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Rain in May

1981 song by Max Werner

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 5, 2025
Entity authorityQ118349278 ↗
Source-derived summary

"Rain in May" is a song by Dutch musician Max Werner from his first solo album, Seasons (1981). Written and produced by Werner, Chris Meldon and Chris Pilgram, it was released as the album's single in April 1981.

Composition and lyrics

"Rain in May" is written in common time. The track has a tempo of 98 beats per minute and is played in the key of G major. In the lyrics, the male narrator describes his depressive mood during the three seasons: autumn (first stanza), winter (second stanza) and summer in the last stanza. The only time of year he feels comfortable is spring, especially during the month of May. Various unpleasant phenomena that occur in every season are discussed, such as cold and slippery roads in winter. At the end of each verse and in the chorus, he expresses his euphoria in relation to the eponymous "Rain in May".

Commercial performance

"Rain in May" peaked at No. 3 on the Netherlands' Dutch Top 40 chart in June 1981 and was also a chart success in certain other European countries as well.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Rain in May” as 1981 song by Max Werner. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rain, song and Werner.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1981—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1981. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Rain, song and Werner providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Rain in May”, the useful work is to connect “1981 song by Max Werner” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q118349278. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1981.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Rain in May”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Rain in May primary sources, Rain in May archive and Rain research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rain in May”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Rain in May” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.