Boston Rain by Paul B. '11
With apologies to Tay Zonday.
Despite being the middle of winter, on Friday the entire Boston area ended up getting drenched in an unexpected deluge of rain. Yes, you read that right: rain. For a variety of reasons, this made me less than happy.
Snow, you see, I could have handled. After all, snow isn’t only picturesque, and fun to play with (or in), it even can serve as a metaphor for life. (Who can argue with that?) And whenever I see those first flakes falling from the sky, I won’t deny that I always took a certain pleasure in running around trying to taste a few. Which makes me sound like a fifth-grader, but it’s true, so there you go.
Rain, on the other hand, just gets everybody wet. Including me. Normally, I wouldn’t really mind a little rain, because like most people I kept a pretty good pair of rain boots in my dorm room, not to mention three (count ’em) umbrellas. In case you’re curious, and I’m sure you are (not), I brought one from home, and I ended up buying the other two from LaVerde’s – MIT’s on-campus mini-mart, basically – during the fall term when it spontaneously started raining during the day. Unfortunately, my excess of umbrellas was of no help to me Friday, because I wasn’t in my dorm room last night. Instead, I was at my fraternity.
In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out (for the parents’ sake, if nothing else) that all MIT students live in dormitories for their entire freshman year, regardless of whether they join any particular fraternity, sorority, or other independent living group. And in spite of being part of MIT’s exceptionally vibrant Greek community, I’m as proud to live in Simmons Hall as any other Sim – it’s simply that I’m part of another living group in addition to Simmons. And because it’s IAP, I decided to take advantage of all the free time (well, more free time than I’m used to, anyway) by spending a few nights over at the fraternity house.
Unfortunately, since it is supposedly the middle of winter, I didn’t think to bring one of my umbrellas along with me. Even so, the rain ordinarily wouldn’t have been a big deal, since MIT’s tunnel system makes getting around campus while staying dry a pretty simple endeavor. Friday, however, was not an ordinary day – and my destination was somewhere even MIT’s most distant tunnels couldn’t reach.
While I could simply tell you my story in normal, everyday prose, I decided that it’d be far more amusing to do so in song. Accordingly, I’ve adapted the melody of “Chocolate Rain” by Tay Zonady to form yet another spoof – entitled, fittingly, “Boston Rain.” (If you haven’t seen or at least heard of “Chocolate Rain” – although you probably have, since according to Wikipedia it’s the second most viral video in the world – well, you’re missing out. So go watch it!)
Unfortunately, I’m not going to sing it for you. Sorry, but trust me, you’re better off this way. So sit back, sing along to yourself, and enjoy. =P
Boston Rain
(Un)original Cover By
PAUL BARANAY
Boston Rain
Some stay dry while others feel the pain
Boston Rain
I got so wet I may never go outside again
(*I move away from my blog to breathe in*)
Boston Rain
Makes it hard to get where you want to go
Boston Rain
Come listen to my tale of woe
For my UROP is just one part of a collaboration
Boston Rain
Between several centers of science innovation
Although MIT is where I do most of my work
Boston Rain
Visiting MGH is a cool little perk
I woke up this morning eager to go
Boston Rain
Soon had me feeling pretty low
Is hard to handle sans umbrella
Boston Rain
I felt like a pretty miserable fella
All I wanted to do was take the T
Boston Rain
Who knew Mother Nature had other plans for me
Walking to Copley Station really was a pain
Boston Rain
But once inside I got dry again
Copley to Park Street went fairly well
Boston Rain
I transfered to the Red Line just swell
Couldn’t touch me on the train
Boston Rain
Outside MGH, I soon got soaked again
Made finding my building slightly tough
Boston Rain
All in all my trip was rather rough
But I survived to tell the tale
Boston Rain
Next week I’ll be back for more
First! woot first time being first!
Now I need to go look up that song and sing your words to it. =]
LOL funny rhymes !
Did not know you had poetry skills. We should talk in rhymes on facebook ^^
So what is your UROP about ? You haven’t told us yet ! We (I) am curious !
Nice song! I have to admit that I haven’t ever heard “Chocolate Rain” but I will have to now! I love the rain by the way
…wow. Just wow. E-mail me for another two minutes of your life that you’ll never get back
But anyway, I like reading these blogs because they basically are exactly the weather that we’re getting in Chicago, only a few days later. I suppose if I’m admitted, it will be like awkward jet lag that never quite wears off.
And, if you were a girl, you would have received an umbrella inside of your new purse for Christmas, bringing your umbrella count up to 4! How are the LaVerde’s umbrellas, by the way? One of the other english tutors at my school and I have a long-running debate on whether or not a good umbrella can be purchased for under $25.
I’ve never heard of Chocolate Rain either! I’m going to have to watch it on YouTube. Sorry about your rainy day!!
Awesome. Just awesome.
Much better than my “Hot Chocolate Rain” cover that I’ve been planning.
I think I might be the biggest Tay Zonday fan at MIT. I have all of his songs.
wow paul, that was absolutely great!…..what happened to ben’s birthday and though?
Hey, he can WRITE too! Yay! I like this post, Paul! It’s like an awesome songfic, except not… fiction. How’s life at the frat?
Oh, and I like rain. I like WEATHER. We don’t get much of it in Los Angeles.
Isshak – Haha, a longer entry about my UROP is coming soon. Sorry for leaving you in suspense.
Teresa – You’re blowing the surprise!
Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.
Upon further inspection, the video that I initally viewed was a cover. The actual version was pretty decent.
I like rain and getting wet (by rain, of course). If you get wet, you’ll surely get dry soon (and, depending the situation, you may get a cold; but that’s another history).
Flu-es apart, have you ever considered to buy an pocket umbrella and leave it during winter in your bag? I bought one in the street for about $3 and it’s been useful for about two seasons… just thinking aloud…
^^ lol.
(c^)^2 lol.
Just for the record, Paul’s babies are named Jamie and Susan, and they’re both sweet kids. I don’t like that you are impugning their good names on the internet. That’s just unfair.
I am from the Boston area, and I got soaked in the rain on Friday too! While walking from a T stop to my destination, in fact. Snow is definitely preferable. On that note, good news! I hear there is going to be a lot of snow Sunday night/Monday. Being in high school still, I must admit I am hoping for a snow day.
Oh, honey, after you live in Boston a little longer, you’ll learn to carry an umbrella all winter — they’re really useful in nor’easters and ice storms as well as in the rain.
My lab is at MGH. If you ever want to grab lunch, I’m there at basically all hours of the day and night.
They have $1 ice cream in the cafeteria!
Rawr it must be because of global warming =(
Aww I hope you didn’t catch a cold?
In a weird way, it’s good you were drenched today (kind of) or else you wouldn’t have been inspired to blog this post and write the song =)
WE SHOULD ALL SING IT TOGETHER AT THE CPW!
This is a pretty good version!
Make a Youtube version and show it to Tay, haha.
I just finished singing it (poor Paul! btw I’ll have to ask you about what you’re studying at MGH some other time)
@ Hank R.,
Aw darn, I thought I’d be the biggest Zonday fan at MIT! Hmm, I could still hold the title as the biggest ’12 TZ fan, I guess
So what’s your favorite?
Hey this is quite artistic. I think recent post for the attention to art blogs at MIT caught your attention and you thought of doing something like that. I really appreciate it. And that’s a very good initiative from your side buddy.
How was your experience for getting drenched in the rain? Your ribs must be tickling with cold until you reached MGH.
Did anybody else happen to go on Youtube on Tay ZonDAY (when the entire front page was related to Choclate Rain) and be really confused?
Nice parody.
~Donald Guy
I think I’d also like to add .. that this is either very sad .. or something:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x2W12A8Qow
On the one hand, awesome that Tay is doing so well .. on the other.. to be cliché, umm .. sell out?
Peace, still,
~Donald
Yay, told you your posts are always amazing! Oh, and apparantly you post just as much (if not more) than other bloggers… my bad. Plus, two posts in one day? Fantastic!
Wow, Boston rain sounds tough. Fortunately for me though I live in Portland, Oregon so I’m used to it. Nice rhyming skills.
I want to have your babies!
Next time it rains, if it’s not also ridiculously dangerously freezing/windy outside, call me and we’ll go puddlestomping. One Friday night (in October, IIRC) I puddlestomped for two hours straight, in front of Kresge and then back and forth between EC and Next twice. It’s fantastic fun, but it’d be more fun if people came out and joined me (hint, hint). I suppose my substantive point is that rain can be fun as well as painful — take ten seconds and look up, close your eyes, and enjoy the sensation of your face being stroked by the atmosphere. Or, alternatively, come puddlestomping.
Oh, Paul. You definitely haven’t gone to the tropics to see where the real rain is.
Granted, Chicago’s just as bad as Boston, if not worse. We win the awards for the craziest weather.
Wow, that’s actually quite nice. I like how the pictures go along with the song. I’d probably sing something less creative like that song by Rihanna about her umbrella.
Oh, you should see how it rains around here in Malaysia, the original tropical rainforest. I love the rain here, it just pours down, sometimes to the point where visibility is as bad as English fog. At my hometown, I could just watch the rain with a cup of hot cocoa, listening to waves crash against the beach and the smell of the rain hitting the soil.
But if it’s raining lightly like in the pictures I can see why you’d not like it. That kind of rain just gets everyone wet with no positive side effects