(whistle) Can you imagine this classic without that iconic whistle? So it is. Amid accusations of espionage and trying to overthrow the Soviet Union, the song was almost released without him.
And this is all happening right at the height of one of the biggest conflicts this world has ever seen. I'm Guilherme and today I'm going to reveal the story behind the song 'Wind Of Change', by Scorpions, here on the DecifraHITS channel. 'Wind Of Change' became an instant anthem as soon as the record hit the shelves.
There is no one who doesn't recognize it from the first notes of that iconic whistle in the introduction. And in addition to dominating the charts at the time, the hit represented a milestone in the Scorpions' career, becoming the band's biggest success. And we're talking about a group that had already been on the road for 25 years, and that had other hits on their CV such as 'Rock You Like a Hurricane', 'Still Loving You', and 'No One Like You'.
The secret to Wind Of Change's success is due to its striking melody and, above all, its lyrics full of messages of hope, which gave a voice to those who suffered during one of the most impactful geopolitical events of the 20th century: the fall of the Berlin Wall. and the end of the Soviet Union. And as a German rock band formed in 65, the members of Scorpions lived in the midst of all the political tension that boiled over in divided Germany and, even before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the band went through an emotional event that impacted them.
deeply, and was the biggest inspiration for composing Wind Of Change. In August 1989, at the Lenin Stadium in Moscow, the Moscow Music Peace Festival took place, a two-day event that became known as the Woodstock of Hard-Rock. The festival ended up becoming a milestone in the history of music due to some very symbolic facts.
That was the first time that Western rock bands got permission to perform in the Soviet capital, which ended up attracting a huge audience of 100,000 people, and the performances were broadcast simultaneously to more than 50 countries. At this historic festival, the Scorpions performed a memorable show, and shared the stage with other great rock legends, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe. And after having participated in this experience, vocalist Klaus Meine, who grew up in a Germany divided by the Soviet Union, seems to have found the true source of inspiration for composing 'Wind of Change': “We weren't just a band singing about these things; we were part of them.
” And Klaus Meine was inspired by that event to write one of Rock's greatest masterpieces, it was because he knew the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity to build your own success. And if you also know the importance of honing your own potential, our partner EBAC has a mega promotion that will help you a lot with this. This November, EBAC guarantees up to 60% discount on all courses.
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And one of the first parts of the song that emerged was precisely the most emblematic part of the song: the whistle. (whistling) The band's manager, who was one of the festival's organizers, stated that Klaus started whistling the melody of 'Wind of Change' right after the event, while still on the band's bus. The next day, he had practically the entire song ready.
And you see, Klaus generally only focused on the lyrics and rarely wrote complete compositions. This time, not only did he arrive with almost everything ready, he also arrived with the band's biggest hit. But the iconic whistle was not accepted at first, and it was removed from the song right away.
What happened was the following: the other band members didn't like the whistling, as they thought it didn't match their sound at all. The record company followed suit and also turned up its nose at Klaus' idea. With the majority's refusal, they started working on the song trying to simulate the whistling in other ways: they tested it with the guitar, with the keyboards, with acoustic guitars, but nothing was good.
And after much insistence, they ended up realizing that, without the legendary whistle, the music wouldn't be the same. Thankfully, right? !
Because just this whistle awakens more emotions in us than a lot of music out there, right? And just as a simple whistle was decisive for this classic to conquer the world, your like is also essential for this video to reach more people. So click on the thumbs up, it costs you nothing and means a lot to us, okay?
And one of the most brilliant things is that Scorpions managed to maintain a unique progression of feelings in this song, both in the melody and in the lyrics. Together, they manage to perfectly express the desire for hope and especially the desire for unity fostered by the music festival, and for which the people of that divided nation were waiting so long. In the first lines of Wind Of Change Klaus describes a unique moment: "I follow Moskva down to Gorky Park” This part refers to a boat trip they took along the Moskva River towards Gorky Park, which is a real park in the city of Moscow and also the name of one of the Russian groups that performed at the festival.
On the boat, the Scorpions were together with other festival bands, some journalists and several Red Army soldiers. This meeting was symbolic for Klaus, who declared in an interview: “It's as if the whole world was at the same boat, speaking the same language: music. " “An August summer night, soldiers passing by, listening to the wind of change” During the Scorpions show at the festival, all the soldiers and the site's security turned to the stage, and in a mix of euphoria, dissatisfaction and outburst, they threw their caps and jackets into the air.
The vocalist said that, during the performance, he could feel the world changing right there in front of him. And it was this feeling of hope that he sought to express in music. “The world was changing.
Somehow, Klaus captured that vibe. ”, said guitarist Rudolf Schenker. As the song plays, Klaus' vocals and the chord progression awaken something true, and bring the feeling that something very good is coming.
That must be why this song rocked many couples in love who had no idea what the song was really about. In fact, this only reveals the genius of the band Scorpions, who managed to convey feelings far beyond words. And when we continue observing the lyrics, the message becomes complete: "The world is closing in And did you ever think that we could be so close like brothers?
The future is in the air, I can feel it everywhere, blowing with the wind of change" During the song, the band envisions a Germany where division and conflicts will be just a memory of a dark past that must never return. This feeling is perfectly translated in the verses: "Walking down the street And distant memories are buried in the past forever" There's a phrase in this song that a lot of people don't understand very well, because there's a word that isn't very common: “Let your balalaika sing what my guitar wants to say” Balalaika is a typical Russian instrument, which you may have seen but didn't know the name, like me. In other words, here it is just a metaphor expressing the desire for union and hope that permeates the entire song and which reaches its peak in the chorus, where the vocalist idealizes the day most awaited by the nation at that moment: "Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away In the wind of change" In November 1989, just three months after that festival in Moscow, the reunification of Germany finally took place with the fall of the wall from Berlin.
And when the album Crazy World was released the following year, the identification of people who had just experienced everything with the message conveyed in Wind Of Change was immediate. That song full of messages of hope became a bridge with the end of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the music video, directed by Wayne Isham (known for his work with artists of the caliber of Metallica, Michael Jackson, Pantera, among others) uses images of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, which made the song directly linked to historical events.
There are also those who believe that the song not only portrayed the events, but was also commissioned. American journalist Patrick Keefe claimed to have information that suggests a collaboration between the Scorpions and the CIA, the United States intelligence agency, and launched an 8-episode podcast on the topic. The theory proposes that the song was written with the purpose of influencing the fall of the Soviet Union.
This crazy theory was refuted by the owner of the song himself. In an interview with the program 'Fantástico', the vocalist said, between laughs, that he is “a composer, a musician, not a spy. " but that, in the end, the podcast ended up promoting the music even more.
Over the years years, the Scorpions also recorded the song in several different languages, including Russian. For them, it was more than fair to translate the idea to the people who inspired the hit. Additionally, profits from this version went to a Russian children's charity.
Recently, in 2020, they released a box commemorating the 30th anniversary of the album 'Crazy World' which, in addition to the album and a book containing never-before-seen photos from the festival in Moscow, also includes a piece of the listed Berlin Wall. Cool huh? !
'Wind of Change' has become a great example of how music can transcend barriers: "Something like this shows that music is a very strong tool for building bridges. And that's what we always try to do. Coming from Germany, with two world wars in the curriculum, we saw the chance to do something good with music.
I believe 'Wind of Change' did something good," said Klaus. And in addition to becoming one of the best-selling singles in history, Wind Of Change entered the list of rock's greatest classics, as did the song Hotel California, where the band Eagles, instead of idolizing California as most artists did in era, decided to expose the dark side behind all the glamor of Hollywood. To better understand this story, just click on this video.
I'll stay here, thank you very much for staying with us, and see you next time.
