Rain When I Die Guitar Tab

Dirt Tabs:

#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
From: randallt@falcon.cc.ukans.edu (Randall Trowbridge)
Subject: TABS: Alice in Chains
Rain When I Die
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Tuning: Down a half step/ "Dropped D" (Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb)
(Chords given for regular tuning)
Verse
-----
D5
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------3-------------------------------|
|-3h5-3---0-------------------3-h-5---------------|
|-------------3-----------0-----------0---3---0---|
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a 5 e + a 6 e + a
C5
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------3-------------------------------|
|-3h5-3---0-------------------3-h-5-------3-------|
|-------------3-----------0-----------0-------0---|
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a 5 e + a 6 e + a
Chorus
------
Dm                Bbsus4                      F5
|-----------------|-----------------1---------------|
|-----------------|-------------1-------------------|
|-----------------|-3-------------------------------|
|-----------------|-3---------------------------3--s|
|---------0-h-5---|-1---------------------------3--s|
|-0-h-3-----------|-----------------------------3--s|
1 e + a 2 e + a   1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
G5
|---------------------------------|
|---------------------------------|
|---------------------------------|
|-----5---5-------5---------------|
|-----5---5-------5---------------|
|-----5---5-------5---------------|
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
Bbsus4                      F5        G5          Dm
|-----------------1---------------|---------------------------------|
|-------------1-------------------|---------------------------------|
|-3-------------------------------|---------------------------------|
|-3---------------------------3--s|-----5---5-----------------------|
|-1---------------------------3--s|-----5---5---------------0-h-5---|
|-----------------------------3--s|-----5---5-------0-h-3-----------|
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a   1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
Bbsus4                      F5        G5
|-----------------1---------------|---------------------------------|
|-------------1-------------------|---------------------------------|
|-3-------------------------------|---------------------------------|
|-3---------------------------3--s|-----5---5-------5---------------|
|-1---------------------------3--s|-----5---5-------5---------------|
|-----------------------------3--s|-----5---5-------5---------------|
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a   1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
Bbsus4                                C5
|-----------------1---------------|---------------------------------|
|-------------1-------------------|---------------------------------|
|-3---------------------------3--s|-----5---5-----------------------|
|-3---------------------------3--s|-----5---5-----------------------|
|-1---------------------------1--s|-----3---3-----------------------|
|---------------------------------|---------------------------------|
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a   1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
From "Dirt" by Alice in Chains (1992)
Transcribed by Randall Trowbridge
--
Randall Trowbridge
randallt@falcon.cc.ukans.edu

Source: GuitarMasta.net
http://www.guitarmasta.net/a/alice_in_chains/.html

Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques


No Picture Tiwi Average	#1 by Tiwi F. Keeler ;) at Sep 25, 2007 at 9:59 PM EST
	This song is most likely about Layne doing something to hurt Demri because they broke up in 93/94 which wasn't that long after Dirt was released, and she passed in 96 from Bacterial Endocartis. I love Rain when i die because it's how I feel sometimes. RIP Layne & Demri. Layne I hope you're making beautiful music up there with all the other musical legends! All of us AiC fans miss you!

No Picture Average	#2 by Another.Kind.Of.Pain at Sep 26, 2007 at 4:48 AM EST
	I reckon its avout the same thing the rest of the albums about - Layne (and even Jerrys) addiction.

No Picture Ryan Wanna Be	#3 by Ryan Ell at Sep 26, 2007 at 2:02 PM EST
	i have to agree with aicguy22. this song is most certainly about Demri who died of heart complications as a result of heroin use. Layne didn't take her passing very well, especially since he hadn't seen her for a while before she died. that is one of the main reasons why he became a total recluse in '96. this song was released on Music Bank in '99, so i dont think it was written in AIC's early days.

No Picture Krystal Average	#4 by Krystal at Sep 26, 2007 at 6:05 PM EST
	while this isn't a bad song, it sounds to me that they didn't finish it. it sounds like they didn't give it much work in the studio. layne's vocals sound pretty different from usual, notably in the chorus. i'm not saying it sounds bad, just pretty different.

No Picture Spanky Lead Player	#5 by Spanky Man at Sep 27, 2007 at 5:31 AM EST
	I think it's about someone who let a girl take the fall for something he did. "Did she call my name?" when she was arrested and taken away "Ain't no life on the run" Life on the run kinda suggests criminality "Caught in ice so she stares, stares at nothing I can help her but won't, now she hates me " She stares at him coldly when she's taken away, and he could say something, say that it was him, but he doesn't. "now she hates me" he wants her to forgive him. "Slowly forgive my lie, lying to save me " he lied and said that it was her to save himself. Of course, it's just an opinion. And I'm probably wrong because i'm always wrong .. bad person that I am.

No Picture london calling Average	#6 by london calling at Sep 27, 2007 at 10:52 PM EST
	I think these lyrics are jus stating that no one besides who this song is about will care when he dies, or at least that's how it seems to him. Afterall, the band is from Seattle. What happens in Seattle alot? Rain. Just another day, just another man dead.

No Picture Caleb Average	#7 by Caleb Johnson at Sep 28, 2007 at 5:57 AM EST
	1. This song was written long before Demri died (it came out in 92, she died in 96). 2. It's almost certain that Jerry wrote the lyrics, not Layne. Lots of AIC songs are songs that Jerry wrote about girls, but people misinterpret them and think Layne wrote them about heroin.

No Picture KEV! Wanna Be	#8 by KEV! Kavanagh at Sep 28, 2007 at 12:15 PM EST
	Nope For this song Layne Staley Wrote The lyrics. And Even Though Demri died 4 years After he wrote the song doesn't mean it Still couldn't have been about her. Mabye not about her death but maybe somthing he did to her and she forgave him "slowly forgive my lie, lie to save me". then he wonders if she'll forgive him and he guesses probably not.

No Picture J Average	#9 by J Fray at Sep 28, 2007 at 1:23 PM EST
	Samuraiguy420... I agree with you, and here here on the 420 buddy! I beleive it is about Demri, and her death, and him trying to live on strong with out her. After she was died of an overdose, his addiction totally took over. He couldn't find anything else to live for, or a way to deal with not having her. They were very close. It is just so tragic. RIP Layne... & Demri. you got your woman back =)

No Picture Aaron Average	#10 by Aaron Doyle at Sep 28, 2007 at 10:50 PM EST
	i always thought of this as an early song, just the way it sounded really. Kinda raw. Very moody, very dark, very cool.

No Picture Mitch Average	#11 by Mitch Zodila at Sep 29, 2007 at 8:47 AM EST
	Alice in Chains is one of my favorite bands of all time. This song is really hard to sit back and listen to because it's a really despressing song. It seems like Layne Staley knew how his death was going to be like 10 years later on:( I belive that this song is about how his heroin addiction was so strong, it made a barrier between his true emotions or a relationship with a girl named Demri (I could be wrong). "Could she love me again, or will she hate me Prob'ly not, I know why, can't explain me", In my theory it could mean that he had a choice to go with his heroin addiction or go to his path of true feelings for this girl. Sadly he went with the heroin addiction. I wish you never died Layne, R.I.P, man.....

No Picture amy Average	#12 by amy at Sep 29, 2007 at 1:18 PM EST
	Also, I think the "I think its gonna Rain, when I die" part is saying that hes done a terrible thing and when he dies it wont be a peaceful, happy death.

No Picture Jaymz Average	#13 by Jaymz Lemaitre at Sep 29, 2007 at 4:52 PM EST
	I think it's probably about a failed relationship more than anything. This is my favourite out of all the Alice In Chains songs I've heard, it's a good one.

No Picture Chris Average	#14 by Chris Wise at Sep 29, 2007 at 5:57 PM EST
	maybe theres a way of linking evilkillerphones idea with the demri thing...because demri died of bacterial endocarditis, an infection of the heart lining brought on by extensive drug abuse. so maybe heres layne feeling guilty of doing drugs himself and if he had stopped and forced demri to stop she wouldnt have had her life cut so tragically short. so maybe the guilt, and the feeling of letting a woman take the fall for him kind of links to the fact that he led demri down a path of drug abuse and it was her that took the fall by dying...any comments on this?

No Picture Collin Wanna Be	#15 by Collin McCabe at Sep 30, 2007 at 8:27 PM EST
	i like the line im a riddle so strong you cant break me. exactly. 1 2 Next

No Picture Spença Average	#16 by Spença B at Sep 30, 2007 at 9:37 PM EST
	I think this is a beautiful song. It's brutally honest and really exposes Layne's emotional side. "My heart is tired of beating slow" is particularly powerful. I also had assumed that it was an early recording...but it makes better sense that it is one of the last. I think the unpolished sound adds to its charm.

No Picture Chuck Average	#17 by Chuck Webber at Oct 1, 2007 at 6:48 AM EST
	This song (my personal fav) is obviously about a girl that left him and has left him feeling as though he is nothing. He finds himself to be so enigmatic that she could never really understand him, so how could she ever love him? A VERY powerful song.

No Picture Aleksandar Average	#18 by Aleksandar Radošević at Oct 1, 2007 at 7:17 AM EST
	i heard this was a song Jerry was working on for his solo album, showed it to Layne, and it picked him up and back into the band. my guess is that Cantrell really tried to keep the band together, I don't think it was his choice to go solo (especially considering his first solo album even featured Inez and Kinney). I think his heart was in Alice much more than Staley's - Layne said on many occasions that music is just one of his outlets, while Cantrell imo really was the prolific member of the group, writing most of the music and lyrics, with Staley mainly contributing his charm. And its pretty obvious in hindsight that the drugs and shit got in the way of Layne's work. Don't get me wrong, I love Layne, and aic would not have been the insightful, tormented, funny, dark, epic and tragic band they were without him; but at the same time I see him as a weight that held them back. I'm astounded by Jerry's patience, how he kept his cool, stood up for Layne and made excuses for him, interview after interview and show after show... theres no better place to see that than on the unplugged show. The couple of outtakes they included on that were apparently of many - they hadn't played for 3 years and Staley was obviously sick and probably loaded. Even now Jerry is basically forced to mention Layne's legacy every time he speaks or plays. How would you like to have to mention your dead friend every single day? Fuck it, Jerry is my hero - I can't believe the strength of that man. Although Jerry wrote that great riff and intended it for his solo album, I don't know if he had any lyrics for it. If this was written by Staley then it's certainly about Demri imho. It starts out saying he wants to go to heaven and find out where all the junkies go (to find Demri). He blames himself - he knew she was killing herself with heroin, but only now knows that he should have done something. Next verse, he talks of visiting hell, and seeing all the fun things to do there. Maybe that's a metaphor for drugs itself. The chorus is about Staley losing a will to live and will to work. He hardly released anything after Demri's death. I see her passing as the last straw with his fight against heroin. It seems to me that from that point he had nothing to live for but the drug. "And it was called "Died!" talk about bad luck Staley. he should have written one called "gonna stop doing Heroin" " ... funny yet sickening... and Negrum, Inez was there from 92.. a decade before the death of Staley. I'm pretty sure he felt the effects of Layne's death as bad as any of them. Good luck Jerry, Mike and Sean, and rest in peace Layne & Demri.

No Picture Steven Average	#19 by Steven Daniel at Oct 1, 2007 at 8:38 AM EST
	Layne, why did you have to die? Please rest in peace. It surely was raining to me when you died. AIC will live on forever, along with the lasting memory of Layne Staley.

No Picture Ross Average	#20 by Ross Kennedy at Oct 1, 2007 at 7:38 PM EST
	I'm sure the lyrics will help anyone get a great dose of Addicting AIC depression, but I like Cantrell's Guitar Riffs. They are some of his best...

No Picture kristopher-karl Average	#21 by kristopher-karl Schröder at Oct 2, 2007 at 6:28 PM EST
	the weird thing about this is...it actually rained in alot of places when we found out he had died...that still haunts me

No Picture Bassman_2000 Rhythm Player	#22 by Bassman_2000 at Oct 3, 2007 at 4:42 AM EST
	SworntotheBlack,your right,it was writen when Get Born again was written,back in 99,months before they release Music Bank....and your right too about the heart complications

No Picture FUCK Rhythm Player	#23 by FUCK OFF at Oct 3, 2007 at 11:33 PM EST
	The album came out in 2002. I agree with those above about a girl covering something for him...what it is is the mystery. I think the author (Layne or Jerry??) is alluding to being struck by lightning for committing such a sin, hence, 'rain when I die', ie a thunderstorm. Just my 2 cents...

No Picture Slash Rhythm Player	#24 by Slash at Oct 4, 2007 at 1:47 AM EST
	why is it all the great singers die...brad nowell,kurt cobain,and now layne staley,all of you made great music and you will be missed

No Picture lubnut Average	#25 by lubnut at Oct 4, 2007 at 7:22 PM EST
	Yeah it is about her. Anyone find it ironic that this was Alice in Chains last song they recorded together? And it was called "Died!" talk about bad luck Staley. he should have written one called "gonna stop doing Heroin" After Layne died I was reading and Died, Get born again and another one were the last 3 songs they recorded together

No Picture Roger Wanna Be	#26 by Roger Osinski at Oct 4, 2007 at 8:04 PM EST
	i agree with Maxpower for the most part. It seems that Layne had this girl he really cared for but something deep inside of him held him back from fully loving her/caring for her. The line "caught in ice so she stares, stares at nothing, I could help her but won't, now she hates me" shows how enigmatic he was. The song is very powerful, as is the music itself, which is very strange but extraordinarily well-written and is one of my personal favorites.

No Picture James Wanna Be	#27 by James Valentine at Oct 5, 2007 at 1:10 AM EST
	I think he's unsure of whether she really loves him or not, and that upsets him hence the "I think it's gonna rain when i die" line.

No Picture Sean Average	#28 by Sean Robinson at Oct 5, 2007 at 4:21 AM EST
	Rain When I Die is not about Demri. This song is on Dirt, released in 1992. Demri died in 1996. Another AIC song that can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the circumstance or situation of the person. Back when I was doing as much research as I can on AIC and Layne Staley, I actually tried finding if it actually rained when Layne Staley died (RIP sweet Layne). I found this site that showed the weather records for the Seattle area in April 2002. Out of all the days, on the 5th, 6th, and the 20th, there was no data. Whether it rained or not on his death, it rained in our lives as well as the music industry. I know Im a big loser. Who cares.

No Picture Your account ha Average	#29 by Your account has been hacked into by Bkid23 Stupid.... at Oct 5, 2007 at 4:49 AM EST
	I think Samuraiguy420 is correct with his interpretion. You know whats creepy? It did rain when Layne died. He got his wish. RIP Layne you will always be missed.

No Picture Jonathan Average	#30 by Jonathan Williams at Oct 5, 2007 at 5:45 AM EST
	well,I am pretty sure this song is for his lost fiance' Demri,who died in 1996 from I geuss heroin overdose,but I've heard different story,but it makes sense,he loved her,and now he's with her again..RIP Layne,your with Demri now

No Picture If i can't be m Average	#31 by If i can't be my own, i'd feel better dead at Oct 5, 2007 at 6:14 AM EST
	I think he's unsure of whether she really loves him or not, and that upsets him hence the "I think it's gonna rain when i die" line.

No Picture lucas Average	#32 by lucas cordina at Oct 5, 2007 at 11:20 AM EST
	Everyone seems to be ignoring evil killer phones comment and i reckon hes spot on! I think people can interpret the song as a breakup with a girl, but I think the idea of the the girl covering for him is totally right. "She wont let me hide, She Dont want me to cry" seems to be saying that shes willing to cover for him. I also think he has doubts about whether she will keep quiet about him, and whatever hes done wrong

No Picture phoen Average	#33 by phoen bay at Oct 5, 2007 at 7:58 PM EST
	the only girl that layne ever loved was his one true love, DEMRI. demri was also a drug addict, and laynes dream was for them to kick the habit and get maried one day, but sadly enough demri passed and laynes only love was gone. i think layne blamed himself somewhat, and i think this song is about demri and how he couldnt save her.