Trying to Stop the Rain: an Analysis of the Song by TABLO x RM

A heavy, yet hopeful song from two diaries

(This is my personal analysis and theories from “Stop the Rain” and its messages based on my perspective of the lyrics, my own experience with “rain,” and what I know about RM’s past messages and discography as a fan of his music.)

We’ve all experienced rainy days. Days where our mind betrays us and allows us to believe lies about ourselves, brings up memories we wish we could forget, and creates anxiety about the future.

The topic of rain, both as a friend and as a reminder of pain, are no stranger to the discography of BTS’s RM (Kim Namjoon), who has written multiple songs referencing rain. Similarly, Epik High’s TABLO (Daniel Lee) is also known for some of his rain-themed songs.

Whether we see rain as a friend or as a pain to overcome, we all “meet” the rain in some form throughout our lives.

TABLO and RM’s new song, “Stop the Rain,” addresses this very point. This heavy yet hopeful song addresses the rappers’s past trauma in a storyline that was compared to the mythical story of Icarus. Both TABLO and RM have a knack for very poetically expressing underlying hope, even in a situation that my seem completely hopeless on the surface. This song is a picture of the journey from desperation to quiet, gentle hope and the will to never give up. It’s a picture of pain being turned into something beautiful, devastation refined into art.

“It’s about how to stop the rain inside of you,” TABLO said before the song’s release.

Like the rain, the theme of Icarus isn’t new to RM. The story of Icarus was alluded to in RM’s song “Intro: Persona,” BTS’s song, “Blood, Sweat, and Tears,” and the entire “Wings” album, which ultimately shows the dangers of giving in to temptation and how these things (lust, pride, evil) will ultimately lead to death. It’s a journey of youth to adulthood while trying to avoid the pitfalls and traps that can come along with newfound freedom.

Icarus, according to mythological legend, is a young man who was given wings by his father so they could escape their imprisonment. Instead of using his newfound freedom responsibly, he flew too close to the sun, leading to his demise.

And this song, which feels like pages ripped out of both artists’s diaries, is raw, vulnerable, brave, and honest. You can feel their despair in the lyrics, but also the seed of hope that it is possible to stop the rain, or at least keep it from destroying us completely. TABLO even addressed this before the song released, saying it was a “dark but healing vibe.”

In that same vein, the song starts with TABLO acknowledging the existence of the rain, greeting it like a friend, rather than the enemy it is.

(Italicized lyrics are sung by TABLO and bold by RM)

Hello, rainy day

TABLO

RM

(I’m all in with a losing hand)

The song begins with a vibey lo-fi sound before the sound of TV static abruptly interrupts the music, changing the flow to a melancholy beat and the sound of TABLO’s rap.

TABLO greets the rain, acknowledging its familiarity and ever-constant presence in his life, and though this rain isn’t a friend and even causes him immense pain, this greeting almost alludes to acceptance of the rain in his life.

This is further emphasized in the line, “I’m all in with a losing hand.” Though he may be “all in” in life, giving it his all and trying to live it to the best of his ability, he feels like he is fighting a losing battle because of the rain’s grip. The video even includes playing cards, stressing this point further.

Though he has put it all on the line, he still has a losing hand. He keeps playing, even with this knowledge.

Teachers called me rebel

Parents called me lost

Pastors called me devil

Had me kneelin’ at the cross

Since I was young’un, I was called names and bossed around

Back to the wall so long, call me pain’s poster child

In his lines, TABLO opens up about past trauma and abuse that seemingly came from the people who should be protectors and a safe space — his parents, pastors, and teachers.

Rather than cherishing his life and encouraging him to pursue his passion, we get the picture from TABLO’s lyrics that he was instead bullied, talked down to, and even hurt by those who should have been his biggest cheerleaders.

Religious home, times were different

They told me I was gifted

But to unwrap my mind was wicked

I was raised by guilt, by shame, raised by the rod

(Bloody calves sacrificed in the name of their ‘god’)

They claimed it was love, felt like heartbreak to me

These lines are so devastating to me, and I think it is something that we see in religion all too often. Legalism (the belief that salvation is achieved through good works or good performance) is at the very core of this.

In the realm of Christianity (which is the main religion I have knowledge of as a Christian), legalism often manifests itself in destructive ways, allowing people who claim to be Christians hurt others through their words, actions, and ideologies that are not rooted in the Bible. It leads to parents hurting their children through made up rules and expectations that come down to the issue of control.

When this is the case, these people are not representatives of Christ, but the devil himself.

In TABLO’s experience, from what we can glean from the lyrics, he was discouraged from following his passion and unwrapping his mind and talent for music because it was seen as wicked. It even manifested in physical abuse.

I think the line “Bloody calves sacrificed in the name of their ‘god’” is also important. Though those hurting him may have claimed to serve God, those who harm cannot be serving God. Though they may think they are, they are disillusioned. Real people of God protect, heal, and care, not abuse, hurt, and maim.

Later they’d say, “Baby, all your scars are to teach and remind you, you can soar higher”

What good’s a bird’s eye view when you’re in a hunter’s crossfire?

Sometimes I wished I got crushed in the womb

Turned to dust in the womb

TABLO even goes as far to say he wished that he had died in the womb, rather than bearing the pain from those who wished to see him silenced and complacent.

Though those who hurt him later tried to justify the pain inflicted on him as a test of adversity that merely helped him gain his wings to fly, he wonders the purpose of having such a beautiful view if he’s constantly wondering when he will be shot down again.

“What good’s a bird’s eye view when you’re in a hunter’s crossfire?” What stunning and painful lyrics. This line is one of my favorites out of all the lines in the song, as it is crafted so intentionally, making you pause and catch your breath.

This is another reference to Icarus. Though those who hurt him are saying they gave him “wings” through their abuses, they are also the people who shot him down when he attempted to fly. It is such a clear picture of the lasting scars from this time in TABLO’s life.

The rain, the rain will fall

And tomorrow may not come

But maybe the tears will fall to wash the pain away

I’m tryna stop the rain

(I know what it feels like)

The rain, signifying the hurts and pains we’ve all experienced, will inevitably come. There’s no way to escape it, as it is just a part of living and being human. When we’re experiencing these times of hurt and heartbreak, it can feel like it’s the end of the world and we won’t make it through this rainy path.

In these lines, RM expresses his hope that the tears that fall from the very depths and cracks in his heart will help wash the pain away. Drowning his pain in the tears as a desperate plea for the pain to stop.

Though this kind of rain can feel suffocating and impossible to escape, RM states the first line of hope that we see in this song.

“I’m tryna stop the rain.”

Though simple, this sentence holds an incredibly emotional and significant meaning. Instead of holding onto despair and giving up, RM is declaring that it is possible to overcome the rain that is threatening to drown us. And though it isn’t an easy, cut and dry process, it is possible. What matters is that we start and that we try.

We can stop the rain.

Originally, TABLO had written the lyrics to say, “I can’t stop the rain.” During the songwriting process, however, he shared that RM suggested a lyric change. Now, the lyrics hold a note of hope, “I’m tryna stop the rain.”

This slight change now became a step from hopeless to hope. From “I can’t change this,” to “I will write my own story.”

Those familiar with RM’s discography know that this is a common theme. Even when he’s writing about difficult circumstances or what look like dead ends, RM’s music points to one very important truth.

Life is worth living.

In his song “Still Life” from his album “Indigo,” RM raps, “Life is better than the death, I’ll prove it.”

“You wish you were dead?” RM asked while reading comments in a live before his enlistment. “I was the same too, once… Believe me, life is really fun. It’s worth living.”

Can’t run away from the pain

I feel like I’m goin’ insane

Bad thoughts fillin’ up my brain

Demons swimmin’ inside my veins

Two seconds from fallin’ into nothing

Can’t run away from the pain

I’m tryna stop the rain

(Repeated at the end, with TABLO and RM singing opposite lines)

Because he can’t escape the rain, he begins to get lost in his mind and in the thoughts threatening to suffocate him. The “demons” in his veins could be referring to the anxiety he feels when he realizes he may never escape from this rain.

It’s gotten to the point where he feels like the final thread will snap at any moment, sending him falling forever into nothingness, never able to recover from what he so desperately wants to escape from.

Though he can’t run from it, he still summons his bravery and once again declares he’s not going to give up or give in. Instead, he is going to try to stop the rain.

When I was a kid

I was convinced that I was destined for the 27 club

I’m 29 sinkin’ in the bathtub, sippin’ gin, lookin’ for another club

All the lost was a lust, dust into dust

Stray after stable, 다시 덫 뒤에 덫

And every night I put my shadows on

The 27 club references the group of celebrities and musicians who died at the age of 27. Some of these people are Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and more. There are about 60 singers who are confirmed to have died at this age.

RM admits that he once thought that death at 27 years old would be his fate, but now that he has made it past that milestone and made it to 29 years old (at the time of his writing of the song), his anxious and rainy mind is just looking for another club, as his rain has convinced him that he can’t possibly live a peaceful life, a life without intense pain, and stressors targeting him at every moment.

While I’m quick to assume he felt like his life would end in death at 27 years old, it’s very possible he was referring to another kind of death as well.

For those who aren’t very familiar with Korean culture, work is often seen as synonymous with misery, or to some, even death. The concept of chasing your dream or passion in the workplace is rare, and work is often seen as shackles that are meant to hold you hostage until death or retirement.

RM could have also been speaking of the possible “death” he could have faced in the workplace, a death of losing your soul to the grind and hustle of working to survive, if his dream of pursuing music hadn’t come true.

“All the lost was a lust, dust into dust.” I find this line very telling as well. From my interpretation of the lyrics, this line references what fate awaits us when we chase after lust or temporal things. While they may fill us and make us happy for a brief moment, they only succeed in turning us to dust. We weren’t created to be satisfied with things that are superficial or built on lust. We were created for something deeper, and I think RM is saying that he has realized that these meaningless pursuits won’t fill the hole the rain has created.

A friend also pointed out that this line, “dust into dust,” illustrates the Bible verse Genesis 3:19, “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Whether RM knew about this verse or not is unknown to us as the listener, but it still emphasizes that life is fleeting, like the dust we were created from.

The only Korean line in the song is, “다시 덫 뒤에 덫,” and is a Korean phrase that alludes to the cycle of being stuck or caught in a trap. Though he knows he is made for more, he is trapped in the cycle his rain has made, keeping him in a trap that leaves him feeling unworthy and hopeless.

Despite the rain, what we may deem as our shortcomings, and as we search for peace, we are worthy of life, worthy of love, and worthy of all the good things in this world, merely because we created for a purpose. Rain does not define or dictate our purpose.

He also references his “shadows” that he “puts on,” which can be tied back to BTS’s song “The Truth Untold” and our urge to put on a mask to hide the pains and struggles we experience.

Referencing the shadow as a possible mask, “The Truth Untold” says, “It’s my fate. Don’t smile to me, light on me, because I can’t get closer to you. There’s no name I can call you by. You know that I can’t show you me, give you me. I can’t show you a ruined part of myself. Once again, I put a mask on and go to see you. But I still want you.”

Though we may be tempted to hide behind a mask or shadow that “protects” us, we need to learn how to abandon these masks and live how we were created to live.

“Be positive” I know

But you gotta know my life is out of love

All the lessons learned already, comin’ out of trust

Keep my mind steady but it’s hard to readjust

Nothing stops time but the clock will turn to rust

If someone were to tell me that this song was on RM’s mixtape/playlist mono, I would believe them without a second thought. This song so perfectly encapsulates the feelings RM poured into mono, and it goes nearly hand in hand with his song, “forever rain.”

In “forever rain,” however, RM sings about the rain as a friend, someone who is “knocking on my door, asking if I’m doing alright.” Now, instead of a message of forever rain that he hopes keeps pouring forever, we see him trying to stop the rain.

As RM continues with this verse, TABLO raps, “Be positive,” most likely referencing people who don’t have the depth of heart to be able to help someone through their struggles, rather urging them to “brush if off” or just “be positive.”

Though he struggles, he wants those who listen to know that his life is “out of love” and he wants to be known by love and trust, not by the rain he sees as a blot on his life. Those who know the messages BTS and RM have promoted in the past would know this is true — his music career has revolved around urging people to love themselves and find worth in their humanness.

He wishes he could stop time, have a moment to take a breath and steady his hurting mind, but time cannot stop. All he can do is do his best with the time he has at this moment.

Pain and rain, they stay the same

Got me lookin’ for the exit just to entertain

Pain and rain, I think I’m goin’ insane

Gotta turn off my phone tonight

I’m tryna stop the rain

I’m tryna stop the rain

He shares that he sees the words “pain” and “rain” as synonymous with each other, adding his desire to find an exit, though he can only entertain the thought, as it feels impossible. To keep from fully “goin’ insane” and losing what’s left of his battered self, he turns off his phone, as that is the only way to find some momentary peace.

Despite this terrible ache he is experiencing, he once again bravely declares that he is going to try to stop the rain. Throughout this entire song, we can see that he refuses to give up, knowing that what is on the other side of this rain will be worth the fight.

Stopping the rain will look different for everyone, but the first time I listened to this song, the first thing I thought of was an umbrella.

We can be an umbrella for those around us. For those who are trying to stop the rain, we can become their umbrella and a life raft when the waves get too tall for them to navigate while swimming on their own.

It makes me think of the Lady A song, “Can’t Stand the Rain,” and the lines:

With arms open wide

I’ll be your umbrella when you just can’t stand the rain

I’m there by your side

I wanna be your shelter

When you just can’t stand the rain

TABLO and RM’s song is a masterpiece, and it truly confirms that these artists aren’t in this business or writing music only to make big hits, become richer, or trend on Instagram reels and TikTok. They genuinely love music, they want to tell a story, and they want to positively impact and comfort those who love their music.

They want to become our umbrella.

This song is a picture of the beautiful partnership that can come from artists and their fans when they have mutual love, respect, and trust in each other.

You don’t always have to be strong, and you don’t always have to have it together or have all the answers. And if you aren’t able to completely stop your rain, that’s okay too. What matters is that we try, and we allow ourselves to learn from the rain, working to become better people in the process.

Like kintsugi, which becomes a valuable work of art one it’s broken and put back together, we can emerge more beautiful, more whole, and more able to love on the other side of the rain that tried, and failed, to drown us.