Wildflowers (Tom Petty song)
"Wildflowers" is a song by Tom Petty, the opening track from the eponymous album. The song became quite popular in concerts, and though it wasn't released as a single, it charted on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs list (#16).[1] The song also reached #3 on the Billboard Lyric Find.[2] AllMusic describes it as having a simple but effective folk-based chord progression, with a sprightly, almost country-oriented rhythm.[3][4]
"Wildflowers" | |
---|---|
Song by Tom Petty | |
from the album Wildflowers | |
Released | 1994 |
Genre | Folk rock |
Length | 3:10 |
Label | Warner Bros. |
Songwriter(s) | Tom Petty |
The song has gone on to become one of the most beloved in Petty’s catalog. Petty also stated "Wildflowers" was easy to write and compose.[5] It was one of the non-singles which were included on the compilation The Best of Everything (others were "Southern Accents", "Square One", "Angel Dream" and "Dreamville").[6]
Composition
Petty described writing "Wildflowers":
I just took a deep breath and it came out. The whole song. Stream of consciousness: words, music, chords. Finished it. I mean, I just played it into a tape recorder and I played the whole song and I never played it again. I actually only spent three and a half minutes on that whole song. So I’d come back for days playing that tape, thinking there must be something wrong here because this just came too easy. And then I realized that there’s probably nothing wrong at all.[7]
References
- "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Chart History". Billboard.
- https://www.billboard.com/music/tom-petty-and-the-heartbreakers/chart-history/lyricfind-us/song/681229
- "Wildflowers - Tom Petty | Song Info". AllMusic.
- "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tour Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm.
- Kelly, Sean. "Tom Petty's 'Wildflowers' Turns 25: The Stories Behind the Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock.
- "The Best of Everything: The Definitive Career-Spanning Hits Collection 1976-2016 - Tom Petty, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
- "Tom Petty Tells The Stories Behind His Songs". Performing Songwriter Ent., LLC. October 20, 2014.