"That Ol' Wind" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

. It was released on September 30, 1996 as the sixth and final single from his album '' Fresh Horses''. The song peaked at number 4 on the U.S. country charts and number 3 on the Canadian country charts. It was written by Brooks and Leigh Reynolds.

Content

"That Ol' Wind" is a mid-tempo

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

that chronicles two lovers who have been separated for some time. It begins with a female character who, upon dropping her child off at school, hears on the radio that an unnamed singer will be "back in town tonight for one last show." She attends his concert, where she reunites with her lover after a ten-year separation. Their reunion is described in the lyric "that ol' wind had once again found its way home." The bridge reveals that each of them have a secret. Her secret is that her son (mentioned in the first verse) is the unnamed singer's child. Born from their first one night stand, ten years earlier. His secret is that he has hidden some money. However, neither reveal their secrets to each other during the song. Because they are in love and happy, having found their way back to one another.

Critical reception

Reviewing the album for ''Nashville Scene'', Edward Morris said that "That Ol' Wind", "

The Beaches of Cheyenne "The Beaches of Cheyenne" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in December 1995 as the third single from his sixth studio album '' Fresh Horses''. The song became Brooks's 15th '' Billb ...

" and "Ireland" from the same album are "so powerful in what they reveal or demand of the human spirit that they render the competition trivial." Leigh Reynolds, who wrote the song with Brooks, received a Million-Air award from

Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 milli ...

(BMI) once the song received one million

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

s at radio.

Chart performance

In December 1995, "That Ol' Wind" made its chart debut as an album cut, along with "

It's Midnight Cinderella "It's Midnight Cinderella" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in June 1996 as the fifth single from his album '' Fresh Horses''. The song reached a peak of number 5 on the U.S. country ...

" and "Rollin'", which also charted as album cuts, and "The Beaches of Cheyenne", his then-current single. "That Ol' Wind" spent several weeks on the charts as an album cut before officially being released to radio in late 1996, peaking at number 4 in December 1996.

References

{{Garth Brooks singles 1996 singles 1995 songs Garth Brooks songs Songs written by Garth Brooks Song recordings produced by Allen Reynolds Capitol Records Nashville singles