In 2017, Luke Combs followed up his very first No. 1 single “Hurricane,” which topped the Country Airplay chart with “When It Rains It Pours.” Both singles from Combs’ debut, This One’s for You, “When It Rains It Pours” went to No. 1 on the Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts.
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The Meaning
“When It Rains It Pours” is the flip side of a breakup song and follows a series of events that went just right after a split. When he doesn’t have to see his ex-future-mother-in-law, his luck seems to turn around.
I was caller number five on a radio station
Won a four-day, three-night beach vacation
Deep sea señorita fishin’ down in Panama
And I ain’t gotta see my
Ex-future-mother-in-law anymore
Oh Lord, when it rains it pours
Now she was sure real quick to up and apologize
When she heard about my newfound luck
On that FM dial
And it’s crazy how lately now
It just seems to come in waves
What I thought was gonna be the death of me
Was my saving grace
It’s got me thinkin’ that her leavin’
Is the only logical reason
That I got the last spot in the Hooters’ parking lot
And the waitress left her number on my check with a heart
She picked up on the first ring when I gave her a call
And I only spent five bucks at the Moose Club raffle
Won a used 4-wheeler and three free passes
For me and two of my buddies to play a round of golf
And I ain’t gotta see my
Ex-future-mother-in-law anymore
Oh Lord, when it rains it pours
When it rains it pours
“I don’t know if there’s necessarily a personal side to it as much [as] it was a good story we wrote,” said Combs of the meaning behind the song. “I had the title in my phone; I keep titles in my phone. It was just one of those things where I came in and had the title ‘When It Rains It Pours.'”
Different Vibe
Written by Combs, Ray Fulcher, and Jordan Walker, an earlier iteration of “When It Rains It Pours” had a much moodier tone before it shifted into a more uptempo track.
“I thought it was going to be a sad song,” said Combs. “Jordan Walker was like, “Why don’t we make it a fun, not sad, thing?” So me, and Jordan, and Ray wrote it, and it turned out great.”
Combs added, “We tried to have fun with it and write it in a ’90s early-Brad Paisley kind of song, is what we were going for with that thing. Luckily, in my opinion, we nailed it. People seem to love it so far.”
Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images
