Feather In The Wind

Album: Nature's Light (2021)

Songfacts®:

  • This song was born out of loss: in 2018, Ritchie Blackmore lost his brother; his wife and musical partner, Candice Night; lost her dad; and their cat, which they had for 16 years, passed away. The song, though, is upbeat, reflecting the joy that those they lost brought to their lives. In a Songfacts track by track for the Nature's Light album, Night, who wrote the lyric, explained:

    "It was a year of loss and it was very intense and very emotional. We have always been a believer in messages and signs from the other side.

    When I lost my dad, I felt that he had sent me a number of signs. One of them was seeing feathers in strange places. It could be in the house. It could be in my bedroom. I could be in the kitchen where I'd find a feather on the ?oor. They would show up in very, very strange places.

    I started to get the idea of his soul or his spirit or the people that we had lost being these feathers that would travel on the wind. And then by the end of the song, it really winds up being that not only was it symbolic of the people that we had lost, but basically all of our spirits and our souls wind up being these feathers that are carried on the wind to our ultimate destination."
  • Blackmore's Night make Renaissance music, a passion of Ritchie Blackmore, best known for his work in Deep Purple and Rainbow. Blackmore came up with the music on this tune while playing a mandola, a stringed instrument akin to a mandolin that is common in minstrel music.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.

Rickie Lee Jones

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many Songs

Who's Johnny, And Why Does He Show Up In So Many SongsSong Writing

For songwriters, Johnny represents the American man. He has been angry, cool, magic, a rebel and, of course, marching home.

Grunge Bands Quiz

Grunge Bands QuizMusic Quiz

If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.

Kerry Livgren of Kansas

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.