"Seasons of Wither" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

. It was written by lead singer

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer and songwriter. Tyler is best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the keyboards, h ...

and is five minutes and thirty-eight seconds in length. It was released in 1974 on the band's second studio album, ''

Get Your Wings ''Get Your Wings'' is the second studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on March 15, 1974. The album was their first to be produced by Jack Douglas, who also was responsible for the band's next three albums. Three singles were ...

''.

Background

According to Tyler, the song was inspired by the

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

landscape in wintertime. He stated that " used to lie in my bed at dawn, listening to the wind in the bare trees, how lonely and melancholy it sounded. I was pissed off about my taxes and getting mad helps me to write, so one night I went down to the basement where we had a rug on the floor and a couple of boxes for furniture and took a few Tuinals and a few Seconals and I scooped up this guitar Joey gave me, this Dumpster guitar, and I lit some incense and wrote ‘Seasons of Wither.'” The song's lyrics also discuss a relationship. It is one of Tyler's favorite Aerosmith songs. The song features acoustic guitars, slow haunting vocals, and a strong rhythm. The ''Get Your Wings'' version starts off with a crowd of people cheering, which gradually fades into the howling wind and acoustic guitar (played by Tyler) that signal the beginning of the song. This is a segue from the previous track, " Train Kept A-Rollin'".

Legacy

While not released as a single, the song has gained prominence over the years. It was featured on the career-spanning compilation's ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod related that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing curses ...

'' in 1991, '' O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits'' in 2002 and on the live album '' Rockin' the Joint'' in 2005. Additionally, the song has been resurrected as a live staple among Aerosmith shows in the 2000s, after not being played much on tours in the late 1980s and 1990s. However, the song was performed at the band's

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

performance in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. On the Just Push Play Tour in 2001, Tyler and Joe Perry would start off the song at the top of a dual staircase. On the

Route of All Evil Tour Route or routes may refer to: * Air route, route structure or airway * GPS route, a series of one or more GPS waypoints * Route (gridiron football), a path run by a wide receiver * Route (command), a program used to configure the routing tabl ...

(2006) and World Tour (2007), Tyler and Joe Perry would start off the song sitting down on chairs at the end of the catwalk. The song has been covered by Die Kreuzen on the album Gone Away, Tesla on the Real to Reel 2 album and by

Vitamin String Quartet Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) is an American musical group from Los Angeles known for its series of tribute albums to rock and pop acts. VSQ is a series of string quartet projects developed and produced by CMH Records, an independent recor ...

on their Aerosmith tribute album. Boston pianist Yoko Miwa has recorded an instrumental jazz version with her trio, and Seattle's defunct

Mother Love Bone Mother Love Bone was an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood (singer), Andrew Wood's charisma and songwriting helped to catapu ...

( Pearl Jam's precursor) also recorded their version, which is available on scattered bootlegs. It can be found on YouTube as well as the “Dogtown and Z-boys” motion picture soundtrack.

References

{{Authority control Aerosmith songs 1974 songs Songs written by Steven Tyler Song recordings produced by Jack Douglas (record producer)