The Autumn Wind

"The Autumn Wind" is a sports-themed poem adapted from Mary Jane Carr's "Pirate Wind"[1] by former NFL Films President and co-founder Steve Sabol (son of founder Ed Sabol) describing the atmosphere of autumn weather, as it relates to pro football season. It is synonymous with the National Football League (NFL)'s Las Vegas Raiders,[2][3] and is often heard blaring out of the speakers at Raider games.[4][5] Narrated by John Facenda,[6] this 1974 production has been dubbed "The Battle Hymn of the Raider Nation".[7]

The poem was first used for the team's official team yearbook film in 1974, of the same title, and also for NFL Films' hour-long recap of the 1974 season. Legend has it that when Raider owner and managing general partner Al Davis heard "The Autumn Wind" song for the first time, he remained silent for a second before telling then NFL Films President Ed Sabol that he loved it, and that "it epitomized everything that the Raiders stood for".

It has been used on numerous official NFL Films audio album soundtracks, most notably The Power & The Glory LP, featuring Facenda narrating over it, as well as numerous other Sam Spence-composed and conducted the NFL Films Orchestra tracks. Rapper, actor and Raider fan Ice Cube uses the first and last quartets to introduce his song Raider Nation, the theme for Straight Outta L.A., his ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about how the Raiders' time in Los Angeles coincided with, among other things, the rise of N.W.A. and hip hop in Los Angeles.[8]

Lines

The Autumn Wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea,
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
Swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
With a silver hat about his head,
And a bristling black mustache.

He growls as he storms the country,
A villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake,
As he robs them of their gold.

The Autumn Wind is a raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He'll knock you 'round and upside down,
And laugh when he's conquered and won.

References
  1. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.167411/page/n135
  2. Warnock to sell luxury suites at stadium, ESPN, 2004-05-07, retrieved 2008-01-27
  3. "The Recap", Washington Post, 2006-10-30, retrieved 2008-01-27
  4. Steele, David (2000-10-23), Coliseum Turns Into Wind Tunnel for a Day, San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved 2008-01-27
  5. Carr, Bob (2005-11-01), What do the Tennessee Titans and the San Diego Chargers have in Common?, San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved 2008-01-27
  6. Peterseim, Peter (2001-12-29), Cool Hand Luke, Wilt the Stilt, and the good/nine-headed monster, ESPN, retrieved 2008-01-27
  7. Lynch, Kevin (2002-11-01), Foreboding song blows through practice, San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved 2008-01-27
  8. Raider Nation – Ice Cube YouTube
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