The Wind
The song “The Wind” came from the thought that the wind just is there. You feel it and watch it move things echoing Jesus’ words, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” Sometimes it’s gentle, sometimes it’s a storm. I tried to capture the presence of the wind mainly in its gentleness and its refreshing and calming effect on our lives. But it evolved into the wind’s unpredictability and fury, erupting into a storm, and then returning to tranquility.
I tried writing words for this song but the only lyrics I was settled with were words for the chorus, which are;
When the wind blows all these pieces sail,
Swirling changing thru you,
This reeling waiting heart begins to wail,
With a whisper new.
The chorus melody returns a number of times played by the guitar and harmonica and also played by the bass. It’s the grounding of the song. The interesting thing about composing the verses was since I didn’t have lyrics, I had fun singing different phrases over the progression. Joe learned them perfectly. They were not easy melodies to play on the harmonica. It took some rehearsing and negotiating. But Joe is a trooper, submitting to my goofiness and insanity for which I am extremely thankful. Since the melody of the chorus is in a higher register I wanted to contrast it with a low register harmonica solo.
Joe’s trademark Hohner Thunderbird harmonica (
www.hohner.de/en/instruments/harmonicas/diatonic/marine-band/marine-band-thunderbird) that Joe designed for Hohner captured perfectly what I was shooting for. It sounds like a ship has arrived in the harbor.
I love the beauty of the simplicity of Larry’s strong, firm, tight, harnessed beat. In the breakdown section, Larry perfectly executes the coming of the storm. As the guitar widens in its presence, the storm is upon us. The turbulence is captured by Joe’s remarkable solo and then the storm passes. I was blessed to use my son’s bass on this song. It is a beautiful Spector bass. All the notes rang with clarity, fullness and balance. It is a great slap bass which made it extra fun to play. And I’ve never played a bass that I could play chords on and have them sound so good and also have the harmonics ring out so well on.
May the presence of the wind fill you with mystery and awe.
