# The point of that "I've seen fire and I've seen rain" thread ? . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 6, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679 "2017-09-06T22:36:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/21 "2017-09-08T14:14:11Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Aaah, our very own Fawlty Towers then? More like we’re relaxing and drinking some beers at that seaside resort. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/22 "2017-09-08T15:10:32Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Instead of making love, we play Thread Games. > [@Bullitt](#): > > Just you and me, baby > Thread Games > I can’t take it any more We’re playing those thread games together Pushing the barriers, planting seeds ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/23 "2017-09-08T15:19:49Z")
Oh the games people play now Every night and every day now Never meaning what they say now Never saying what they mean ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/24 "2017-09-08T15:40:55Z")
I’m tempted to start a new thread asking what the point of this one is. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/25 "2017-09-08T17:10:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m tempted to start a new thread asking what the point of this one is. But what would be the point? SMUG OLD LADY: “It’s pointless all the way down!” ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/26 "2017-09-08T19:53:00Z")
What’s the point in making a new thread about it? It just calls more attention to it, it will grow larger from the increased publicity, and you’ll be even more bothered. See what you started? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/27 "2017-09-09T00:31:30Z")
Like virtue, it is its own reword. And I don’t care which forum it’s put in. I mostly just push the New Posts button. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/28 "2017-09-09T02:15:48Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > What’s the point in making a new thread about it? It just calls more attention to it, it will grow larger from the increased publicity, and you’ll be even more bothered. See what you started? Shit, he’s on to us! Run! ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/29 "2017-09-09T04:02:00Z")
Well I’m about to get sick From watchin’ my TV Been checkin’ out the news Until my eyeballs fail to see I mean to say that every day Is just another rotten mess And when it’s gonna change, my friend Is anybody’s guess Frank Zappa “more trouble every day” Edited: Deleted entire song lyric- Loach ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/30 "2017-09-09T04:15:34Z")
> [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > Well I’m about to get sick > From watchin’ my TV > Been checkin’ out the news > Until my eyeballs fail to see > I mean to say that every day > Is just another rotten mess > And when it’s gonna change, my friend > Is anybody’s guess > Frank Zappa “more trouble every day” > > Edited: Deleted entire song lyric- Loach As per the registration agreement: > [@](#): > > You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by the operator of the SDMB, except as permitted by the “fair use” provisions of the U.S. copyright laws (in general this means brief excerpts only). You agree to abide by the wishes of the board moderators in interpreting and enforcing these rules. Refusal to cooperate with board moderators or to abide by these rules is grounds for revocation of your posting privileges. Do not post the entire lyrics of a song. Excerpts are permitted. No warning issued but please don’t do it again. I edited your post to remove the lyrics of the entire song. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/31 "2017-09-09T05:42:04Z")
Oops!! ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/32 "2017-09-10T18:04:05Z")
Someone added lyrics from _Fire and Rain_ to the chain. Of course, _Fire and Rain_ was the original post. Don’t know if the thread will survive this. In answer to this thread’s question . . . I’ve been enjoying the _Fire and Rain_ thread because popular music has been a huge part of my life for over 50 years, and I like being reminded of songs I may have forgotten (I’ve been listening to many of them). I also get a kick out of seeing other people’s associations and comparing them to what mine would’ve been. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/33 "2017-09-10T20:31:12Z")
Yea…well. it ain’t over til the fat lady sings…apparently…re-posting the original song didn’t end it…i thought it would but I was mistaken… (thank god…for I have no life)…so on we go!! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/34 "2017-09-10T21:20:55Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Like virtue, it is its own reword. Puns are their own reword. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/35 "2017-09-10T22:22:47Z")
I see what you did there… ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/36 "2025-08-09T17:24:08Z")
Reviving this zombie thread because the following post is not worth its own thread…also, it might help someone else down the line. So for the past 8 years, I’ve occasionally seen the “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain” thread pop up in the list of suggested threads for me to read, but I’ve never clicked on it. Today, the latest iteration was suggested: > [@I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain 3](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-ve-seen-fire-and-i-ve-seen-rain-3/1020396): > > New thread! In play: Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone Only darkness every day Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone And this house just ain’t no home Anytime she goes away …and finally opened the thread. And saw no indication whatsoever of what the point is or what the game is. I tried to see if there was any connection between what I recognized were various song lyrics and other pithy phrases, but saw none. I went to the first post so see if that had an explanation, but there was nothing there other than “New Thread!” I then went to the pinned threads for the Thread Games forum, wondering if there were instructions there. Nope, although I did see that Ed Zotti wrote that the first post in a new thread game will typically contain the challenge or premise of the game. So I did a search (which took a while, because the board search function is often problematic) and went through all of the earlier threads. No explanation there either. Even when I finally found the [OG thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain/793564), and breathlessly opened the very first post…and found nothing other than the original James Taylor “Fire and Rain” lyrics, followed by thousands and thousands and thousands of other snippets. So what is the point? My search finally led to this thread, which cleared it up. There is no point. Ok, good to know. I can get behind that. I’ll note that I am one of those people who simply does not hear lyrics. With few exceptions, almost all songs sound like the singer is singing in a foreign language to me. Now if I see the lyrics in print while the song is playing, it will click. But seeing lyrics without the accompanying music doesn’t do anything for me. With that said, now that I know what I’m looking at, the James Taylor song is going through my head when I see the thread title. P.S. The link for the original thread is broken in the OP of this thread. Here is a current link: > [@I've seen fire and I've seen rain.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain/793564): > > I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end. Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/37 "2025-08-09T19:27:47Z")
Hi Robby, Thank you for a very well-written response. You are correct, there was no real purpose to my thread: it was just a brain dump. Anyway, I don’t check into the SDMB very often now. I don’t like the new interface. What can I say? The thread was fun, as people played off one another’s thoughts. Cheers, Doug ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/38 "2025-08-09T19:33:16Z")
Best thread ever. In my book. Nice to see you, @Leaffan ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/39 "2025-08-09T20:51:38Z")
> [@robby](#): > > So what is the point? You don’t have to have a point to have a point. (Anyone remember that reference?) ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679/40 "2025-08-14T14:46:24Z")
Since the reviver of this zombie quoted my post, I thought I would add a little clarity as to what I think the connection to each post is, if not the “point.” Sometimes we will riff off of certain words. Like “fire and rain,” for example. Someone could follow up with The Pointer Sisters’ _Fire_: I’m ridin’ in your car You turn on the radio You’re pullin’ me close I just say no I say I don’t like it But you know I’m a liar 'Cause when we kiss, ooh **Fire** Then someone else might riff off “kiss” or “liar” - it’s whatever gets your attention and a song pops in your head. I feel sorry for people who only hear the music and not the lyrics, too. You’re missing out on so much! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-point-of-that-ive-seen-fire-and-ive-seen-rain-thread/795679.md?page=3)