Only Happy When It Rains

"Only Happy When It Rains" is an alternative rock song written and produced by American alternative rock band Garbage for their self-titled debut studio album (1995). It was recorded at the band's own studio, Smart Studios, in Madison, Wisconsin, and is known for its tongue-in-cheek lyrics parodying the typically angst-filled themes of mid-'90s alternative rock.

Replacing "Queer" at the last-minute as the lead-in single for the debut album, "Only Happy When It Rains" was the band's breakthrough track in the United Kingdom, receiving positive reviews from the music press and strong support from BBC Radio One. In the United States, the single built upon the success of "Queer" at alternative radio and in early 1996 charted strongly on the Hot 100.

The accompanying music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, made MTV's next-big-thing Buzz Bin category, helping "Only Happy When It Rains" to cross over to Top 40 radio formats, and propelling the album Garbage from being a Heatseeker title into the top half of the Billboard 200 album chart. In Europe, where it was the fourth single from Garbage, it followed the success of "Stupid Girl", by reaching the top ten European Alternative Rock airplay charts over the summer of 1996.

"Only Happy When It Rains" is one of Garbage's enduring works, covered by multiple artists, including Metallica, featured as a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero 5, and heard in episodes of '90s television shows such as Homicide: Life on the Street and The X-Files. In 2019, it was used in the Captain Marvel soundtrack.