"That Ol' Wind" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks

Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...

. He recorded it on his 1995 album Fresh Horses

Fresh Horses (album)

Fresh Horses is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released on November 21, 1995. Fresh Horses peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart , and #1 on the Top Country Albums chart....

and released it as the album's sixth and final single in late 1996. The song peaked at #4 on the U.S. country charts and #3 on the Canadian country charts.

Content

"That Ol' Wind" is a mid-tempo ballad that chronicles two lovers who have been separated for some time. It begins with a female character who, upon dropping her child off at school, hears on the radio that an unnamed singer will be "back in town tonight for one last show." She attends his concert, where she reunites with her lover after a ten-year separation. Their reunion is described in the lyric "that ol' wind had once again found its way home." The bridge reveals that each of them have a secret. Her secret is that her son (mentioned in the first verse) is the unnamed singer's child. Born from their first one night stand, ten years earlier. His secret is that he has hidden some money. However, neither reveal their secrets to each other during the song. Because they are in love and happy, having found their way back to one another.

Reception

Reviewing the album for Nashville Scene, Edward Morris said that "That Ol' Wind", "The Beaches of Cheyenne

The Beaches of Cheyenne

"The Beaches of Cheyenne" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in December 1995 as the third of six singles from his 1995 album Fresh Horses...

" and "Ireland" from the same album are "so powerful in what they reveal or demand of the human spirit that they render the competition trivial." Leigh Reynolds, who wrote the song with Brooks, received a Million-Air award from Broadcast Music Incorporated

Broadcast Music Incorporated

Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...

 (BMI) once the song received one million spin

Spin (radio)

In radio broadcasting, a spin is a single play of a song. The term is also used as a unit to measure popularity, typically in spins per week...

s at radio.

Chart performance

In December 1995, "That Ol' Wind" made its chart debut as an album cut, along with "It's Midnight Cinderella

It's Midnight Cinderella

"It's Midnight Cinderella" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks. It was released in June 1996 as the fifth single from his 1995 album Fresh Horses. The song reached a peak of #5 on the U.S...

" and "Rollin'", which also charted as album cuts, and "The Beaches of Cheyenne", his then-current single. "That Ol' Wind" spent several weeks on the charts as an album cut before officially being released to radio in late 1996, peaking at #4 in December 1996.

Chart (1996)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	4
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	3