Bobby Bare performs "Four Strong Winds "on Hee Haw.

"Four Strong Winds" is a song written by Ian Tyson in the early 1960s and recorded by Canadian folk duo Ian and Sylvia. A significant part of the early 1960s folk revival, the song is a melancholy reflection on a failing romantic relationship. The singer expresses a desire for a possible reunion in a new place in the future ("You could meet me if I sent you down the fare") but acknowledges the likelihood that the relationship is over ("But our good times are all gone/And I'm bound for moving on ...").

The song has a clear Canadian context and subtext, including an explicit mention of the province Alberta as well as references to long, cold winters. In 2005, CBC Radio One listeners chose this song as the greatest Canadian song of all time on the series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.

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Four Strong Winds Lyrics

Four strong winds that blow lonely

Seven seas that run high

All those things that don't change come what may

But our good times are all gone

And I'm bound for moving on

I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way

Think I'll go out to Alberta

Weather's good there in the fall

I got some friends that I can go to working for

Still I wish you'd change your mind

If I asked you one more time

But we've been through that a hundred times or more

Four strong winds that blow lonely

Seven seas that run high

All those things that don't change come what may

But our good times are all gone

And I'm bound for moving on

I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way

If I get there before the snow flies

And if things are goin' good

You could meet me if I sent you down the fare

But by then it would be winter

There ain't too much for you to do

And those winds sure can blow cold way out there

Four strong winds that blow lonely

Seven seas that run high

All those things that don't change come what may

But our good times are all gone

And I'm bound for moving on

I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way