Raintown may refer to:
Raintown is the debut album of Scottish pop band Deacon Blue. The album, written largely by lead singer Ricky Ross, was released in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1987. It proved a commercial success and has to date sold around a million copies, peaking in the UK album chart at 14 and remaining in the charts for a year and a half.
The album, widely praised as Deacon Blue's finest work, has the overtones of a concept album relating to the struggles of urban life in the inner city - the city being unmistakably Glasgow, referenced by the roots of the band and by the famous images by photographer Oscar Marzaroli on the cover of the album: the view of a rainy day over Glasgow's West End (with the Finnieston Crane featuring prominently) and, on the rear, a long-exposure capture of the Kingston Bridge blasting through the city centre at night.
The short intro, "Born in a Storm", melodic and interspersed with an unmistakably gloomy atmosphere created by the name, launches into the title track "Raintown", a natural extension of this plot. The weather remains a feature of the atmosphere of the album, reflecting the epitome of the Scots word dreich. Played out in the course of the album is the struggle with money ("Loaded"), unemployment, dreams of something better ("Dignity", "The Very Thing"), culminating in an angry attack upon urban life ("Town to Be Blamed"). The album does feature lighter experiences though, with the love songs ("Chocolate Girl") and "Love's Great Fears" - a track that Ross has often cited as his all time favourite, featuring a searing slide guitar outro by Chris Rea.
it's a rain-dirt-town-job hurts, but it don't pay
all these calls they're making me and driving you insane
don't you see don't you understand
waiting for the phone to ring to make me all i am
you're in the suburbs waiting for somewhere to go
i'm down here working on some dumb show
in a raintown raintown rain down
on all those tired eyes and tears and frowns
in a raintown raintown rain down
on all those days you're not around
it takes a big hearted girl from the north country you can tell
how you payed those bills and went through heaven and hell
and you you cried and you travelled and you spat but you never asked
well how long how long how long is this pain
you're on for three minutes trying hard to say "hello"
i'm down here working on some dumb show
in a raintown raintown rain down
on all those tired eyes and tears and frowns
in a raintown raintown rain down
on all those days you're not around
sitting at home listening to your radio
listening for your old friend talking on some dumb show
in a raintown raintown rain down
on all those tired eyes and tears and frowns
in a raintown raintown rain down