Fieldwork Archive
Que llueva, que llueva
Performed by Gabriel Löfvall.
Recorded November 17, 2025 in Woodbury, Connecticut.
Learned as a youth in Argentina.
This is a Spanish children's song that shares the tune of, and themes with, other nursery rhymes known throughout the Western hemisphere, such as "It's Raining, It's Pouring", "Rain, Rain, Go Away" and "Ring Around the Rosie". The Spanish song is estimated to be older than these.
The original song goes, "Que llueva, que llueva, la Virgen de la Cueva" ("Let it rain, let it rain, Virgin of the Cave").
These lyrics were based on one or more of various Marian miracles and apparitions between the 16th and 18th centuries associated with a cave and chapel in Spain.
There is no consensus about whether the song refers to the Santuario de la Cueva Santa in Altura, Castellón, or the Santuario de la Virgen de la Cueva in Asturias.
In one of the most famous legends, it is said that during a drought in 1726, farmers went to the cave to pray for rain to the Virgin Mary, whose image is venerated there.
The next day, it rained.
La vieja está en la cueva.
Los pajaritos canta.
La vieja se levanta.
Que sí, que no,
que caiga un chaparrón
debajo del colchón.
The old lady is in the cave.
The little birds sing.
The old lady gets up.
Yes, no,
let a downpour fall
under the mattress.
