Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Story Songs: Any Way The Wind Blows


Beginning in the mid-1980s, there were crossover musical groups that appealed to both country and mainstream popular tastes including The Remingtons, Exile, Confederate Railroad, Kentucky HeadHunters, BlackHawk, and Restless Heart.

There have been others in the past that had a country flavor to some of their tunes, legendary groups such as The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, The Flying  Burrito Brothers, Grateful Dead from the '60s and The Band, Poco and Eagles from the '70s.

A group I enjoyed was Southern Pacific, a country-rock band that produced four albums from 1985-91. The group included former members from The Doobie Brothers, Pablo Cruise, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. The muscianship and vocals were outstanding.

My favorite was "Any Way The Wind Blows," which reached No. 4 on the country charts in 1989. It was written by bandmember John McFee and Andre Pessis.

The lyrics remind me of the carefree years of youth when you have little fear and think you'll live forever:

"Life was an infinite number
Livin' one day to another
Lookin' for the end of summer
Any way the wind blows"

Also:

"Burnin' both ends of the candle
Can't wait 'bout the things we don't know
Going just as fast as we can go"

And:

"Doesn't matter if we lead or follow
No telling where we'll be tomorrow
Goin' somewhere, goin' full throttle"

And the chorus:
"And we can't see around the bend
We never know where the road might end
We just try to go any way the wind blows"

With the car analogy, it's no surprise the song was used in the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood's "Pink Cadillac" in 1989.
The song reminds me of the good times of my youth.

"Any Way The Wind Blows" lyrics



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