Tablo X RM Stop The Rain Meaning

A Somber, Minimalist Introduction

In Stop The Rain, South Korean rap heavyweights Tablo (of Epik High) and RM (of BTS) unite for a moving and cathartic single that explores mental anguish, trauma, and the longing for peace. The song opens with a stark, minimalist guitar riff that immediately sets a pensive tone. It is simple but effective, drenched in just enough reverb and chorus to feel haunting without being overbearing. As the beat unfolds into something more layered yet restrained, it provides the perfect foundation for two lyrical heavyweights to pour out their confessions.

Tablo’s Unflinching Honesty

Tablo’s verse kicks off with raw truth, as he reflects on a childhood marked by religious strictness, emotional suppression, and deep inner turmoil. His words are poetic and visceral. Lines like “Raised by guilt, raised by shame, raised by the rod” and “What good's a bird's eye view when you're in a hunter's crossfire?” hit hard, showcasing his ability to blend personal pain with powerful metaphor. His delivery is deliberate and intense, fully immersing the listener in his psychological landscape.

RM’s Existential Struggles

RM follows with his own brand of reflective lyricism, grappling with mortality, societal pressure, and emotional fatigue. He paints a picture of someone trying to find peace while trapped in a mental loop. His verse is heavy with references to fame, identity, and depression, adding another layer to the song’s emotional complexity. Switching between English and Korean, RM manages to communicate inner chaos while maintaining a calm, resigned flow that contrasts beautifully with the intensity of the lyrics.

A Chorus Full of Desperation and Unity

The pre-chorus and chorus serve as the emotional center of the track. RM’s tender vocals in the pre-chorus offer a moment of quiet reflection before the storm returns. When both Tablo and RM come together in the chorus, their pain feels shared and universal. The refrain “Can’t run away from the pain, I’m tryna stop the rain” becomes a mantra that captures the feeling of being trapped in an emotional downpour with no umbrella in sight. It’s a moment of unity in vulnerability.

Final Thoughts: Art Born from Pain

Stop The Rain is more than a collaboration. It is a deeply emotional piece that gives voice to personal suffering with elegance and strength. Tablo and RM do not sugarcoat their experiences. Instead, they transform their pain into a shared story that resonates. The song offers no easy answers, but it provides comfort in knowing that these feelings are not faced alone. This is one of the most honest and affecting rap duets in recent memory.

Listen to Tablo and RM Stop The Rain 

Tablo and RM Stop The Rain Lyrics Meaning Explained

The meaning of Stop The Rain by Tablo and RM is a poignant exploration of inner turmoil, emotional suffering, and the relentless battle with mental health. The song uses the metaphor of rain to symbolize the constant weight of pain and distress that the artists face, which they cannot escape. Both Tablo and RM express feelings of alienation, self-doubt, and the overwhelming nature of their past traumas, while also conveying a deep yearning for relief. Through their raw lyrics and somber delivery, they highlight the struggle to endure in a world where emotional storms feel impossible to calm. The track is not just a personal reflection but a universal anthem for anyone grappling with feelings of isolation and despair.

Introduction

"Stop The Rain" opens with the line "Hello, rainy day", which sets the tone of the track by metaphorically greeting sadness, depression, or inner turmoil. The "rain" in this context is not just weather — it’s the emotional weight the artists carry. From the very beginning, the song invites the listener into a space of reflection and vulnerability.

Verse 1: Tablo's Struggles with Authority and Guilt

In the first verse, Tablo lays bare a painful childhood marked by judgment and alienation: "I'm all in with a losing hand / Teachers called me rebel / Parents called me lost / Pastors called me devil / Had me kneelin’ at the cross." Here, different authority figures imposed labels that made him feel like a societal outcast. The metaphor of being "all in with a losing hand" evokes a life of disadvantage — a commitment to survival despite overwhelming odds. The line "Since I was a young’un, I was called names and bossed around / Back to the wall so long, call me pain’s poster child" positions pain as not just an experience but part of his identity, reinforced over time.

The verse continues with reflections on being raised in a religious home, where supposed gifts were shamed rather than celebrated: "They told me I was gifted / But to unwrap my mind was wicked." His upbringing, marked by "guilt," "shame," and "the rod," parallels biblical punishments, emphasized with the chilling parenthetical, (“Bloody calves sacrificed in the name of their God”). This framing shows how his suffering was cloaked in righteousness. Even when pain was later reinterpreted as meaningful — "Baby, all your scars are to teach and remind you, you can soar higher" — Tablo remains skeptical, asking: "What good’s a bird’s eye view when you’re in a hunter’s crossfire?" It's a haunting question that undermines inspirational platitudes. This verse ends with a devastating confession: "Sometimes I wished I got crushed in the womb / Turned to dust in the womb / My scent of youth, an ungodly perfume." These lines express suicidal ideation and self-loathing, culminating in a bitter indictment: "No wonder I’ve always hated the adults in the room."

Pre-Chorus: RM’s Reflection on Pain and Hope

The pre-chorus, sung by RM, introduces a universal, almost fatalistic message: "The rain, the rain will fall / And tomorrow may not come." Here, "rain" is framed as both inevitable and enduring. Yet, he leaves a sliver of hope — "maybe the tears will fall to wash the pain away." Still, this hope is subdued and cautious, followed by the refrain "I'm tryna stop the rain," emphasizing the effort to resist emotional collapse, even when the odds feel insurmountable.

Chorus: The Inescapability of Pain

The chorus builds on this struggle. With lines like "Can’t run away from the pain / I feel like I’m goin’ insane," the song captures the relentlessness of mental anguish. The phrase "Demons swimmin’ inside my veins" uses vivid imagery to portray inner torment as something flowing through the bloodstream — inescapable and ever-present. The line "Two seconds from fallin’ into nothing" hints at the fragility of mental health, the fine line between holding on and giving up. The repeated chorus underscores how these feelings persist, looping endlessly like the weather itself.

Verse 2: RM's Struggle with Life and Expectations

In the second verse, RM delivers a deeply personal reflection on his early life and fears: "When I was a kid / I was convinced that I was destined for the 27 club." This is a direct reference to the cultural phenomenon of the "27 Club" — a group of famous artists, including Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, who died at 27. RM confesses that he once believed he'd burn out young. Now older, he sings "I’m twenty nine, sinkin’ in the bathtub, sippin’ gin, lookin’ for another club," showing that though he survived past that age, the struggle continues. The bathtub scene evokes isolation and perhaps hints at dangerous escapism.

The lyric "All the lost was a lust, dust into dust / Stray after stable, 다시 덫 뒤에 덫" (translated as "trap after trap again") shows how he keeps falling into cycles of pain despite seeking stability. He reveals how he copes — "every night, I put my shadows on" — treating his darkness like clothing. Yet, he expresses frustration at societal expectations with "you know how much I hate my status quo?" and critiques toxic positivity: "'Be positive' I know / But you gotta know my life is out of love." This isn’t a call for help so much as a rejection of surface-level solutions. He continues, "Keep my mind steady but it’s hard to readjust," revealing how difficult it is to return to a healthy mindset after enduring trauma. His existential observation "Nothing stops time but the clock will turn to rust" is both poetic and fatalistic — even the symbols we use to measure time are doomed to decay.

The verse closes with lines that echo the song's core metaphor: "Pain and rain, they still stay the same / Got me lookin’ for the exit just to entertain." This speaks to suicidal ideation as not just an emotional impulse but something entertained as a form of temporary escape. He ends on "Gotta turn off my phone tonight," symbolizing a need to disconnect, retreat, or perhaps silence the world entirely.

The Cycle of Pain and Endurance

The final chorus reiterates the inescapability of pain, reinforcing the central message: enduring depression feels like trying to stop the rain with bare hands — impossible, but still necessary to try. The outro, "I’m tryna stop the rain," repeats like a fading plea. There is no resolution, only endurance.

In "Stop The Rain," Tablo and RM deliver a raw and unfiltered portrayal of emotional suffering. Their lyrics navigate childhood trauma, religious guilt, mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, and the psychological weight of fame. The rain motif serves as a constant, a symbol of sadness that cannot be avoided, only endured. Through vivid metaphors and intimate storytelling, the song becomes an anthem for those fighting to stay afloat when the storm never seems to end.

Tablo and RM Stop The Rain Lyrics 

[Intro: TABLO, RM]

Hello, rainy day

TABLO

RM

[Verse 1: TABLO, RM]

I'm all in with a losing hand

Teachers called me rebel

Parents called me lost

Pastors called me devil

Had me kneelin' at the cross

Since I was a young'un, I was called names and bossed around

Back to the wall so long, call me pain's poster child

Religious home, times were different

They told me I was gifted

But to unwrap my mind was wicked

I was raised by guilt, raised by shame, raised by the rod

(Bloody calves sacrificed in the name of their God)

They claimed it was love, felt like heartbreak to me

Later they'd say "Baby, all your scars are to teach and remind you, you can soar higher"

What good's a bird's eye view when you're in a hunter's crossfire?

Sometimes I wished I got crushed in the womb

Turned to dust in the womb

My scent of youth, an ungodly perfume

No wonder I've always hated the adults in the room

[Pre-Chorus: RM]

The rain, the rain will fall

And tomorrow may not come

But maybe the tears will fall to wash the pain away

I'm tryna stop the rain

(I know what it feel like)

[Chorus: TABLO, RM]

Can't run away from the pain

I feel like I'm goin insane

Bad thoughts fillin' up my brain

Demons swimmin' inside my veins

Two seconds from fallin' into nothing

Can't run away from the pain

I'm tryna stop the rain

[Verse 2: RM, TABLO]

When I was a kid

I was convinced that I was destined for the 27 club

I'm twenty nine, sinkin' in the bathtub, sippin' gin, lookin' for another club

All the lost was a lust, dust into dust

Stray after stable, 다시 덫 뒤에 덫

And every night, I put my shadows on

But you know how much I hate my status quo?

"Be positive" I know

But you gotta know my life is out of love

All the lessons learned already, comin' out of trust

Keep my mind steady but it's hard to readjust

Nothing stops time but the clock will turn to rust

Pain and rain, they still stay the same

Got me lookin' for the exit just to entertain

Pain and rain, think I'm goin' insane

Gotta turn off my phone tonight

[Chorus: RM, TABLO]

Can't run away from the pain

I feel like I'm goin' insane

Bad thoughts fillin' up my brain

Demons swimmin' inside my veins

Two seconds from fallin' into nothing

Can't run away from the pain

I'm tryna stop the rain

[Outro: RM]

I'm tryna stop the rain

I'm tryna stop the rain