For tomorrow may rain

One day you'll look to see I've gone
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
Some day you'll know I was the one
But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
(the Beatles "I'll follow the sun")

Does the marked phrase mean "Because it may rain tomorrow" ?
If so, is it grammatically correct to say so?
Thanks.

Vik-Nik-Sor said:

Does the marked phrase mean "Because it may rain tomorrow" ?

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Yes

If so, is it grammatically correct to say so?

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No.

If we insisted that all song lyrics were grammatically correct, we'd be left with very few.

"For tomorrow it may rain" would be the correct way using those words.

"Because it might rain tomorrow" would probably be a more common way of saying this.

Vik-Nik-Sor said:

One day you'll look to see I've gone
For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
Some day you'll know I was the one
But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
(the Beatles "I'll follow the sun")

Does the marked phrase mean "Because it may rain tomorrow" ?
If so, is it grammatically correct to say so?
Thanks.

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A lyricist is usually more concerned with meter and rhyme than with grammar.

MikeNewYork said:

A lyricist is usually more concerned with meter and rhyme than with grammar.

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Indeed. Or to put it another way, good song lyrics are a form of poetry. The singer-songwriter Tom Waits has for many years stated his occupation as poet.

probus said:

Indeed. Or to put it another way, good song lyrics are a form of poetry. The singer-songwriter Tom Waits has for many years stated his occupation as poet.

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Yes. Good lyrics are good poetry. I was always impressed by the lyrics of Paul Simon and Bob Dylan.

5jj said:

If we insisted that all song lyrics were grammatically correct, we'd be left with very few.

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This is one problem I have with abandoning the subjunctive. In fact, I think:
If we insisted that all song lyrics be grammatically correct, we'd be left with very few. (That is, if we insisted that they must be grammatical).
If we insisted that all song lyrics were grammatically correct, that would broaden the possibilities of grammar. (That is, if we insisted that they were grammatical - as written).

Raymott said:

This is one problem I have with abandoning the subjunctive. In fact, I think:
If we insisted that all song lyrics be grammatically correct, we'd be left with very few. (That is, if we insisted that they must be grammatical).
If we insisted that all song lyrics were grammatically correct, that would broaden the possibilities of grammar. (That is, if we insisted that they were grammatical - as written).

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I see your point, but I think that the battle has been lost. I tend to be more of a subjunctive-user than many of my fellow Brits, but I wrote my sentence naturally and, until your post, did not think of the subjunctive. Were I to write it again, I would probably do the same. Fifty years ago, I would have blushed if I had been caught writing what I did yesterday, but times change.

It's not impossible that you'll catch me in an 'if I was you' if I live long enough.

5jj said:

I see your point, but I think that the battle has been lost.

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Yes, I believe that it has been lost in Britain. I wouldn't like to see it go from all Standard English.
Usually context will tell if the indicative or subjunctive is meant, but your sentence allows both meanings.

Raymott said:

Usually context will tell if the indicative or subjunctive is meant, but your sentence allows both meanings.

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If we insisted that all song lyrics were grammatically correct, we'd be left with very few.

The purist might not like my sentence but, in the context in which it was written, and with the main clause as it is, I think there there is only one meaning it can have.

Raymott said:

Yes, I believe that it has been lost in Britain.

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It's pretty much dead in Britain- it survives in a few fossil phrases and appears in the odd political speech. I would have used were grammatically correct too.