The Carpenters - Rainy Days and Mondays. - Lyrics Meaning

Rainy Days and Mondays was composed and written by the highly prolific song writing duo of Roger Nichols and Paul Williams for the Carpenters in 1971. The song made it to second place in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The Carpenters were formed as a brother and sister duo, with Richard's production skills driving them forward. Karen was a gifted drummer and it was always regarded that the group would focus on close harmonies. But such was the uniqueness and strength of Karen's voice that she took the lead in most of the group's singles, and made them classics, with Rainy Days and Mondays being no exception.

As is the case with many of the Carpenters songs, especially their earlier ones, the mood is heavy and somber. Karen's "dark brown voice" lends itself beautifully crafted lyrics, the backing group's close harmonies, Richard Carpenter's slick production and an excellent saxophone solo break make for a beautiful song that has stood the test of time.

The song's lyrics describe how a combination of a rainy day and returning to a boring routine after the weekend on Monday "always get me down."

Yet all is not doom and gloom as there is a hint of romantic interest, and Karen describes how she "always winds up here with you."