LISTEN: The 5 Best Songs About Wyoming Wind
Wyoming had a couple of really windy days this week.
Some parts of the state can expect more of that over the weekend.
With that in mind, I asked my listeners if they could think of songs about the wind.
I got a lot of suggestions.
Some of these tunes are from popular singers and bands.
Wyoming Wind by Chancey Williams
Brenn Hill has a song by the same name but it's an entirely different song. It's more about the state of Wyoming and what makes it unique.
This song sounds like it was written by someone who lived here.
Lots of singers have heard of Wyoming wind, and written and sung about it.
But few have ever captured what it's really like to be out here when it's blowing.
Here is Wyoming Wind by Brenn Hill
Let's get old school. I mean REALLY OLD SCHOOL!
Wyoming Wind by The Bar J Wranglers.
The Bar J Wranglers from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, deliver some of the purest harmony, best musicianship and funniest ranch humor ever seen on stage.
As soon as the Bar J Wranglers take to the stage, listeners leave behind their busy life and settle into a time long ago - a time of the singing cowboy.
I have to admit that these guys are really good.
But they only appeal the those who like this kind of old-school music.
Brian Hensien and his group have produced a great video that goes with this old-style song.
Brian and his group are featured in the next video.
This is a wonderful sound and the video is a hoot to watch.
It looks like they shot this in one of Wyoming's badland areas.
Once again the song is titled Wyoming Wind.
It does sound like something written by people who know Wyoming.
You'll love the picking solos they play.
Wyoming Wind by Low Water String Band
If you just go to YouTube and type in Song Wyomg Wind or just follow that link, you'll find more.
Out of all of these, I have a personal favorite.
Another song entitled Wyoming Wind, this one performed by Caitlin Canty.
Her rendition is wonderful.
The song is actually about the wind, itself.
A few years ago when the Wyoming wind woke me in the middle of the night I found myself lying in bed, listening to it, thinking that there must be a few good songs about the Wyoming wind.
Last night, with gusts over 60mph where I live, even more in other parts of the state, that same wind woke me again, and I went searching for that song.
There is a romance that comes with the often-cursed Wyoming winds. Those winds have made it into our folklore, photography, art, and music.
Singer and songwriter Caitlin Canty sings the song written by Mark Erelli in a haunting slow style:
"It’ll rip through a man
Like a bullet but faster
From Cody on down to Cheyenne
Clear through to Nebraska
It howls and haunts
Goes where it wants
It’ll taunt you and get under your skin
No there ain’t no shelter
From the Wyoming wind"
There are many songs about our wonderful and cursed winds, but this sweet slow rendition is perfect for a cold, cloudy December day.
Canty writes and records with several bands including Down Like Silver, her duo with Peter Bradley Adams. Her credits also include singing on the season 2 finale of the CBS show "Code Black".
Canty is currently featured on the album Reckless Skyline which features an all-star band on twelve songs that veer nimbly between country ballads, dark blues, and sparsely arranged folk. The band worked fast and hard, cutting 19 tracks in all.
Her current tour schedule does not bring her to Wyoming any time soon.
Perhaps though, we can schedule her for the next windy day.
Hundreds Of Miles Of Tumbleweeds Trapped By Wyoming Fencing
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
Almost Forgotton Wyoming Cemetary
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods