Four Winds

Bright Eyes

About Four Winds

Four Winds is an EP by the indie rock band Bright Eyes, that was released on March 6, 2007. The title track is the first single from their album Cassadaga. The other 5 tracks are exclusive b-sides from the 2006 recording sessions. It is marketed as being "quietly enchanting" and including "a wandering country charm and all of the story-telling seductiveness of earlier work. The song "Four Winds" was ranked #5 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The title song makes several references to "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats, particularly in the refrain, which references "slouching towards Bethlehem. " 


Year:
2007
4:14
89 
#3

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Your class, your caste, your country, sect, your name or your tribe
There's people always dying, trying to keep them alive
There are bodies decomposing in containers tonight
In an abandoned building where

A squatter's made a mural of a Mexican girl
With fifteen cans of spray paint in a chemical swirl
She's standing in the ashes at the end of the world
Four winds blowing through her hair

But when great Satan's gone, the whore of Babylon
She just can't sustain the pressure where it's placed
She caves

The Bible's blind, the Torah's deaf, the Qu'ran's mute
If you burn them all together, you get close to the truth still
They are pouring over Sanskrit on the ivy league moons
While shadows lengthen in the sun

Cast on a school of meditation built to soften the times
And hold us at the center while the spiral unwinds
It's knocking over fences, crossing property lines
Four winds, cry until it comes

And it's the sum of man
Slouching towards Bethlehem
A heart just can't contain all of that empty space
It breaks, it breaks, it breaks

Well, I went back to my rented Cadillac and company jet
Like a newly orphaned refugee, retracing my steps
All the way to Cassadaga to commune with the dead
They said, 'You'd better look alive.'

And I was off to old Dakota where a genocide sleeps
In the black hills, the bad lands, the calloused east
I buried my ballast, I made my peace
Heard four winds leveling the pines

But when great Satan's gone, the whore of Babylon
She just can't remain with all that outer space
She breaks, she breaks, she caves, she caves

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Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes is an American indie rock band founded by singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst. It consists of Oberst, multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike Mogis, trumpet and piano player Nate Walcott, and a rotating lineup of collaborators drawn primarily from Omaha's indie music scene. more »

3 fans

Written by: CONOR OBERST

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


15 facts about this song

Song Origin
"Four Winds" is a song by indie rock band Bright Eyes, initially released on March 6, 2007.
Album Reference
This song is the first single from their 2007's full-length studio album called Cassadaga.
Song Length
"Four Winds" has the duration of approximately 4 minutes and 16 seconds.
Music Style
The song showcases the folk-rock genre, a trademark of Bright Eyes' music.
Chart Performance
"Four Winds" reached #37 on the UK Singles chart and made it to #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US.
Song Inspiration
The title "Four winds" refers to the Four Winds of the Native American’s belief, embodying the cardinal directions: north, east, south, west.
Bright Eyes' Formation
Bright Eyes, the creators of "Four Winds", is a band produced by Conor Oberst, a prominent singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska.
Critical Reception
The song received widespread critical acclaim, praised for its lyricism and distinct sound.
Recognition
"Four Winds" was ranked #54 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.
Lyrics Theme
The lyrics of "Four Winds" discusses themes including social criticism, in-depth human emotions and religious iconography.
Album Concept
The album "Cassadaga," where the song "Four Winds" featured, is named after a spiritualist camp in Florida, reflecting the album's overall spiritual themes.
Music Video
The song's music video is directed by Patrick Daughters and features Conor Oberst in various roles, from a farm worker to a military officer.
EP
Besides the album, "Four Winds" is also included in an Extended Play release of the same name, boasting five B-side tracks not found on Cassadaga.
Collaborations
The song also features guest vocals by Rachael Yamagata, an American singer-songwriter and pianist.
Live Performances
"Four Winds" has been a regular staple on Bright Eyes' live set lists, performing the song at numerous concerts and music festivals worldwide.

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