KEITH WHITLEY - I'M NO STRANGER TO THE RAIN

I'M NO STRANGER TO THE RAIN

KEITH WHITLEY

SONGWRITERS: SONNY CURTIS & RON HELLARD

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES

LABEL: RCA VICTOR

GENRE: COUNTRY

YEAR: 1988

 

           Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer. During his career, Whitley only recorded two albums but charted 12 singles on the Billboard country charts, and 7 more after his death.

            Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Whitley grew up in nearby Sandy Hook, Kentucky. Whitley began his career there in 1970, performing in Ralph Stanley's band. Establishing himself as a lead singer in bluegrass music, Whitley moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1983 and began his recording career there. His first Top 20 Country Hit single, "Miami, My Amy", was released in 1986. In 1988, his first three singles from his studio álbum Don't Close Your Eyes, the title song, "When You Say Nothing at All" and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain" were number one hits. Years of alcoholism severely compromised his health and he died of alcohol intoxication in 1989 at his Goodlettsville home at the age of 34. His later singles, "I Wonder Do You Think of Me", "It Ain't Nothin'", and "I'm Over You", were released after his death.

         Whitley was born to Faye Ferguson (editor of The Elliott County News) and Elmer Whitley (an electrician) in Ashland, Kentucky, but was raised 46 miles away in Sandy Hook, and attended Sandy Hook High School. He had two brothers, Randy and Dwight, and a sister, Mary. The Whitley family is of English and Scots-Irish descent and has lived in the Elliott County area since the 1840s.

           While Whitley was a teenager in Sandy Hook, he and his friends would pass the time drinking bootleg bourbon and racing their cars down mountain roads at dangerous speeds. Whitley was once in a car whose driver attempted to round a curve at 120 mph. The car wrecked, killing his friend and almost breaking Whitley's neck. In another incident, he drove his car off a 120-foot cliff into a frozen river, escaping with only a broken collar bone.

         Whitley lost his brother Randy in an October 1983 motorcycle accident, and his father Elmer. Most of his family moved to Texas, along with the musician Justin Fulcher.

             "I'm No Stranger to the Rain" is a song recorded by American country music artist Keith Whitley. It was released in January 1989 as the fifth and final single from his álbum Don't Close Your Eyes, and was the last single released during Whitley's lifetime. It peaked at number-one in both the United States and Canada. Joe Diffie covered the song on Whitley's 1995 tribute album. It was written by Sonny Curtis and Ron Hellard.

I'm no stranger to the rain

I'm a friend of thunder

Friend, is it any wonder lightning strikes me

I've fought with the devil

Got down on his level

But I never gave in, so he gave up on me

 

I'm no stranger to the rain

I can spot bad weather

And I'm good at finding shelter in a downpour

I've been sacrificed by brothers

Crucified by lovers

But through it all I withstood the pain

I'm no stranger to the rain

 

But when I get that foggy feeling

When I'm feeling down

If I don't keep my head up, I may drown

But it's hard to keep believing

I'll even come out even

While the rain beats your hope in the ground

And tonight it's really coming down

 

I'm no stranger to the rain

But there'll always be tomorrow

And I'll beg, steal, or borrow a little sunshine

And I'll put this cloud behind me

That's how the Man designed me

To ride the wind and dance in a hurricane

I'm no stranger to the rain

 

Oh, no, I'm no stranger to the rain

 

I'm no stranger to the rain

I'm a friend of thunder

Friend, is it any wonder lightning strikes me

But I'll put this cloud behind me

That's how the Man designed me

To ride the wind and dance in a hurricane

I'm no stranger to the rain

 

Oh, no, I'm no stranger to the rain.