Rainy Days And Mondays by The Carpenters

I grew up on Mercer Island, which is a suburb of Seattle. When I tell people this, one of the first people comments people say is “it rains a lot in Seattle, you must like the rain.” arrgh.

There’s a couple things that irritate me about this statement, first off Seattle doesn’t even make the top ten list of rainiest cities. And really, even if Seattle was the rainiest city how does that mean that people from Seattle like the rain?

Who really loves the rain? It’s raining right now in Chicago not with the sprinkle of summer rain but the torrential “walk outside for 5 seconds to walk the dog and come in and need a complete change of clothes” kind of rain.

Most of us tolerate rain because we know we need it and it makes us appreciate the sunshine all that much more. Rain is the valley that makes the peak that much more amazing, but knowing this doesn’t mean you like being in the valley, it just means that you’ve figured out a way to look on the bright side of something that is innately depressing like rain.

Combine the grossness of rain with having a “case of the Mondays” and really could it get much worse?



I’m sitting here, it’s raining, it’s Monday, perfect time to listen to “Rainy Days & Mondays.” When you are in a bad mood and you listen to a song that is about being sad, it doesn’t make the bad mood go away, it just makes you feel better knowing that you aren’t alone in your feelings. However listening to Karen Carpenter, instead of feeling better about my bad mood, I'm realize I'm not feeling that bad.

Talking to myself and feeling old
Sometimes I'd like to quit
Nothing ever seems to fit
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What I've got they used to call the blues
Nothing is really wrong
Feeling like I don't belong

“Rainy Days & Mondays” is one of the best descriptions of the feeling of depression in popular music. It’s wanting to give up, not because something is wrong but because you feel you don’t have a place. We’ve all had these times in our lives where we’ve felt this way and gotten through them but listening to this song you can’t help but wonder if Karen Carpenter ever did herself.

Karen Carpenter died of heart failure at age 32 of heart failure because of weakened heart muscles due to anorexia nervosa. In 1983, the year she died, the public knew little about eating disorders and Karen’s death raised awareness of anorexia nervosa and bulimia. I don’t know if Karen was singing about her own depression in her music or it was just part of her skills as a singer. Either way you can’t help but wonder.

I know that The Carpenters could not sound more adult contemporary but behind the squeaky-clean image was one the greatest voices in popular music. Her voice is like Kate Hudson in Almost Famous. There’s a scene when her character Penny Lane finds out that she has been lost in a bet for $50 and a case of beer (3:30 in).



There’s a smile and a swagger on the outside but a pain on the inside that even when is hidden is in everything action. Optimism almost makes us forget the pain when shaking off tears looking into the sunlight, but the darkness haunts is never forgotten.

Listening to Karen Carpenter makes me cry. I don’t know why. She always gets to me and more than sad the Carpenter's music somehow makes me feel at peace. I just noticed that the sun has broken through the clouds and the rain has stopped. Rainy days and Mondays can’t last forever and it’s comforting to know that not only for myself but for Karen Carpenter.

Look like Buffy noticed that the sun came out too, well, I guess it’s time for a walk. C’mon girly, let’s go explore.