Don’t Rain On My Parade
An Anthem to Quell the Naysayers
Song and Scriptwriter Bob Merrill penned the iconic anthem Don’t Rain On My Parade for the 1964 Winter Garden Theater debut of FUNNY GIRL starring Barbara Streisand, a song for our times and all times.
Image by Czapp Arpád from Pexels
What Makes a Song Iconic?
Iconic songs carry messages that transcend genre and are timeless.
Iconic songs deliver a message spun in such a way that it that enters public consciousness and culture. Don’t Rain on My Parade is such a song.
The message? Step aside. Nothing and no one will stop me.
How might we use the message of this iconic 1964 anthem to guide and serve us today?
Use Don’t Rain on My Parade as a reminder that there will always be NAYSAYERS friends, in every nook and cranny.
Naysayers are typically dismissive complainers who station themselves on the sidelines, not in the arena where you are. Even when people are well-intentioned, take care with who has your ear and take care with the weight you give their words. There are times when seeking and even heeding counsel is wise, but always consider the source.
The bottom line is this: If something MEANS something to you and that something is a potential positive you must pursue because it matters, most often the best thing to do is find a way to go ahead anyway, even though, even if, even when.
How To Move Forward
A great place to start is to be judicious about agreeing and commiting with care. Agree only to that with which you ACTUALLY agree and if that means stepping away from the herd, so be it. You may find yourself to be the subject of strong opinion — a wonderfully fine place to be.
Equally important — Commit with Care. Feel less-obligated. People routinely categorize events and tasks that are not obligations as obligations. Don’t say yes when you shouldn’t, can’t, or when you truly don’t care to say yes. Determine what works for you in terms of your wellness and priorities, and politely decline invitations and requests when it’s time to do so.
So Agree and Commit with care.
And be highly Intentional with the way you use time, attention, resources, energy, and mindset.
Handle people, days, weeks, months, and materials with thought, with deliberateness, and don’t go along to get along when stakes are high or when doing so means compromising a core tenet. At the end of the day we change our lives for the better:
By Taking Responsibility for who we are and how we are; and
By Going Ahead with Positives regardless of naysayers, obstacles and critics.
Don’t Rain on My Parade:
Don’t tell me not to live
Just sit and putter
Life’s candy and the sun’s
A ball of butter
Don’t bring around a cloud
To rain on my parade
Don’t tell me not to fly
I’ve simply got to
If someone takes a spill
It’s me and not you
Who told you you’re allowed
To rain on my parade?
I’ll march my band out
I’ll beat my drum
And if I’m fanned out
Your turn at bat, sir
At least I didn’t fake it
Hat, sir, I guess I didn’t make it
But whether I’m the rose
Of sheer perfection
Or freckle on the nose
Of life’s complexion
The cinder or the shiny apple of its eye
I gotta fly once
I gotta try once
Only can die once, right, sir?
Ooh, life is juicy
Juicy and you see
I gotta have my bite, sir
Get ready for me, love
’Cause I’m a “comer”
I simply gotta march
My heart’s a drummer
Don’t bring around a cloud
To rain on my parade
Hat’s off to Bob Merrill’s anthem for the ages Don’t Rain on My Parade, performed 1400 times by Barbara Streisand in the original run of Funny Girl almost sixty years ago, revived in 2022 by Beannie Feldstien and in 2023 by Leah Michelle.
Now is always the best time to quell your naysayers friends. Let’s GO.
