The Rainy Day We Met Lyrics
The Rainy Day We Met
[OLIVER, spoken]So, where did we meet?
[CLAIRE, spoken]
On the street?
[OLIVER, spoken]
Yes, it was a rainy day
You forgot your umbrella, so you ran under mine
[CLAIRE, spoken]
I initiated this?
[OLIVER, spoken]
The rain made us feel melancholy, but also romantic, as we walked on the rainy streets of—
[CLAIRE, spoken]
Paris
[OLIVER]
New York set the perfect mood on the day we met
[CLAIRE, spoken]
Unbelievable
[OLIVER, spoken]
I know
[OLIVER]
The patter of rain and somewhere, a jazz quartet
[CLAIRE, spoken]
They were playing in the rain?
[OLIVER, spoken]
They were inside
[CLAIRE, spoken]
So we were inside?
[OLIVER, spoken]
We were outside
[OLIVER]
My umbrella could handle two
I even kept your shoulder dry
And since we both were shy
We barely spoke at all
[CLAIRE, spoken]
Did you get this from a movie?
[OLIVER]
You wore a bright red raincoat on that magic day
[CLAIRE]
No way would I choose red for a raincoat
[OLIVER]
Your beautiful red fur hat took my breath away
[CLAIRE]
And now you're just describing Santa
[OLIVER]
The crowded and noisy streets
We were silent except our beating hearts
It's all those quiet parts
You later can't forget
One little rainy day
[CLAIRE & OLIVER]
The rainy day we met
[OLIVER, spoken]
Your turn
[CLAIRE]
You stared at your feet, too nervous to say one word
[OLIVER, spoken]
Well, what could I have said in that situation?
[CLAIRE]
Our beautiful silence started to feel absurd
[OLIVER, spoken]
But I did offer you the umbr–
[CLAIRE, spoken]
You just said it was my turn
[CLAIRE]
So then in a breathless rush
We both started talking awkwardly
[CLAIRE & OLIVER, spoken]
So where are y—
How long have y—
Why don't you go fir—
[CLAIRE]
We laughed so hard that we forgot our socks were wet
[CLAIRE & OLIVER]
All on a rainy day
The rainy day we met
[OLIVER]
That old-timey band
When I first held your hand
And we danced in the subway
[CLAIRE]
The buses we missed
On the first night, we kissed
On that street in Paris
[OLIVER]
New York
[CLAIRE]
Paris
[OLIVER]
New York
[CLAIRE, spoken]
Oh my God
[OLIVER]
The moment our game demanded a name
And love's what we called it
[CLAIRE]
The morning we tried waking up side by side
And knew it was meant to be
[OLIVER]
It seems to me
[CLAIRE & OLIVER]
The crowded and noisy world
Was silent except our beating hearts
It's all those quiet parts
You later can't forget
Thanks to one rainy day
The rainy day we met
Anyway, that's how we met
Song Overview
Song Credits
- Producers: Deborah Abramson, Ian Kagey, Will Aronson, Hue Park
- Composers: Will Aronson & Hue Park
- Release Date: 2025-03-14
- Album: Maybe Happy Ending (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
- Genre: Broadway, Musical
- Track Number: 10
- Language: English
- Label: Unspecified
Song Meaning and Annotations
“The Rainy Day We Met” – an improvised romance between memory and make-believe
This duet, nestled sweetly in the middle of the musical Maybe Happy Ending, does more than recount a love story — it invents one, and in doing so, reflects the heart of human connection: storytelling. Darren Criss and Helen J Shen, in character as Oliver and Claire, piece together a "cover story" of how they first met, should nosy outsiders ask. But the tale they create ends up revealing more truth than perhaps they intended. Spoken Lines as Stageplay The number opens like a script being written in real-time:“So, where did we meet?” “Yes, it was a rainy day. You forgot your umbrella, so you ran under mine.”This play-within-a-play device gives us the theatrical whimsy of musical storytelling while digging into a genuine emotional core — the tentative beginnings of something tender. Rain is never just weather in musical theater — it’s a veil, a cleansing, a melancholy perfume. The rain here isn’t just precipitation; it's atmosphere, stage lighting for a romance waiting to bloom. Humor Meets Heart Oliver insists she wore red — a hat! A coat! Was she Santa? Claire corrects, critiques, and laughs through the memory. The humor is low-key brilliant. Every disagreement is flirtation in disguise. Every correction is another brushstroke in their shared painting. By the time they sing:
“We laughed so hard that we forgot our socks were wet”we’re no longer wondering if the story is real or fabricated — we’re just caught in the magic. From City to City: A Tale of Two Memories The recurring Paris/New York debate isn't just comedy — it’s about ownership of memory. Who gets to decide what was real? Oliver insists New York, Claire swears it was Paris. Neither is right. Or maybe both are. That’s the beauty of crafted memory: it bends to the emotional truth, not the factual one.
“The crowded and noisy streets were silent except our beating hearts”That’s the line. That's where their playful fiction slips into sincerity. Because what matters isn’t the city, but the silence they shared. That moment becomes real simply because they believed in it together. Musical Nuance Underneath it all, the score bubbles with jazz — light, airy, slightly nostalgic. Like a vinyl memory played back at just the right speed. The instrumentation mirrors the structure: half-conversation, half-song. It never overwhelms, but instead tiptoes — like two shy people figuring out whether the next step is friendship or love.
Similar Songs
- “Falling Slowly” – Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová
This Oscar-winning duet from Once also thrives on the magic of musical understatement. Like The Rainy Day We Met, it’s a soft conversation disguised as a melody, revealing emotional intimacy in half-phrases and uncertain harmonies. Both songs exist in worlds where saying less means feeling more. - “Suddenly Seymour” – Ellen Greene & Rick Moranis
Though more bombastic, this Little Shop of Horrors duet similarly hinges on two misfits stumbling into emotional vulnerability. The blend of humor, awkwardness, and heart makes it a thematic cousin to Oliver and Claire’s rain-soaked fable. - “You Matter to Me” – Sara Bareilles & Jason Mraz
From the musical Waitress, this ballad unearths the unspoken — much like Criss and Shen’s number. Where “The Rainy Day We Met” trades in invented nostalgia, “You Matter to Me” is bare, direct emotion. But both trace the arc of connection through simple language and aching harmonies.
Questions and Answers
- Is “The Rainy Day We Met” a literal memory or fictional in the story?
- It’s a fictional story crafted by the characters as a romantic cover — but emotionally, it reveals real feelings developing between them.
- What role does the rain play in the song?
- The rain serves as both atmosphere and metaphor — it creates intimacy, blurs reality, and sets the mood for a love story that could be real or imagined.
- Why do they argue about the city — New York vs. Paris?
- It’s part of the humor, but also symbolic: they each have their own vision of the moment, revealing how personal connection reshapes memory.
- Is this song a turning point in the musical?
- Yes, it's where their relationship shifts from practical alliance to something deeper, laying emotional groundwork for what follows in the story.
- How does the instrumentation support the narrative?
- Light jazz influences, sparse piano, and subtle orchestration mirror the tentative, improvisational nature of their invented love story.
Fan and Media Reactions
“This gave me La La Land meets Amélie vibes. Rain, jazz, awkwardness — I’m in love.”– @BroadwayButterfly
“Their banter is literal gold. Please someone make a romcom with this exact script.”– @stagewhispers95
“I thought it was just cute at first... but it left me weirdly emotional??”– @RainyDayDrama
“Helen’s delivery of ‘You just said it was my turn!’ had me cackling. Iconic.”– @MusicalMemez
“Lowkey my new favorite theater duet. Quirky, charming, and sneakily deep.”– @CastAlbumCollector