[lit-ideas] It rains

From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 10:58:03 -0400 (EDT)
Or not.
 
In a message dated 9/29/2013 8:05:27 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
"..."It is raining or not" adds nothing  except to introduce that the "it" 
(in "What shall we do if it..") ... in  John's exchange, merely a way of 
introducing the "it" of his questions..."
This actually reminds me of Strawson and Al Jolson.

In his "Introduction to Logical theory" Strawson wonders what the 'it'  
refers to in "It's raining". In "April Showers", quoting from the lyricists,  
Jolson notes that the 'it' refers, contigentially, to 'the rain', but there 
are  scenarios where this may change:
 
 
 
Life is not a highway strewn with flowers,
Still it holds a goodly share  of bliss,
When the sun gives way to April showers,
Here is the point you  should never miss.
Though April showers may come your way,
They bring the  flowers that bloom in May.
So if it's raining, have no regrets,

Because 
 
--> it isn't raining rain, you know, (It's raining violets,)

And where you see clouds upon the hills,
You soon will see crowds of  daffodils,
So keep on looking for a blue bird, And list'ning for his  song,
Whenever April showers come along.

--
 
Note the line:
 
It isn't raining rain, you know; it's raining violets.
 
During the depression a more monetary approach was taken:
 
--
 
A long time ago, a million years B.C.
The best things in life were  absolutely free
But no one appreciated a sky that was always  blue
And no one congratulated, moon that was always new
So it was planned that they would vanish now and then
And you must  pay before you get them back again
That's what storms were made  for
But you shouldn't be afraid for
Every time it rains

----> It rains pennies from heaven

Don't you know each cloud
Contains pennies from  heaven
You'll find your fortune's falling all over town
Make sure that  your umbrella is upside down
Trade them for a package of sunshine and  flowers
'Cause if you want the things you love, you must have  showers
So if you hear it thunder, don't run under a tree
There'll be  pennies from heaven for you and me
So if you hear it thunder, don't run  under a tree
There'll be pennies from heaven for you and  me
There'll be pennies from heaven for you and me
 
---
 
In brief, the two climbers may need an expansion:
 
McEvoy:
 
"This is clear enough if we imagine how mad, or nonsensical, it would be if 
 one of the climbers were to reply after "- What shall we do if it is 
raining?  What shall we do if it is not raining?" by saying "Hold on - haven't 
you skipped  something important? That "It is raining or not"?"
 
In fact, something even more important may have been skipped:
 
"Raining what? Rain? Violets? Pennies, ... or what?"

According to Greek mythology, the rain was the liquid product of their  god 
Zeus, via his messenger Ouranous (cognate with English 'urine' and 
Sanskrit,  "varsa", rain) (Proto-Greek form *(F)orsanόj (worsanos) derived from 
the 
noun  *(F)orsό (worso, Sanskrit: varsa "rain" ). The relative 
Proto-Indo-European  language root is *ers "to moisten, to drip" (Sanskrit: 
varsati "to  
rain")).
 
It may be argued that Strawson's question: "It rains (what is "it"?)" in  
Introduction to Logical Theory does not get answered by Jolson "It's raining  
rain? It's raining violets?" or Bing Crosby ("it rains pennies") -- The 
climbers  may need to clarify the reference assignment then for both the 
subject-position  ('it') and the object-position (raining _what_). They may 
want 
to disimplicate  that it's not pouring, too.
 
Cheers,
 
Speranza
 
 
 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
[lit-ideas] It rains

Other related posts:
