Red Rain (song)

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"Red Rain"

Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album So
Released	1987
Format	7", 12", CD
Genre	Rock
Length	5:39
Label	Geffen
Producer(s)	Peter Gabriel, Chris Hughes and Daniel Lanois
Chart positions
#3 (US Mainstream Rock Tracks)
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"Big Time" (1987)	"Red Rain" (1987)	"Biko Live/No More Apartheid" (1987)

Red Rain is the first track on Peter Gabriel's solo album So. In the USA, it reached #3 on Billboard magazine's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Stewart Copeland from The Police, played the hi-hat for the rain-like background sound.

The song is a combination of several inspirations. The lyrics directly reference a recurring dream Gabriel was having where he swam through red water.^{[citation needed]}

Earlier in his solo career, Gabriel had an idea for a movie, Mozo. In it, villagers were punished for their sins with a blood red rain. "Red Rain" was to be the theme song. This idea was eventually scrapped, although there was a mention of Mozo in the song "On The Air" in Peter Gabriel (II).

According to the sleeve notes from the remastered version of So, it is also a reference to acid rain. The song was covered by Ill Niño on The Under Cover Sessions.