Album: Against The Wind (1980)

Charted: 5

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• It seems like yesterday
  But it was long ago
  Janey was lovely she was the queen of my nights
  There in the darkness with the radio playing low
  And the secrets that we shared
  The mountains that we moved
  Caught like a wildfire out of control
  'Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove
  And I remember what she said to me
  How she swore that it never would end
  I remember how she held me oh so tight
  Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then
  
  Against the wind
  We were runnin' against the wind
  We were young and strong, we were runnin'
  Against the wind
  The years rolled slowly past
  And I found myself alone
  Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
  I found myself further and further from my home
  And I guess I lost my way
  There were oh so many roads
  I was living to run and running to live
  Never worried about paying or even how much I owed
  Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
  Breaking all of the rules that would bend
  I began to find myself searching
  Searching for shelter again and again
  
  Against the wind
  A little something against the wind
  I found myself seeking shelter against the wind
  
  Well those drifter's days are past me now
  I've got so much more to think about
  Deadlines and commitments
  What to leave in, what to leave out
  
  Against the wind
  I'm still runnin' against the wind
  I'm older now but still runnin' against the wind
  Well I'm older now and still runnin'
  Against the wind
  Against the wind
  Against the wind
  
  I'm still runnin' against the wind
  I'm still runnin' against the wind (against the wind)
  I'm still runnin' (against the wind)
  I'm still runnin' against the wind (against the wind)
  Still runnin' (against the wind)
  Running against the wind
  Running against the wind (against the wind)
  See the young man run (against the wind)
  Watch the young man run (against the wind)
  Watch the young man runnin' (against the wind)
  He'll be runnin' against the wind (against the wind)
  Let the cowboys ride (against the wind)
  Oh (against the wind)
  Let the cowboys ride (against the wind)
  They'll be ridin' against the wind (against the wind)
  Against the wind (against the wind)
  Ridin' against the wind (against the wind)
  Against the wind Writer/s: Bob Seger
  Publisher: O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 43

• Wes from IowaI prefer Bob Seger to many other artists
• Obvious Guy 2025 from La-la-land, CaRE: Rick Rappaport
  Actually, Rick, the misfit phrase in question is.
  "A little something against the wind."
  
  The other lines were part of a wit fill-in, meaning that he forgot to decide on leaving that line out.
  
  Anyone else have an observation on the odd line?
• Rick Rappaport from PhiladelphiaTo Obvious Guy 2025: That line, 'what to leave in/what to leave out', I've always understood to be a reference to choosing songs for a record--as Bob matured, the intense pressures from the record company grew. The song plays on three lyrical tracks--the abject literal (Bob's days as a cross country runner); the romantic (the story of young love maturing); but also about the being in a rock band on the road (eight miles a minute months at a time). The mistakes made, culminating in 'deadlines and commitments'. That line is about pleasing fans and the record company, as he grew in popularity.
• Obvious Guy 2025 from La-la-land, CaHey, how come no one ever mentions the obvious occlusion in this otherwise flawless song?
  
  No, not:
  "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."
  That is the crown of this diamond.
  
  I mean:
  "A little something against the wind."
  You would think that Seger would think of it as something
  "What to leave in, what to leave out."
  
  Now, IIRC, Bob said, in an interview, that it was a filler lyric that he just forgot to fix.
  But I searched everywhere online and could not find it.
  
  Can anyone confirm this?
• Mary Louise from Hartford, OhioI would like to know who plays the piano in Against The Wind. It is phenomenal!! I listen to it over and over.
• Left Body Kick from Lower Middle Class Usa Great song, all time classic. Probably his best one. I think of my family, an old girlfriend and years past with this one.
  
  “Wish I didn’t know now, what I didn’t know then.”
  
  I wish I didn’t know certain things about my family history, genetics, and certain predisposed conditions. Sometimes I wish I didn’t know certain things my dad told my mother that he would do to her, do to us, how he would make her disappear, how he would “take out her kids” etc. Mean stuff.
  
  I think of an important ex-girlfriend I used to be with when I hear this. And certain lyrics in the song. She used to be a runner and she told me she would run on the beach up in Santa Barbara. I could picture her running against the wind, against the odds against her, against the norm. That’s one reason I liked her. No one ever talked to me the way she did. There’s a lot of things I remember about her. She told me she still has a piece of my heart but not my soul because my soul still runs free. I think at times our spirits meet up together.
  
  To me it seems like the writer is pretty hardheaded and he’s always doing things the hard way, going against societies norms, going against the wind and everything he does. Sounds like me. She would say the same thing about me.
  
  At times I miss her and those years together and what we would do together but then we either have to go forward, or the relationship is not going to continue. And she wanted certain things I couldn’t give her. And we both know that.
  
  I haven’t changed much in the sense that I’m still doing things the hard way, still going against the norm. My mother and grandmother used to call me “El Burro.”
  La gente que hablan espanol entienden.
• Betsy from Elgin, IlAgainst the Wind and Til it Shines are beauiful that I listen it he s a ROCK !
• Barry from Sauquoit, Ny'Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then'
  I think we've all thought that at one time or another!!!
  On April 27th 1980, "Against The Wind" by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #54; and on June 8th it peaked at #5 (for 3 weeks) and spent 17 weeks on the Top 100...
  It reached #6 in Canada and #8 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
  Was track one of side two on the his 11th studio album, 'Against The Wind', and on April 27th, the album reached #1 (for 6 weeks) on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
  Three other tracks from the album also made the Top 100; "Fire Lake" (at #6), "You'll Accomp'ny Me" (at #14), and "The Horizontal Bop" (at #42)...
  Mr. Seger will celebrate his 69th birthday in nine days on May 6th, 2014.
• Adam from Hanover, MdAgainst the Wind is Special to me because I was always a big Seger fan but truly hated this song. Then every time I watch Forrest Gump I listen to it during the running parts. Now 30 years has gone by and I purchase"Ultimate Hits" and I love this song, I mean I can't get enough, I lust for it. The interlude with guitar and piano mixed is fantastic, the words speaking to all of us who have made mistakes and trying to grow from them, the sex when he talks of his old love in the beginning. I have listened to this over 200 times in 6 months, sometimes 4 or 5 times in a row. Seger has always been one of the best singer/songwriters just like the Boss and Billy Joel, and I am sure this song is his best work!
• Greg from Harrington Park, NjEvery time I hear this song it reminds me of college - I knew the song since I was younger in the late 80's but by the mid 90's when it appeared in Forrest Gump and subsequently in the soundtrack as well, I started listening to Seger more and more. Around the same time his greatest hits vol 1 came out as well and I was determined to just buy every Seger album I could get my hands on... Anyways, I always think if this song as a turning point in one's life - going from a child to an adult whether male or female I guess. How it is a harsh reality to understand that things are not the same when you get older... How she swore that it never would end... and also the naivety and innocence being young has on us... Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then.... Responsibility and consequence are words that have more meaning when you can no longer move 8 miles a minute for months at a time and break all of the rules that would bend ... Drifter's days are past me now, so much more to think about -- deadlines and commitments, what to leave in and what to leave out... one coming to the realization that there is more to life than the simple things - that decision have to eventually be made, career paths decided, family, marriage... at the same time it is a poignant reflection back on how good the simple days were and how you seem to have it all when you are younger - and in a way the wind is at your back -- but as you get older, life changes and things get more difficult, decisions are harder and have more consequences -- thus you are Against the Wind ... such a beautifully poetic, well written song with a beautiful melody, arrangement, chord progression, back ground vocals from the Eagles Henley and Frey, and passionate singing from the man himself... an American gem is what this song is.
• John from Moore, Okin response to Jomeone, Plano, TX-
  "Against the Wind" played in "For Love of the Game" which starred Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston, also with John C. Reilly. Costner plays an aging pitcher who is at the end of his career and possibly his relationship as well. Hope this helps.
• Graham from Chelmsford, United KingdomHi All, can anyone tell me,if bob seger ever recorded walking in memphis?, cheers graham.
• Randy from Houghton Lake, MiI love the piano solo in this and have been trying to find a free download for the sheet music but no luck. Looks like I'll have to break down and buy it.
• Angela from Houston, TxMy mom passed away of cancer several years ago when I was a teenager and she requested this song be played at her funeral. This song definitely mirrors her life, and due to these circumstances, mine as well. I love this song because I listen to it and it gives me strength in knowing that even with all of the hardships life can throw our way, we can still keep going. Beautiful song.
• Paul from Greenbrook, NjOne of my favorite song writers. Every song brings me back to a time and place, and who I was with. Went to many concerts including the last one at the Garden NYC. Twenty years were did they go twenty year I don't know. You guys sounded the same twenty years later. Hats off to Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band.
  Paul Green Brook,NJ
• Edward from Birmingham, AlAgainst the Wind is, for me too, a personal anthem. I left Detroit as a poor kid at 18 years old. Joined the military. Had no money, no prospects. Worked hard. Got a career--many committments, etc. Many new cities, new friends, new family. Always struggling "against the wind". Chokes me up now as an old Detroit native, now aging... Best Seger song ever, among many great ones.
  Ed, Alabama
• Steve from Coldwater, AlBob Seger must have roots in Alabama well I know he hung out in muscle shoals,Al. But he is kewl enough to be an official Alabamian!
• Oldpink from New Castle, InI have long been a Seger fan, and this to me is his best work ever.
  Gorgeous guitar and piano, with Seger himself's vocals perfectly conveying his melancholy.
  I am so glad that he decided to leave in the line that has long jumped out at me "wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."
  Yes, it is mangled English, but it is the best way he could have possibly expressed the wistful desire to go back to a past, not knowing what you know now, but being as young, innocent, and energy as back then, when you were at your happiest time.
  Another great piece from Seger is "Still the Same."
• AnonymousWow, I have a radically different take on this song; it speaks volumes to me . . . the first verse reminds me of spending time in the back seat of my car with my high school girlfriend, with the radio playing low. We swore to stay together forever, now I have to look her up in my yearbook just to remind myself. If I knew then what I know now, it would sure have taken all the powerful emotions out of the way we felt.
  
  Verse two makes me think about how years passed and I traveled away into the military in the late 70's. I met a lot of people around who swore to be friends only to be gone in a few months. That was also a time of rampant drug use with many of the military personnel coming back from Vietnam. Amphetamines like white cross, speed balls, and other powders were causing many to 'lose their way' and they were 'living to run and running to live' & 'moving eight mile a minute for months at a time'. Running was a way to use the drug and how also a person acts when taking amphetamines. Moving very fast and staying awake for weeks, months at a time was typical. Now to do all this, you must break many rules, which will get you kicked out of everywhere . . . you'll need a new place to stay 'searching for shelter again and again'.
  
  Then in verse three you grow up and conform back into society, stop drifting and get a job. But you remember where you have been . . . you're older, but still runnin' against the wind.
  
• Bruce from Columbia, ScGood tune. It was covered by Brooks and Dunn (?) for the television show King of the Hill.
• Jomeone from Plano, TxI heard was listening to this song on my IPOD and it brought back memories of a movie or TV show it played on. Not Forrest Gump. I can't recall what it was. It seems like some sort of separation was occurring - family, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. I've googled it but no hits came up. Any ideas?
• Ben from Battle Mountain, Nvi listend to this sogn the day i left from my first tour overseas pure classic i also listend to it the day i went back for the 2nd and next month again for the 3rd , his lyrics in this say so much about everyone u can really relate , a song about life a song to big for life itself !
• Nathan from From The Country Of, Canadato Johny in LA same formula for Bruce Springsteen...
• Nathan from From The Country Of, CanadaIt plays in the running scene where what looks like arizona and he's about to stop and start walking back
• Ed from Incognito, IlThis song was playing on my car stereo on my way to pick up my soon-to-be girlfriend for our (and my) first date. Coincidentally, this song also marks the first time I got laid! Boo-yeah!
  Atta-boy, Bob!
• Matthew from East Brunswick, NjFor those who said it is played during the running scene, it does, only at the very end, you have to listen very carefully to hear it. It is overplayed by Jackson Brown's "Runnin on Empty" and Fleetwood Mac's "You Can Go Your Own Way"
• Marc from Perth, AustraliaYep. This is one of my all time favorites. And his Greatest Hits album is my top favorite album. I have never tired of it. When I'm driving anywhere through Oz, I always make sure I've got that album with me. Its an all-time must have.
• David from Deerfield Beach, FlPosted on 11/5/2007. Possibly my favorite song from one of my all-time favorite artists, consequently making this one of my all-time favorite songs. Like The Eagles, I always loved Bob Seger's country-rock style. "Against The Wind", like "Shame On The Moon", "Night Moves", "Still The Same", among others were generally simple songs just strumming along on the acoustic guitar with some rootsy piano to go along with it and some soulful background singers (or in the case of "Against The Wind" background vocals by the aforementioned Eagles). But they were great songs with great lyrics & stories and he made them sound so good! They had a nice earthy feel to them. I've been fortunate to have seen him 3 times in concert - in 1986, 1995, and recently in 2007 (where during "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" he sang, "so now sweet 16's turned 61!"). Thank you, Bob. Your music has enriched my life.
  
  
• Asa from Moweaqua, Il2 years ago i lost the clostest thing i had to a mother and this song really hits me hard. The line "surrounded by strangers i thought were my friends" really speaks to me, because of the family breakup the was a result of the death
• Tyrone Collins from Chicago, IlThis song brings back alot of memories of the 80s
• Denton from South Sioux City, United StatesI've always appreciated Mr. Seger's work eversince I was a kid. This song perhaps most of all, those lonely piano chords and lyrics are really powerful. I'd always listen to this song ever now and then in high school and now in college since its for me its one of those songs that helps put things in perspectives, of fleeting youth and lost loves, memories and experiences that always made me think of how short our lives are and how we have to live with no regrets just enjoy it all while we can. A truly classic peice of music.
• Bernie from Detroit, MiOh yes, in my post I failed to mention something of importance. After my Detroit to Houston move in 1981, Bob toured shortly thereafter, riding "The Distance" album in '83. WHAT A SHOW at Houston's Summit! He dedicated "Boomtown Blues" to all of us "Snowbirds" in attendance that night. Perfect....A song about leavin' Motown for warmer pastures. And I quote: "Look what you win, but look what you lose.....Stuck here in Heaven with these Boomtown Blues". Man....did he ever nail it THAT TIME!!! The man surely had his finger on the pulse of all of us Michiganders, getting settled in our new lives in Houston. If you listen carefully, after Alto's sax solo, he hollers: HOUSTON!!! As if we didn''t know. This type of inner feeling for his fans is what m,akes us all feel so close to him.....and we always will.....
  
  Again, God Bless and keep all of you......
• Bernie from Detroit, MiI've been into Seger's music since "East Side Story" on Hideout Records (in East Detroit), released in 1966. 1980's "Against the Wind" though, is my personal anthem. I know we all say that Bob's songs "speak to us" because they DO! The lyrics, such as " Livin' to run and runnin' to live.....never carin' bout payin' or even how much I owed" Who hasn't gone through THAT phase at one time or another? And the line that chokes me up: "Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends, just gettin' further and further from my home"......Man, that was me at the time of my big, life-changing (and how!) move from my home in Detroit, Michigan to Houston, Texas in 1981. Man, was I lonely.....didn't have too damn much time for that, though....Houston was bursting with cash and I was gettin' me some.....rapidly! All in all, Texas has been quite good to me, but Michigan will ALWAYS be home, folks. And Ann Arbor, to me, is MECCA! Home of Rockin' Robert, as Arthur Penhallow named him so many years ago.
  We've never met, but are kindred souls nonetheless...it's just so.
  Thanks for reading.....God Bless....
• Johnny from Los Angeles, CaMost Seger songs have the same formula: Teenage Life.
• Corey from Woodstock, Vtone of my alltime favorites, it really speaks to me, the certain kind of people born to run, for an unspoken but understood reason to run against the wind
• Terry from Pittsburgh, PaTo me, this song is obviously a nostalgic lookback back at ones life. Young love, swearing commitment, then moving on as we all have in our lives. Possibly an unstable period, moving away from home (Segers drifter comment.) Growing older and having more and more commitments and less time. Teenage years to young adult to mature responsible adult(deadline and commitments.) This song really relates to me as it does so many of us. It also takes me back..grew up listening to Seger. The most nostalgic part of the song is:
  
  Janey was lovely, she was the queen of my nights
  There in the darkness with the radio playlng low
  And the secrets that we shared
  The mountains that we moved
  
  thanks
• Geno from Peoria, IlBig Seger fan! This is a great one! takes me back.
• Aj from Cleveland, GaI think it was used in Forest Gump. It was on the soundtrack.
• Kyle from Belleville, CanadaGood song, powerful to hear live.
• Alan from Singapore, SingaporeTo me, this song will always be about going against the grain, toughening oneself to face the world.
  
  And yes, this song was featured in the Forrest Gump movie. It was played during the running scene and yes, it more or less describes the trials and tribulations that Forrest Gump went thru, running against the wind of his life. In the third line of the song, Bob Seger referred to Janey. In Forrest Gump it was Jenny.
  
  Glen Frey may have helped to contribute to the song. Bob Seger to some extent had returned the favour earlier on in an Eagles hit "Heartache Tonight"
• Honzin from Prague, Czech RepublicI think that the words have close connection with Forrest Gump movie. Does anybody know anything about it?
• Ted from Loveland, CoThis song has been covered by The Highwaymen; Brooks & Dunn
• Rich from Elkins, WvI love this song ,I was really surprised to find so few post comments. The lyrics are tight and the piano solo with the guitar coming in behind it has a real lonesome feel. Classic...

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