"Seminole Wind" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * John Anderson (jazz trumpeter) (1921–1974), American musician * Jon Anderson (John Roy Anderson, born 1944), lead singer of the British band Yes * John Anderson (producer) (1948–2024 ...

. It was released in August 1992 as the fourth single and title track from the album of the same name. It peaked at number 2 on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and reached number 1 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks chart. Before its release as a single, it was included on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the album's second single release, "

Straight Tequila Night "Straight Tequila Night" is a song written by Debbie Hupp and Kent Robbins, and recorded by American country music singer John Anderson. It was released on December 2, 1991, as the second single from Anderson's album '' Seminole Wind''. It reach ...

." "Seminole Wind" was covered by Donna the Buffalo in 1998, as well as well-known folk artist

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

on his 2008 album '' Covers''. It was covered by

Luke Combs Luke Albert Combs (born March 2, 1990) is an American country music, country singer. He was born in North Carolina and grew up there, performing as a child. After leaving college to pursue a career in music, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, Nas ...

on the 2022 John Anderson tribute album ''Something Borrowed, Something New'' and in 2024 by

JJ Grey & Mofro JJ Grey & Mofro (formerly Mofro) is an American Southern rock/Swamp rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. History Early career The early days of Mofro can be traced back to the mid-1990s when John Higginbotham, aka "JJ Grey," and Daryl Hance ...

on their 2024 album ''Olustee''.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "vividly imagistic song". She went on to say that it "conveys feelings of urgency and great loss without being self-righteous or preachy."

Content

The song has naturalist overtones, lamenting the destruction of the environment by humans for economic gain. This is illustrated in the first verse, Anderson sings: ''"Ever since the days of old,''
''Men would search for wealth untold.''
''They'd dig for silver and for gold,''
''And leave the empty holes."'' The second verse discusses the draining of the Florida Everglades due to flooding, and Seminole war chief

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Muscogee language, Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfa ...

, who led the Seminole who lived there during the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

. The song begins with a slow piano and fiddle solo, before leading into an up-tempo

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

beat of approximately 126

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. It is in E Dorian with a main chord pattern of Em-G-D-A. During the song's instrumental outro that follows the repeat of the chorus a second time, the song goes back to slow fiddle and piano chords about halfway through.

Music video

The music video features views of Indian lands, people, and traditions. It was directed by Jim Shea. It features a large group of Seminole Indian tribes performing with Anderson beside a campfire. Anderson is also seen riding an airboat through the swamp in some scenes. Anderson had to get permission from the tribes' masters before they and their land could be filmed. It was featured in the show CMT's 100 Greatest Videos in 2004 and 2008. It was filmed in the

Florida Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Ki ...

Chart positions

"Seminole Wind" debuted at number 71 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of August 15, 1992.

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seminole Wind (Song) 1992 singles John Anderson (musician) songs James Taylor songs Luke Combs songs Songs written by John Anderson (musician) Song recordings produced by James Stroud BNA Records singles 1992 songs Environmental songs Everglades in fiction Songs about Florida Songs about Miami Music videos directed by Jim Shea