To feel you all around me/
And to take your hand/
Along the sand.
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.

Donovan’s “Catch the Wind” is a very accessible folk song: if you are trying to introduce someone to folk music show them this song. If they don’t like it, they might never get it. “Catch the Wind” has all the elements of a great folk song, plus one of the more universal themes: love. Perhaps infatuation is a better description. Donovan plays the song with just an acoustic guitar and harmonica and creates a great sound with a lovely melody.

The sentiment Donovan expresses in the song is great too: he sees a girl he is infatuated with and he wants to be with her, but he doesn’t know where to start. To him, it’s as difficult as trying to catch the wind. Phrases like that come along once in a lifetime.

Note his guitar picking in “Catch the Wind”. It is so clean. Every plucked note is distinct and strong. If you are wondering how that sound is achieved, it is with two guitars. You can play the song with one, but he uses a second guitar to accentuate the base notes of the chords.

Catch The Wind Lyrics

In the chilly hours and minutes
Of uncertainty
I want to be
In the warm hold of your loving mind

To feel you all around me
And to take your hand
Along the sand
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind

When sundown pales the sky
I want to hide a while
Behind your smile
And everywhere I’d look, your eyes I’d find

For me to love you now
Would be the sweetest thing
T’would make me sing
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind

Diddy di dee dee diddy diddy
Diddy diddy diddy dee dee dee

When rain has hung the leaves with tears
I want you near to kill my fears
To help me to leave all my blues behind

For standin’ in your heart
Is where I want to be
And long to be
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind