"The Wayward Wind" is a
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
song written by
Stanley Lebowsky Stanley Lebowsky (; November 26, 1926 – October 19, 1986) was a Hollywood and Broadway composer, lyricist, conductor and music director who conducted more than a dozen Broadway musicals including ''Chicago'', '' Half a Sixpence'', ''Irma La Douce' ...
(music) and Herb Newman (lyrics),
and first recorded by American singer
Gogi Grant
Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg (September 20, 1924 – March 10, 2016), known professionally as Gogi Grant, was an American pop singer. She had a No. 1 hit in 1956 with " The Wayward Wind".
Life and career
Grant was born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in P ...
in 1955, and released in 1956. Grant's version reached No. 1 on both the ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' charts, where it remained at No. 1 for five weeks, and the ''
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 ...
'' charts, remaining at No. 1 for six weeks, ending
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
's seven-week run at No. 1 with "
Heartbreak Hotel
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...
". It remained in the top ten for 15 weeks, and was ranked as the
No. 5 song for 1956 according to ''Billboard''. It became a
Gold record
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
. Members of the
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in th ...
chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.
Background
The "Wayward Wind" of the title is a metaphor for
wanderlust
Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. The term has its roots in German Romanticism.
Etymology
The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a chara ...
: an irrepressible urge to travel and explore. This is further emphasized by describing it as a "restless wind." In the context of the 19th century setting of shanty towns and railroads, the Western United States was still largely unexplored by European
settler
A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
s. Concurrent to the era of lone
cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
s on horseback, the
First transcontinental railroad
America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
was built.

Steam trains were a gateway the
American frontier
The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the Geography of the United States, geography, History of the United States, history, Folklore of the United States, folklore, and Cultur ...
romanticized in literature, songs and film. The subject of the song is a young man who lives near train tracks; the sound of passing trains instills him with an irrepressible urge to travel. On his journeys he falls in love and attempts to settle down and lead a normal life, but the urge to wander is too strong. The phrase "
Next of kin
A person's next of kin (NOK) may be that person's spouse
A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. A female spouse is called a wife while a male spouse is called a husband.
Married
The legal status of a spouse, and the specific righ ...
", which is a colloquialism meaning the person's closest living relative, may suggest that the wandering man has no family or connection and will perhaps wander his entire life.
Originally recorded and sung in third person narration from the
point of view
Point of View or Points of View may refer to:
Concept and technique
* Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronoun used in narration
* Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or ...
of the young man's lover/wife, by female pop singer
Gogi Grant
Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg (September 20, 1924 – March 10, 2016), known professionally as Gogi Grant, was an American pop singer. She had a No. 1 hit in 1956 with " The Wayward Wind".
Life and career
Grant was born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in P ...
, the song is often adapted to male singers and sung in first person from the point of view of the young man.
Recordings
In 1956, other versions were recorded, including versions by
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...
, and
Jimmy Young, with Ritter's version proving popular in England, reaching No. 8 on the UK charts. Ritter used the song to open his stage shows.
In 1961, Grant's recording was reissued and reached ''Billboard'' No. 50 and Cash Box No. 78. In 1963, a new recording was made by
Frank Ifield
Francis Edward Ifield OAM (30 November 1937 – 18 May 2024) was a British-born Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music.
Born in the United Kingdom, Ifield grew up in rural Australia wher ...
, which reached No. 1 on the
UK Singles Chart for three weeks duration.
The song made the ''Billboard'' country chart in a version by Irish flautist
James Galway
Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". After several years working as an orchestral musician, he established an international career as a solo flute pl ...
with vocal accompaniment by American country singer
Sylvia. Produced in Nashville by
Bill Pursell
William Whitney Pursell (June 9, 1926 – September 3, 2020) was an American composer and onetime session pianist. He had a brief but successful career as a pop musician before continuing on as a session player. Pursell is best known for the top ...
, the single was released in 1982 and it rose to No. 57 in 1983.
In popular culture
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
named Gogi Grant's recording as one of the five songs that most inspired him when growing up, noting that, "I think it was grade four, I heard this song and for some reason, I associate it with the school and the highway, and the railroad tracks going behind the school."
Notable cover versions
*
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...
(1956) No. 28 (U.S.), No. 8 (UK)
*
Jimmy Young (1956) No. 27 (UK)
*
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...
on the album ''A Gene Vincent Record Date'' (1958)
*
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
on the album ''
Both Sides of an Evening'' (1961)
*
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...
on the album ''
Showcase'' (1961)
*
Eddy Arnold
Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' country music charts, second onl ...
on the album
Cattle Call
An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...
(1963)
*
Frank Ifield
Francis Edward Ifield OAM (30 November 1937 – 18 May 2024) was a British-born Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music.
Born in the United Kingdom, Ifield grew up in rural Australia wher ...
(1963) No. 1 (UK), No. 16 (Australia), No. 3 (Ireland), No. 104 (U.S.)
*
Crystal Gayle
Brenda Gail Webb (born January 9, 1951), known professionally as Crystal Gayle, is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same ...
on the album
When I Dream (1978)
*
James Galway
Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". After several years working as an orchestral musician, he established an international career as a solo flute pl ...
featuring
Sylvia (1982) No. 57 (U.S.); No. 29 (CAN-Country); No. 13 (CAN-AC)
*
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...
on the album ''
Old Ways
''Old Ways'' is the 15th studio album by Canadian-American musician and singer-songwriter Neil Young, released on August 12, 1985, on Geffen Records.
Background
Young first made an attempt at a country album in the 1980s in January 1983. He reco ...
'' (1985)
*
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...
(1994) No. 7 (Canada Country); No. 6 (Can AC); No. 70 (Can Top 100)
*
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...
on the album ''
Hits of the 50's'' (1960)
Chart performance
Anne Murray
Year-end charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayward Wind
1956 songs
Sylvia (singer) songs
Tex Ritter songs
Frank Ifield songs
Songs written by Stanley Lebowsky
1956 singles
1963 singles
UK singles chart number-one singles
Number-one singles in the United States