner Rain No More) 21. Unidentified Group of Eight Girls. Alabama. From Lullabies to the Blues, Rounder 1829-2, CD (2001), trk# 21 [1934/10ca]

RELATED TO: Song of (the) States; Song of Song Titles

OTHER NAMES: There Ain’t No Bugs on Me; It Ain't Gonna Rain No More; "Ain't Got to Cry No More"

SOURCES: Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 226, "Ain't No Bugs on Me" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 244, "There Ain't No Bugs On Me" (1 text) Randolph 557, "Ain't Going to Rain No More" (1 short text, 1 tune); also perhaps 275, "The Crow Song" (the "D" fragment might be this piece); Randolph/Cohen, pp. 409-410, "Ain't Going to Rain No More" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 557); BrownIII 430, "Ain't Gonna Rain No More" (5 short texts); Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 107, "'Tain't Gwine Rain No Mo'" (1 text, 1 tune); also p. 108 (no title) (1 text; the chorus at least goes here though the verses may be from a rabbit-hunting song); Sandburg, p. 141, "Ain't Gonna Rain" (1 short text, 1 tune); Scott-BoA, pp. 212-213, "T'ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'" (1 text, 1 tune) Fuld-WFM, p. 307, "It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'"

NOTES: “It Ain't Gonna Rain No More” was part of the black string band repertoire (Thomas and Cage) and was a standard hillbilly song (Gid Tanner). The melody was adapted by Fiddlin’ John Carson for his rendition of “Ain’t No Bugs On Me.”

“A popular version of this piece was published in 1923 as by Wendell W. Hall. Even the cover, however, admits that it was an "old southern melody" -- and since we have traditional versions at least from 1925, there is little doubt that the song is traditional-RBW”

Here’s some information on Wendal Hall by Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide: Despite having sold more than two million copies of one of his records and having written several totally evergreen standards, it seems the most enduring historical legacy of this artist is a series of instruments named after him. In this sense, Wendell Hall is the Les Paul of ukuleles and the slightly louder ukulele banjo, because just as the guitar maestro who designed a popular electric guitar as his namesake, Hall was the designer of a series of sought-after, collector's item ukes and banjo ukes, the subject of brisk commerce on the internet decades after his death. And just as many guitarists strumming their Les Paul guitars don't fret about who Les Paul is, there are surely many crooners strumming prestige Wendell Hall ukuleles who are unaware of who the Hall is. The singer and strummer was known as both "the red-haired music maker" and the slightly more pungent "pineapple picador."

He had several decades of recording success in the '20s and '30s, performing a variety of pop and blues numbers while attracting attention with novelty songs. He also had a shoe, or perhaps we should say a barefoot, in the hillbilly patch and in terms of national hit records is reported to be the first "official" hillbilly, if there can be such a thing. His song "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" was considered a hillbilly release when it first was pressed in 1923, a distinction that has long since faded while the song itself has remained a classic standard.

This was the release that sold two million for Hall, but it was not his only successful recording by any means. He played the other side of the rain cloud with a release of "It Looks Like Rain," although public response indicated a preference for dryer climates. He recorded a cover version of "Big Rock Candy Mountain," and an "answer" song to Harry McClintock's "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" entitled "Who Said I Was a Bum?" He provided lyrical fodder for many a serviceman with "Show Me the Way to Go Home," and also drew attention collaborating with fellow official hillbilly Carson Robinson in a series of Stephan Foster platters, such as "Camptown Races" and "Oh Susanna." Hall also became involved in publishing instruction manuals and songs for ukulele early on in the game. His Ukulele Methods, published by Forster Music in 1925, was one of the first such manuals for the instrument to be commercially available. It came hot on the heels of Uke Songs published the year before by Jack Mills. Hall also recorded and performed on several other small stringed instruments, the mildly obscure tipple and the truly rare taropatch. He was featured on radio broadcasts over the NBC WHZ network in the '30s.

Here are the lyrics to “Ain’t Gonna Rain No More”

IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MO
Wendell Hall, 1923 Listen: MP3 Al Bernard acc. on uke by Frank Ferera  

1. Oh! the night was dark and dreary. The air was full of sleet.
The old man stood out in the storm. His shoes were full of feet.

CHORUS: Oh! it ain't gonna rain no mo', no mo'. It ain't gonna rain no mo',
But how in the world can the old folks tell it ain't a-gonna rain no mo'?

2. Oh! Mosquito he fly high. Mosquito he fly low.
If old man 'Skeeta light on me, he ain't gonna fly no mo'.

IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MO
Extra Verses - Repeat Chorus after Each Verse
By Wendell Hall

1. Oh, the butterfly flits on wings of gold, the June-bug wings of flame.
The bedbug has no wings at all, but he gets there just the same.

2. Oh, a bullfrog sittin' on a lily pad, lookin' up at the skies.
The lily pad broke and the frog fell in, got water all in his eyes.

3. Oh, a black and white animal out in the woods. 
Says, "Ain't that little cat pretty?"
I went right over to pick it up, but it wasn't that kind of a kitty.

4. Oh, a man lay down by a sewer, and by the sewer he died.
Now, at the coroner's re-quest, they called it sewer-side.

5. Here's a verse 'bout a man and a trombone. The words to it are few.
He blew, he blew, he blew, he blew, he blooey, blooey, blue.

6. Oh, I saw a sign in a hardware store: "Boy wanted, sixteen years."
Now, that's too long to wait for a boy. It brings eyes to my tears.

7. Possum up a 'simmon tree, rabbit on the ground.
Rabbit say: "You old son-of-a-gun, shake them 'simmons down."

8. Got a li'l ol' dog whose name is Jack. I wish they'd bring him back.
He chases the big hogs over the fence and the little ones through the crack.

9. Now, Mary had a little lamb. It had a sooty foot.
In little Mary's bread and jam, his sooty foot he put.

10. A peanut sittin' on a railroad track, its heart was all a-flutter.
The train came roarin' round a curve. Toot, toot! Peanut butter.

11. I know a Swedish waitress. Her maiden name was Schwartz.
Good gosh! the gal was homely like a dishpan full of warts.

12. The fox he has a bushy tail. The possum's tail is bare.
The rabbit has no tail at all, but only a tuft of hair.

13. Now, I sat down in the garden. A bee came buzzin' round,
So I stood up and let the bee sit where I sat down.

14. Oh, I've got a gal with big blue eyes and the sweetest ruby lips,
But she ain't got no more pepper than a garter snake has hips.

15. A bare-headed man, bewildered, says to me, "Where am I at?"
Now, I don't think that's what he meant. He meant, "Where is my hat?"

16. Got a redhead gal in Chicago. Got a letter from her today.
Here's what she said: "My hair was red, but now you've turned it gray."

17. Get away from my front window. Quit knockin' at my front door,
'Cause I've got another sweetie and I can't use you no mo'.

18. Oh, the air was full of raindrops and the street was full of hims.
They stood around like tree trunks a-lookin' at the limbs.

19. She was happy till she met him, then she left him all alone,
'Cause the big ox slipped and his trousers ripped and he broke his collarbone.

20. Oh, they tell me that a graveyard is a dawg-gone lonesome place.
They pull you down into a hole and throw mud in your face.

21. I'm headin' down toward the levee. I got me a rock and a rope.
Now, if those dawg-gone blues don't leave, gonna slip right off the slope.

22. Oh, the rain was rainin' pitchforks, poor old horse out in the wet.
I bought some corn and it wasn't long 'fore the horse had his cornet.

23. A bald-headed man in a restaurant said, "Waitress, my cocoa's cool."
The waitress yelled, "If your cocoa's cold, put on your hat, you fool!"

24. A redheaded music maker, I'm just a southern boy,
A wand'ring minstrel roamin' round, a-try'n' to spread joy.

IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MO
Wendell Hall's Own Latest 24 Verses
By Wendell Hall

1. Went o'er to Sally's house one night, but Sally wasn't in.
I sat down on a red-hot stove, but I got right up "agin."

2. A golf-ball sailing through the air whizzed by a man a-hummin'.
He heard a caddie holler "Fore!" and he thought three more were comin'.

3. When Mr. Noah built the ark, he said it was his duty.
He saved the birds and beasts and bugs, but why did he save the cootie?

4. "The way I tell the twins apart," the proud father said,
"I put my finger in Willie's mouth. If he bites it, then it's Ned."

5. Last night I sang this ditty. I'll sing it again tonight.
I'll look right out the window and sing with all my might.

6. When boating, never quarrel, for you'll find without a doubt,
A boat is not the proper place to have a falling-out.

7. "The chicken am a wonderful bird," the colored preacher said.
"We eats 'em both befo' they's born and after they is dead."

8. "The coffee is exhausted, sir," the diner was advised.
Says he, "It's been so weak of late, I'm really not surprised."

9. A boasting baby buffalo said to a guinea pig,
"I'm bigger when I'm little than you are when you're big."

10. He kissed his new gal on the cheek. It seemed a harmless frolic,
But he's been laid up for a week. He's had the painter's colic.

11. How do you sell your Limburger cheese?" the gentleman asked the grocer.
He answered, "That's what puzzles me, but really I don't know, sir."

12. I caught my Sugar blushing, at what do you suppose?
She saw a little garter snake beside the garden hose.

13. A rabbit raced a turtle. You know the turtle won,
And Mister Rabbit came in late, a little hot cross bun.

14. Got a gal up in the mountains. She's awfully shy and meek.
She always dresses in the dark because the mountain's peak.

15. I'm just a southern hop-toad, a traveling troubadour,
A fiddlin' fool just fiddlin' 'round, a-singing songs galore.

16. This city and a chorus girl are much alike, 'tis true.
This city's built with outskirts, and a chorus girl is, too.

17. My pal's girl wears silk socks. My girl she wears cotton.
His girl has a limousine. My girl, she's got nottin'.

18. Mary had a little Ford. She liked it very well.
She drove it into a telephone pole and now it looks like-rain.

19. I had a date last evening with the apple of my eye.
Oh, what a pair we two would make, my little peach and I!

20. A man stood by the river. He was tall and lean and slim.
He wasn't tryin' to catch fish, just teachin' the worm to swim.

21. They talk about radio frequency, but it's all way over my head.
I guess a fellow's a frequent fan when he takes his set to bed.

22. I know what is a mousetrap. A fox trap's not new to me,
But I don't know what's a wave trap. Goin' down to a pier to see.

23. Now, I may be a poor weather prophet when sunshine I proclaim,
But a pretty little rainbow told me so I am not to blame.

24. Now, I hope I'm not misleading, for I've tried to make it plain
That even though your skies are dark, it ain't a-gonna rain.