Weather with You


"Weather with You" is a song by Australian-New Zealand rock band Crowded House. It was the third and most successful single released from the group's third studio album, Woodface, released in February 1992 by Capitol Records. It reached top 50 in 10 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it reached number seven. The accompanying music video was directed by MacGregor Knox. At the APRA Music Awards of 1994, the song won Most Performed Australian Work Overseas. The song was intended to be part of the Finn Brothers' planned 1990 debut, but after Capitol Records expressed interest in the recordings, they were included on what became Woodface alongside tracks recorded for Crowded House.
In 1996, Crowded House disbanded, releasing a greatest hits album, Recurring Dream, in June of that year. "Weather with You" was made the album's first track. Later in the year, the band reunited for one final performance at the Sydney Opera House and performed the song again, calling upon ex-member Tim Finn, who originally performed the song with the group, to join the group onstage. This live performance was not included on the VHS release of the concert, but it was shown on television broadcast and also appeared on the 10-year anniversary DVD entitled Farewell to the World.

Background

On his website, Neil Finn explained:
The first day we got together, we wrote "Weather with You" and had the title and the chorus line. 'Everywhere you go you always take the weather with you', and the opening line, 'Walking round the room singing stormy weather'. We started playing that and got the guitar riff going and wrote the whole thing on the first day, so it got off to a good start.
57 Mount Pleasant Street is a fictitious address as far as the number goes, but my sister used to live in a house in Mount Pleasant Road in Auckland and that’s what we were thinking of when we wrote the song. It was just a good contrast to the theme of the song for it to be called Mount Pleasant Street because really it was about a guy who's totally wrapped up in melancholia standing in his lounge room feeling lost.

He went on to say, "Ultimately, the theme of the song is of course, that you are creating your own weather, you are making your own environment, always."

Critical reception

Andrew Mueller from Melody Maker wrote that songs like "Weather with You" "tout pleasingly wry sentiments but are entirely bereft of any hooks upon which to hang your heart." Another music critic, Peter Paphides, complimented the way Neil Finn could write a song like this and "make it seem like a postcard from a dream." Alan Jones from Music Week praised it as "splendid".
In 2025, the song placed 69 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.

Music video

The music video for "Weather with You" was filmed after Tim Finn's departure.The video, directed by MacGregor Knox, features the remaining members, Neil Finn, Paul Hester and Nick Seymour, at various beaches on the Bellarine Peninsula, driving in cars including a Fiat 600 Multipla towing a small "Sports Minor" caravanette and a Ford Thunderbird "Bullet Bird" convertible.
The music video features a slightly rearranged song structure, with a chorus placed before the second verse and some of the instrumental sections shortened.

Legacy

In 2001, "Weather with You" was voted 16th-best New Zealand song of all time by APRA and featured on Nature's Best.

Personnel

Crowded House
  • Neil Finn – electric guitar, lead vocals
  • Tim Finn – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • Nick Seymour – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Paul Hester – backing vocals
Additional musicians
  • Mitchell Froom – keyboards
  • Stuart Ellison – keyboards
  • Ricky Fataar – drums, percussion
  • Alex Acuña – additional percussion
  • Geoffrey Hales – additional percussion

    Track listings

  • UK 7-inch vinyl and cassette
  1. "Weather with You" - 4:17
  2. "Into Temptation" - 4:35
  • Australian and UK CD
  1. "Weather with You" - 4:17
  2. "Mr. Tambourine Man" - 2:35
  3. "Eight Miles High" - 4:50
  4. "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" - 2:49
Note: Live tracks recorded with Roger McGuinn at the Pantages Theater, Los Angeles, 7 April 1989, previously released on "I Feel Possessed" CD and 12" single.
  • Australian and UK alternative CD
  1. "Weather with You" - 3:46
  2. "Fall at Your Feet" - 6:59
  3. "When You Come" - 6:22
  4. "Walking on the Spot" - 3:23
Note: Live tracks recorded at The Town & Country Club, London, 9–10 November 1991, exclusive to this release
  • Belgian "Rock Torhout Werchter" CD
  1. "Weather with You" – 4:17
  2. "Into Temptation" – 4:43
  3. "Don't Dream It's Over" – 4:27
  4. "Recurring Dream" – 2:59
Note: Limited edition. Live tracks recorded at Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium, 24 February 1992, exclusive to this release.
  • Dutch "Outlaw Remixes" CD
  1. "Weather with You"
  2. "Weather with You"
  3. "Weather with You"
  4. "Weather with You"
Note: The "Outlaw Remixes", mixed at Platinum Studios, Melbourne. Produced and remixed by The Outlaw.
  • Japanese CD
  1. "Weather with You" – 4:02
  2. "Walking on the Spot" – 4:13
  3. "Don't Dream It's Over" – 5:53
  4. "Something So Strong" – 4:02
  5. "Mr. Tambourine Man" – 2:35
Note: "Walking on the Spot" recorded at The Town & Country Club, London, 10 November 1991 ; "Don't Dream It's Over" recorded at The Roxy, Los Angeles, 26 February 1987; "Something So Strong" recorded at The Trocadero, Philadelphia, 24 March 1987; "Mr. Tambourine Man" recorded with Roger McGuinn at the Pantages Theater, Los Angeles, 7 April 1989.
  • US CD single
  1. "Weather with You" - 3:46
  2. "Walking on the Spot"
  3. "Don't Dream It's Over"
  4. "Better Be Home Soon"
  5. "World Where You Live"
Note: All live tracks recorded at The Town & Country Club, London, England, 9–10 November 1991. "Walking on the Spot" was previously unreleased in the US.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions and live performances

In 2001, Neil and Tim Finn performed the song during the week-long concert series that was captured on the CD/DVD 7 Worlds Collide.
In 2006, Jimmy Buffett covered "Weather with You" and used it as the namesake for his album Take the Weather with You.
In 2009, a re-recorded version featuring Tim, Neil and Liam Finn appeared on the Tim Finn retrospective North, South, East, West...Anthology.
In 2011, a recording by Hollie Smith was included on the compilation album They Will Have Their Way.
In 2015, the song was included in the soundtrack of the film Everest.