"Wildflowers" is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

and the opening track from the album of the same name. The song became quite popular in concerts, and though it was not released as a single, it charted at #16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rock Songs chart, at #11 on the ''Billboard'' Rock Digital Song Sales and at #3 on the ''Billboard'' Lyric Find.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

describes it as having a simple but effective folk-based chord progression, with a sprightly, almost country-oriented rhythm. The song has gone on to become one of the most beloved in Petty's catalog. Petty also stated "Wildflowers" was easy to write and compose. It was one of the non-singles which were included on the compilation '' The Best of Everything'' (others were "

Southern Accents ''Southern Accents'' is the sixth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records. The album's lead single, "Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked at n ...

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", "Angel Dream" and "Dreamville"). On August 20, 2020, a posthumous release of the home recorded demo version of the song was released as a digital single alongside a music video. The video contains never-before-seen footage shot by Martyn Atkins during the recording of "Wildflowers". On the same day, it was officially announced that on October 16, a posthumous album titled ''Wildflowers & All the Rest'' would be released. It is a comprehensive re-release of "Wildflowers" including the home version (released as a single in August) along with the album '' Wildflowers'' and many unearthed gems and demos/home recordings. The title of the November 2020 book ''Somewhere You Feel Free: Tom Petty and Los Angeles'' comes from a lyric in the song. "Wildflowers" is also Tom Petty's fourth most streamed solo song (and seventh overall) on

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, even surpassing the same album's big hit "

You Don't Know How it Feels "You Don't Know How It Feels" is a song and the lead single from Tom Petty's 1994 album, '' Wildflowers''. The track features candid lyrics describing the songwriter's desire for personal and professional autonomy.Greenwald, Matthew. You Don't K ...

Composition

Petty described writing "Wildflowers":

References

{{Authority control 1994 songs Tom Petty songs Songs written by Tom Petty Warner Records singles