"Man in the Rain" is a pop song with lead vocals by Irish folk singer Cara Dillon and additional vocal takes by Heather Burnett. In the liner notes, Dillon is credited as "Cara from Polar Star", which references the short-lived name for a musical project she was involved in at the time. Oldfield wrote the song about ten years prior to recording and wrote the lyrics, which were influenced by his separation from his third wife. The drums on the song are sampled from Oldfield's 1983 song "Moonlight Shadow" from "Crises" (1983), originally performed by drummer Simon Phillips.