Temptations – I Wish It Would Rain

The Temptations classic lineup released this song in 1968 and peaked at #4 of the Billboard Charts.

David Ruffin sings this song and you can feel the sadness and pain in his voice. The man had a tremendous voice. Naming my favorite Temptations song would be hard but this one would be near the top.

The song has been covered by Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin and The Faces.

It was written by Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, and Rodger Penzabene.

I Wish It Would Rain

Hmm hmm

Sunshine, blue skies, please go away
A girl has found another and gone away
With her went my future, my life is filled with gloom
So day after day I stay locked up in my room
I know to you, it might sound strange 
But I wish it would rain, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

‘Cause so badly I wanna go outside (such a lovely day)
But everyone knows that a man ain’t supposed to cry
Listen, I gotta cry ’cause crying eases the pain, oh yeah
People this hurt I feel inside
Words could never explain, 
I just wish it would rain, oh let it rain, rain, rain, rain, ooo baby

Let it rain, oh yeah, let it rain

Day in day out my tear-stained face
Pressed against the window pane
My eyes search the skies desperately for rain
‘Cause rain drops will hide my tear drops
And no one will ever know that I’m crying
Crying when I go outside
To the world outside my tears
I refuse to explain, ooo I wish it would rain, ooh, baby

Let it rain, let it rain
I need rain to disguise the tears in my eyes
Oh, let it rain
Oh yeah, yeah, listen
I’m a man and I got my pride
‘Til it rains I’m gonna stay inside, let it rain

Author: badfinger20 (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball fan, old movie and tv show fan... and a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

80 thoughts on “Temptations – I Wish It Would Rain”

  1. My Girl would surely be their most famous song but it wouldn’t be my favorite. I’ve always liked I Wish It Would Rain… that or Papa Was A Rolling Stone would be my #1.

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    1. Papa Was a Rolling Stone, Can’t Get Next to You… a lot to pick from… Ruffin sang this one so well.

      Btw… Season 5 Episode 6… I love the journalism angle… They cover all the bases in this series.

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      2. I like how The Temptations evolved into the seventies…just wish Ruffin would have kept his head…

        Yes…Breaking Bad and the Sopranos are next… I don’t know if either will beat this.

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      3. The Wire is my all time #1 but those two are up there high on my list- I don’t think you will be disappointed in either- I think they will meet expectations. .. I just looked at the baseball scores- Patriots beat Ravens 19-12. I mean Red Sox over Orioles. 31 runs crazy… I am starting to think now that your Dodgers are jinxed this year or something or their pitchers are- Jensen now with the heart issues- not good to see at all.

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      4. I know…he had this heart problem earlier in his career and takes medicine for it….It doesn’t look good…The Dodgers needed a bridge to him…now they need a long bridge…

        A lot of games with crazy scores… The Mets got hammered by someone 24-5 or something like that and The Dodgers beat the Brewers like that.

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      5. I had forgotten about his heart problem earlier… the team that has really shocked me this year is Oakland- certainly didn’t see that coming..

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      6. Beane makes trades that has me scratching my head….the Josh Donaldson trade was one of them…but he stretches what he has better than most…The Mariners surprised me also…Felix is not looking good now though.

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      7. I had King Felix on my American League fantasy league team all season- I had to finally release him the other day- his ERA was killing me.. I don’t see him ever being anything more than a 4th- 5th starter now. He isn’t THAT old but he has been around it seems like for ages…. I think Beane has picked up every extra relief pitcher available in the past month or so. The A’s winning would be a great story.

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      8. I’m an NL guy but I would not mind seeing the A’s winning at least one for Beane. He could have left to the Red Sox, Dodgers, and many others but stayed put.
        A lot of innings on his arm…
        that is what I’m afraid of with Kershaw. Kershaw’s fastball was 90 the other day. This year he was hitting 92 before he was hurt the last time. .

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      10. Yea I knew last year when his homerun rate went up I knew something was wrong. He does have something over Felix…lefthanded… I can’t complain about him because his ERA is still under 3 but Dodger fans got really spoiled with those 1.xx ERAs. He is smart though…I’m still don’t want to face that he is coming down.

        The Pirates have done better than I thought they would also. They changed the face of the team this offseason and still in it.

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      11. I know the Pirates are still in contention for a wild card but there are so many teams involved for that slot that I really don’t see them making it-but you never know. They need to get hot and stay hot the rest of the way and I don’t think they have the horses to do that…. Kershaw’s ERA isn’t much higher than his career ERA but he has pitched 100 innings- with the injuries not the seasons we are used to seeing.

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      12. For a while anything over a 2 era seemed high. That is a credit to him for being that good for so long.
        There are a lot of teams to hop over…I was happy they traded up for players who they will control. Smart trades…helps this year and the next. The division is solid…Even the Reds are playing better…they swept the Dodgers and Cubs.
        In my lifetime of watching baseball…the biggest comeback I ever saw that I can think of…and I hate thinking of it… was the 78 Yankees and Bucky @#$ Dent… After that anything is possible.

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      13. Yes the Yankees in mid July were in a shambles and I was loving it. One of the handful of times when changing a manager really helped- and it was just getting Billy Martin out of their and going with a totally opposite personality in Bob Lemon. About all Lemon did was make out the line up and sit quietly on the bench- which is what the Yankees needed. That approach may not be a long term winner but with how things were going in the Yankee clubhouse that season…. 14 back on July 19th.

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      14. It did have one good thing to come out of it…Sparky Lyle’s Bronx Zoo. What a book…I’m sure you have read it. I hate the ending of course but it was a Zoo.
        George would not stop meddling, Billy wouldn’t stop drinking and Reggie wouldn’t stop being Reggie.
        Lemon settled the team and did nothing but win….He was a baseball lifer
        Another book that is brought to mind is the book about Munson by Marty Appel a few years ago…it’s pretty good. He was a pure hitter.

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      15. I read the book when it came out- nearly 40 years ago- i still have it should get it out and re-read it- i remember it as an entertaining read! .. The Munson book was a good one. A lot of good yankee books although it gets annoying when you go into a bookstore and the baseball books are mostly Yankee or Red Sox books!

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      16. I agree with that. Now the Cubs are sneaking in there with them.
        It’s funny I hate the team of that era but reading about them is different. Graig Nettle’s book was pretty good…but nothing none matched Sparky’s book.

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      17. That Yankee team was full of characters and you had Billy and George in the mix. If Billy could have managed himself he would have been as great a manager as ever lived. I thought how George treated Billy especially in the 80’s bordered on cruelty.

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      18. It was cruel and he would claim he was helping him. George didn’t help Billy’s drinking but he was wild regardless.
        I remember thinking…that damn Graig Nettles…he would catch every thing… Mickey Rivers was good also…alot of talent and egos

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      19. If Nettles career batting average wasn’t so low- he was Hall of Fame type caliber player I think- but people can’t get over the batting average .248. What a glove he had- and he hit 390 home runs… The Boss knew Billy wanted one thing in life- be the Yankee manager and he kept hiring and firing him and promising him the job etc.. Billy was a train wreck no matter- and his death was one of the least shocking ones ever- you just knew he was going to die in a drinking related accident or in a bar fight.. he wasn’t going to pass away in bed at 90 of natural causes.

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      21. I can’t recall a bigger one year turn around than when he took over the A’s- they were the laughing stocks of the league- low low budget- no hopes or expectations- there is an example that first year of Billy forcing his will on a team. Then of course it fell apart rapidly after that- as it always did with him.

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      22. He had them running and aggressive but he rode those starters a little too much… He did well with the Twins, Rangers, and Tigers…at least had them in the first division.

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      24. There were no slackers on his teams. He wouldn’t last a second now… Larry Bowa is the closest thing to him that I can think of and he clashed with a lot of modern players.

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      25. I wonder if Billy Martin today would have ever been hired? Maybe someone would have hired him for a first job but I doubt he’d have lasted long – or got a second chance. Bowa is a good comparison- being a Phillies player I hated him more than any player in the league in the 70’s- but if he had come to the Pirates that would have been fine. You’d have thought he would have a successful career as a manager but as you said he clashed with the modern player. Those type managers who were numerous years ago- would only make it today if they changed their style.

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      26. The reason I don’t like Kemp is because the Dodgers got rid of Bowa as a coach because he was truthful to Kemp and didn’t baby him…Kemp would not listen and complained.
        Billy wouldn’t last long. How would todays umpires handle him? It would have been fun to watch.

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      27. The reason I don’t like Kemp- and he is one of my least favorite players in the game is because after his big years earlier this decade- I had him on my fantasy team and he personally cost me the pennant one year- I had spent a lot on him and he stunk out the joint. I vowed never to have him on my team again and have kept that…. I miss the old Billy and Earl Weaver arguing with the umps. I don’t even think replay would have kept Billy in the dugout seat.

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      28. Them two lived and breathed baseball. I’ve read where Billy was so paranoid that it made him ready for anything or any situation… I love those old films of Earl arguing…Earl was one of the best managers ever
        Kemp is at least fitting in with the team this year. He is not the star anymore and is a little more humble. It was the Kemp and Either Show at one time.

        Yea I can see why you don’t like him.

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      29. A guy from the Pirates was a lot like Bowa- Foli.. when Garner and Foli were on the Pirates I thought both of these guys will be managers someday- i think the bottom line is Garner- while a scrappy hard nosed player was in control of himself… Foli- wasn’t- Foli coached for a few teams and I think may have managed in the minor leagues but never got a big league job managing- i think he was a fella who burned some bridges along the way..

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      30. I remember Foli…I loved watching Garner…he was an old school player.
        I’m connecting Foli with the Mets for some reason…Wasn’t he going to manage them and then did something to mess it up?

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      34. similar type players and both played for the Mets. Foli was a key addition to 79 Pirates about a month into the season. Tavares was a great base stealer but was very inconsistent and lackadaisical in the field- Foli was solid- made the plays that needed to be made and was good at the little things- moving up runners- bunting- hit and run.. Garner and Foli worked well together- without Foli I don’t know if they win it- let alone adding Madlock a couple months later.

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      36. Good point. Foli and Garner were down and dirty players who did the little things that you had to watch every day to appreciate. I think 79 was Foli’s best season offensively. He saw a lot of fastballs with Moreno on base a lot of the time.

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      38. The Boss wanted headlines- like Jerry Jones in football- doesn’t have to be good or bad headlines just you and your team in the paper. I always thought the 1980s Yankees when they went into decline were like that- sign big name.. a few years back before the Dodgers started getting their farm system back strong It seemed like they were just signing and trading for names- Carl Crawford comes to mind.

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      39. He wanted stars…he hated Roy White…a great player to have…
        I’m not taking up for the Dodgers…you know I believe in prospects but after McCourt they did that terrible trade to get Adrian G. and to get fans back. McCourt’s last year the fans stayed away. That helped get him out of there.

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      40. I was reading on Roy White a month or so ago and he loved playing for Billy because Billy appreciated the skills Roy had. I wonder if Billy had a roster of class acts like Roy White would he still have had all those problems? I guess a lot of Billy’s problems were off the field. As long as George was owner probably so. Yes White wasn’t George’s kind of player.

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      41. Didn’t Billy want Joe Rudi instead of Reggie Jackson? Reggie really messed with the chemistry…It was Munson’s team and Reggie made the straw comment

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      42. Yes Billy wanted Rudi instead- a Roy White type of player- solid citizen type- came and did the job.. Yes Reggie. I have heard so much over the years about him- and very little if any good. I ran into a New York reporter once at a ballgame and we talked for half a ballgame and he was telling me how certain players were- he really didn’t knock too many guys but told some stories on how Reggie treated people- if you were Howard Cosell it was one thing- if you were some guy who couldn’t do him any good- to him you were lower than dirt. Yes it was Thurman’s team. They could have done without the Reggie Bar.

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      43. That team was already a good team. They just needed a little help and didn’t need Reggie’s drama.
        That makes a lot of sense. It does backup what I heard about him. I’m not saying he wasn’t good but there were other options…George had to have the star

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      45. I looked the 78 sox up- after the game on July 19th they were 62-28 they went 37-35 the rest of the way- the Yankees were 47-42 and went 52-21 the rest of the way to end the season in a tie– the Yanks certainly deserve credit for playing lights out but if the Red Sox had just went 38-34 they hold on…

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      46. And the Dodgers play them in Fenway. I didn’t mind anyone beating the Dodgers but the Yankees…The Red Sox did have their chance and they had a great team. Fred Lynn…he was always a favorite of mine.

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      47. Fred Lynn’s rookie year was incredible. Can you imagine having two rookies like Lynn and Rice.. had Rice hadn’t been hurt the 75 series would have been a lot different. Lynn’s career is viewed by some as being kind of a disappointment- because his entry was so spectacular but he had a pretty darn good career- I wish Lynn and Fisk had stayed in Boston.

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      48. They should have stayed. You are right…the Reds and Sox were so closely matched that Rice would have tipped it.
        Lynn had some injuries but he still was a threat everytime he came to bat.

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      49. Hard to find an outfield as good as Rice- Lynn and Dewey Evans who may have had the best career of all three… Kind of like the Dodgers infield of the era. .. I thought that Sox team was built to win a couple championships- i believe the suits upstairs ruined it- seems like Fisk especially Lynn and several other players had major issues with upper management. Fisk played more games as a White Sox but when I picture him in my mind he’s a Red Sox.

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      50. Didn’t the Sox miss the deadline on Fisk to keep him? They had a great nucleus of a team. You just don’t let those players go.
        That was a great outfield…Evans…I’ll never forget that catch he made in the 75 World Series if I’m not mistaken.

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      51. Yes you are right the Red Sox missed a deadline on Fisk and lost him…Game 6 75 series Evans catch one of the great highlights of the greatest game I’ve ever seen and probably the best World Series too. Bernie Carbo’s big pinch hit 3 run home run to tie it.. and of course Fisk’s home run to win it.

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      52. Carbo’s hit was great since the Reds let him go earlier…It was truly a great World Series. I’ll watch it every couple of years…just for “The Game”

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      54. The Twins and Braves was a classic. Last years was until the last game. Not because the Dodgers lost …it was just over early…but yes it was exciting.

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      56. When Kershaw had a big lead…I thought…this is it…but nope. The key game for the Dodgers was the 2nd game at Dodger Stadium and Jansen gave up the lead.

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      57. Yes I thought when Kershaw had the lead it was all over– but the series was like that- when you thought one team had the upper hand something would happen. No lead felt secure.

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      59. I think you are right there are certain ballparks where the crazy no lead is ever safe- rarely happens– and then you have some ballparks where truly no lead is ever safe…and the Astros bullpen was so bad… I thought Hinch did the right thing in riding Charlie Morton there in game 7- he was on -and he let him pitch.. I think he knew he couldn’t trust his bullpen.

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      60. I still don’t understand why Roberts let Yu stay in for 5 runs…He is a good pitcher but they had his number…or knew what was coming.
        Coors field…I hate that place. It’s better now though than it used to be.

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      61. Yes Yu clearly didn’t have it. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling and it was clear no matter how well he had done in the past he wasn’t going to turn things around in the series. .. Yes Coors- I went to a game once there and seeing that big outfield in person– I wouldn’t want to play center field there…

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      67. That is a good question- I don’t know. A team might have to sign Usain Bolt to cover centerfield. I know they have a Mexican League team there but I don’t know how it effects them.. A dome would probably help- When I think of Mexico City I think of the 68 Olympics and the altitude sure hurt Jim Ryun and helped his rival Kip Keino in the 1500 meters.

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      68. I remember when the Rockies started, that park was a nightmare.
        If you are a pitcher why would you want to go to Mexico City? They would have to figure out something.

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      69. The Rockies have been around since 1993 and have they ever had a pitcher who was better than average?.. If you were a great pitcher in your prime- let’s say Kershaw a few years ago- and you are a free agent how much would the Rockies have to offer to get you to sign? Kershaw is making around 33 million? so- 40 million a year? Would that be enough? I know in fantasy ball there are years when no Rockies pitcher is taken and that is in a NL only league.

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      70. I remember the Mike Hampton experiment… His career was never the same…of course they signed him off one career year…
        Oh….Denny Neagle also. I forgot about him. The humidor though seems to have helped.

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      71. Look at Neagle’s stats with the Rockies- I thought he did better with them than he actually did. The lowest ERA he had with the Rockies was 5.26.. the last year he pitched it was nearly 8..

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      75. The Pirates had a knack for trading pitchers who then went on to better things- Neagle- Schmidt, Lieber, Loisa [well until recently } come immediately to mind.

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      78. Oh I remember Schmidt well… he hurt the Dodgers with the Giants…and hurt the Dodgers when they stupidly signed him knowing his shoulder was gone…not his fault.

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