Growing up in Oklahoma City, an area of the United States that is part of the notorious Tornado Alley, songwriter Scott David Roberts experienced his fair share of severe storms. However, his personal life was just as turbulent with losing his father to suicide and also going through years of pain, addiction, and recovery due to significant injuries from an earlier motocross accident. However, those life-changing events greatly impacted his musical journey, leading him to his most heartfelt work with “Can You Smell the Rain,” a captivating Christian rock song he wrote and plays guitar on released this October.
While Roberts’ songwriting spans other genres, including pop, country, and rock, Can You Smell the Rain is a faith-driven piece inspired by his personal experience as well as the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Lauren Hillebrand that tells the incredible story of Olympic athlete, veteran, and Christian evangelist, Louis Zamperini, who too felt the renewing effects of rain.
“You know, without water, we are nothing. It is such a powerful thing, and his [Zamperini] experience in that book motivated me to write Can You Smell the Rain,” says Roberts. “In the spiritual sense, it touches on how God loves us in spite of our problems and how water brings life. Water brings nutrients to the soil and creates and sustains life—and that’s really what the song is about.”
Recalling his recovery, Roberts shares that rain also figured prominently. He says, “I was just lying in bed, almost in some dream state, but it was very painful. And the whole time, I kept hearing it raining outside. It sounded like it was pouring rain, but when I woke up, I realized it was just the wind blowing through the trees outside. But rain seems to be a commonality in my life.”
Recorded at One Music Studios in Southern California with producer Joel Valera and vocals by Kane Livesay, Can You Smell the Rain takes listeners on a sensory and spiritual journey. According to Roberts, the single starts softly like a ballad with elements of nature, such as the claps of thunder, before building with layered instrumentation and maintaining a medium tempo.
Lyrically, it emphasizes the renewing nature of water. Verses, such as "Lightning strikes the sky. I count the seconds by. Until the thunderclap proclaims its awesome rage. Can you smell the rain,” and "The petrichor now rises from its fertile plain. Oh, can you smell the rain" not only bring about familiar scenes but also a sense of calm, meditation, childhood memories, and more.
When explaining the significance of certain lines of the song, Roberts goes deeper. “I try to lean into the storm. For if I run, I will be harmed” refers to enduring strong winds. If one attempts to run from the wind, it will knock you down, but if you lean into the wind, you may withstand its force,” he says. “This, of course, refers to when handling life tragedies or difficulties, running from them seldom works. I may not always live up to this standard, but I try, and these lyrics, in particular, are meaningful to me.”
Learn more about Scott David Roberts and his new song Can You Smell the Rain by visiting Spotify and YouTube.
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Growing up in Oklahoma City, an area of the United States that is part of the notorious Tornado Alley, songwriter Scott David Roberts experienced his fair share of severe storms.
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