‘No Rain’ is a song by American rock band Blind Melon. It was released in 1993 as the second single from the band's debut album Blind Melon. The song is well known for its accompanying music video, which features the "Bee Girl" character. The music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, received heavy airplay on MTV at the time of its release. It subsequently helped propel Blind Melon to a multi-platinum level. The song is the band's highest-charting song, reaching number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on both the Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. It proved to be successful internationally, peaking at number one in Canada and number eight in Australia.
Although the song is credited to the whole band, it was bassist Brad Smith who wrote the greater part of ‘No Rain’. He said: "The song is about not being able to get out of bed and find excuses to face the day when you have really, in a way, nothing." At the time, Smith had been dating a girl who was going through depression (she would sleep through sunny days and complain when it did not rain), and for a while he told himself that he was writing the song from her perspective, though Smith later realized that he was also writing it about himself.
The music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, stars Heather DeLoach as the "Bee Girl", a young tap dancer wearing a homemade bee costume and large glasses, modelled after the Blind Melon album cover: a family picture of Georgia Graham, younger sister of drummer Glen Graham. The Bee Girl's story is intercut with footage of Blind Melon performing in a field against a clear blue sky. It opens on the girl's tap routine; the audience responds with mocking laughter, and the girl runs off-stage in tears. As the song plays, she wanders through Los Angeles, stopping to perform her dance for whoever will watch, but she still feels alone. Ultimately, at the point in the song where the word "escape" is repeated, she peeks through a gate, which elicits a look of astonishment on her face, then runs through it to join a group of "bee people" just like her, dancing joyfully in a green field.
As a result of the video, DeLoach appeared on the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards doing her "Bee Girl" dance to close the show, and also appeared as the "Bee Girl" in the video for "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "Bedrock Anthem". In the book Shannon, bee girl Heather DeLoach explained how the music video changed her life. "I was just enjoying the ride," she said. "I was having so much fun. I kept getting to wear the costume over and over again. I got to do the VMAs, I got to do Jay Leno. I really had a great family foundation and my mom was amazing. There was talk at one point about going on tour with them. And my parents made the decision not to. I didn't even know until later on that that's what they were approached to do." "I loved being the Bee Girl," she added. "I look back on some of the interviews, and I'm like, 'Wow, my confidence is a little too much there.'"
Label – Capitol
Songwriters – Blind Melon
Producers – Rick Parashar, Blind Melon
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh
[Verse 1]
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watching the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
And speak my point of view, but it's not sane
It's not sane
[Chorus]
I just want someone to say to me, oh
"I'll always be there when you wake" yeah
You know, I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made (I'll have it made)
[Verse 2]
And I don't understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there's no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape
Escape
Escape
Escape
[Solo]
Oh yeah
Ooh
[Bridge]
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
You don't like my point of view
You think that I'm insane
It's not sane
It's not sane
[Chorus]
I just want someone to say to me, no oh oh oh
"I'll always be there when you wake"
You know, I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made
[Harmonization Outro]
(I'll have it made)
Oh and I'll have it made
(I'll have it made)
Ooh, And I'll have it made
(I'll have it made)
Oh, lord oh no no
You know I'm really
I'm-a really gonna have it made
(I'll have it made)
Yeah, you know I'll have it made
(I'll have it made)
Ohh ohh oh ohh
(I'll have it made)
Ohh ohh oh ohh
(I'll have it made)
Ohh ohh oh ohh
(I'll have it made)
Ohh ohh oh ohhh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh