“Turn around, Joe. It looks like we’re gonna have a little rain”. Immediately after Joe Cocker’s performance, black thunderclouds obscured the sky: a heavy downpour threatened further continuation of the festival. In no time, Barry Melton, one of the members of Country Joe and the Fish, got onto the stage and started chanting “No rain, no rain!” into the microphone. The whole crowd took it up and shouted NO RAIN in complete unity. And even if it could not prevent the raging forces of nature, everybody was having fun and enjoying the rain with their heads held high. “For the outsiders, it could have looked like we were in a disaster area. Well, that’s not what we thought!”
Not only did NO RAIN become a statement against the weather – between the lines, it also absorbed everything that the peaceful youth opposed: the war in Vietnam, violence, lack of freedom, uncertainty. And the power that the participants gained for this protest did not come from somewhere outside – it was within themselves where they found love, kindness, and freedom.
