Hasten Down the Wind (song)

"Hasten Down the Wind"
Single by Warren Zevon
from the album Warren Zevon
ReleasedNovember 1976[1]
GenreFolk rock, soft rock
LabelAsylum Records
Songwriter(s)Warren Zevon
Producer(s)Warren Zevon/Jackson Browne

"Hasten Down the Wind" is a song written and recorded by Warren Zevon and featured on his eponymous major-label debut album. The song was later covered by Linda Ronstadt, who would use the song as the title track for her seventh solo LP.[2]

The lyrics of the song describe the latter days of a relationship between a man and a woman, with the woman accepting that "nothing's working out the way they planned" before the man accepts that "she needs to be free". The track was produced by Jackson Browne, who met Zevon in the mid-seventies. Their relationship played a significant role in his career thereafter. It was with Browne's assistance that Zevon got a major record contract.[3]

Zevon's version of the song features Phil Everly singing harmony vocals,[4] and also David Lindley playing slide guitar.

  1. ^ "Billboard's Top Single Picks". Billboard. November 20, 1976. p. 70.
  2. ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides p. 1214. ISBN 978-1-8435-3105-0.
  3. ^ Hyden, Steven (September 7, 2018). "His Sh*t's F***ed Up: The Complicated Legacy of Warren Zevon". The Ringer. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  4. ^ Kiger, Patrick (January 6, 2014). "Phil Everly: Half of the Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Duo". AARP. Retrieved November 26, 2020.