🍃 About the Song
Before Donovan turned psychedelic, he was Britain’s answer to Bob Dylan — a lone poet with a guitar and a wistful smile. “Catch the Wind” was his debut single, and it immediately marked him out as something gentler, more romantic, and less angry than Dylan.
The melody drifts, the lyrics ache, and the whole song feels like it’s been written on a park bench at golden hour.
It’s been covered hundreds of times since — by folkies, punks, and even orchestras — but the ukulele version has an intimacy none of them can touch.
🎸 Ukulele Playing Tips
We’ll play it in G major — it gives that open, ringing tone Donovan loved.
You’ll need G, C, D, and Am.
Verse pattern: [G] – [C] – [D] – [G]
Chorus: [C] – [G] – [Am] – [D]
Tempo: 72–75 bpm — soft, reflective waltz feel (count it as a slow 4/4).
Strumming: light down–down–up–up–down–up or a gentle fingerpicked 4–3–2–1 pattern.
If you want that true “folk-café” tone, use your thumb and index finger alternating like a lullaby.
Vocals:
Keep it tender, not theatrical — it’s a sigh, not a soliloquy.
Let your phrasing fall naturally, like conversation.
Sing close to the mic (or audience). This song doesn’t shout; it confides.
💡 Trivia You Can Drop Casually
- Donovan wrote it at 18 years old, inspired by his unrequited crush on Linda Lawrence (who later married him!).
- The harmonica solo on the original version was played by Donovan himself — his only take.
- It reached #4 in the UK charts and made him an overnight folk idol.
- The production on the single was drenched in echo to make it sound “dreamlike” — an early experiment with tape ambience.
- He later re-recorded it acoustically for his 1968 Greatest Hits album — arguably the definitive version.
🌈 Final Word
“Catch the Wind” is all tenderness and restraint — a song that never raises its voice.
On ukulele, it feels like it’s meant to be — soft, intimate, and full of open space between the notes.
It’s not a song to perform; it’s a song to let happen.
