The song's origins are unknown, however, a few believe it was written in England (which is famed for its wet weather!) When children were unable to go outside to play, they would sing the song. The words were appropriate for children's ceremonial chants.It's a relatively new nursery rhyme, first recorded in New York in 1939 by composer Charles Ives. The first line of the poem, "It's raining - it's pouring – old guys are dozing," was published in The Outlook, a weekly newspaper (New York City, 1909). Since then, nothing was said about it until 1939.