Song: Ride Like The Wind Songwriter: Christopher Cross

Here’s a song I return to over and over again, just for my own pleasure…especially the live version, which you can see in the video below. It’s just wonderful to listen to and watch.

Unbelievable to me is the fact that the original song was recorded in 1979 on Cross’ debut album of the same name…I was barely an adult!

So what is it about this song that is so compelling? Of course, it begins with a piano/orchestral/percussive build that leads to the familiar piano hook and the sound of the howling wind. Then comes Christopher Cross’ vocal:

It is the night
My body’s weak
I’m on the run
No time to sleep
I’ve got to ride
Ride like the wind
To be free again

When the chorus hits, nothing beats the addition of Michael McDonald joining in with his distinctive vocal, both in the original recording and the video below. It’s only a short phrase, the one in brackets, but it brings the song to a whole new level:

CHORUS:
And I’ve got such a long way to go (Such a long way to go)
To make it to the border of Mexico
So I’ll ride like the wind
Ride like the wind

I was born the son of a lawless man
Always spoke my mind with a gun in my hand
Lived nine lives
Gunned down ten
Gonna ride like the wind

CHORUS:
And I’ve got such a long way to go (Such a long way to go)
To make it to the border of Mexico
So I’ll ride like the wind
Ride like the wind

Gonna ride like the wind

This is where the familiar “Da, da, da, da….da…da…da…da” vocals and brass come in…almost a chorus-y kind of feel in and of itself. Then, on to the next verse:

Accused and tried and told to hang
I was nowhere in sight when the church bells rang
Never was the kind to do as I was told
Gonna ride like the wind before I get old

It is the night
My body’s weak
I’m on the run
No time to sleep
I’ve got to ride
Ride like the wind
To be free again

LAST CHORUS:
And I’ve got such a long way to go (Such a long way to go)
To make it to the border of Mexico
So I’ll ride like the wind
Ride like the wind
And I’ve got a long way to go (Such a long way to go)
To make it to the border of Mexico
So I’ll ride like the wind
Ride like the wind

Gonna ride like the wind
Da, da, da, da….da…da…da…da, etc.
Ride…
Da, da, da, da….da…da…da…da, etc.

The topic of the song is pretty straightforward: the singer is a guilty man on the run from the law. And, really, the production, the mood and the tempo really bring forward that feel of constant motion. Gotta keep moving, gotta get away.

What’s interesting is that in the original recording, Cross’ lead is practically buried behind all of the da, da, da’s. But in the video below, you can hear his amazing shredding. I wonder why it wasn’t pushed more upfront originally? That was a mistake, I think.

Anyway, it’s a brilliant song that I never get tired of. Have a listen: