Carrie Underwood Had Another Tornado-themed Song Before ‘Blown Away’
Carrie Underwood is the singer behind “Blown Away,” although this wasn’t the only tornado song written particularly with the country artist in mind. The co-writers mentioned their earlier song “Whirlwind,” it’s story, and why it was never officially released.
What is Carrie Underwood’s ‘Blown Away’ about?
Fans were “Blown Away” by this track. Underwood released this No. 1 hit in 2012, featuring her iconic country sound and some unique themes regarding tornados.
“Shatter every window ’til it’s all blown away,” the chorus states. “Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away / ‘Til there’s nothing left standing / Nothing left of yesterday / Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away, blown away, blown away.”
There’s references to the distruction of natural disaster, also telling the story of a particular family in Oklahoma caught in the tornado. The “daddy” was a “mean old minister” and the character’s “mama” was “an angel on the ground.” This track was written by the songwriting duo Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins. It has earned over 120 million Spotify plays.
Carrie Underwood had another tornado-inspired song, ‘Whirlwind’
Underwood already has one tornado hit under her (rhinestoned) belt. This artist almost had another song with the same theme, although it was never released, as described by one of the “Before He Cheats” co-writers.
“We wrote ‘Whirlwind’ about a couple in a basement during a tornado, rediscovering each other and falling back in love with each other,” songwriter Kear said (via Tennessean). “People loved it, but it didn’t happen.”
“At the time, it was crushing and disappointing because we had really worked hard on that song,” he added. “As is often the case, many of life’s biggest disappointments, if you don’t give up, will actually lead you to where you wanted to be in the first place.”
Does Carrie Underwood write her own music?
In 2022, Underwood released Denim & Rhinestones, with most songs co-written and co-produced by the artist. During an interview with Rolling Stone, Underwood elaborated on her hands-on process, which helps the music feel personal.
“I worked with David Garcia on the Cry Pretty album and through that, and through working on My Savior with him, I feel like that really solidified our relationship in music,” Underwood said.
“It all comes down to what are we feeling? It’s more free-flow,” she added. “We didn’t try to fight any influences or try to say, ‘Who is Carrie Underwood? And let’s make a record that sounds like her.’ We just created.”
In 2023, she released her first-ever truck-themed track, “Out of That Truck,” also co-producing and co-writing the single. However, Underwood didn’t have a role in writing all of her chart-topping releases.
According to Spotify’s credits, “Before He Cheats” was written by Kear, Tompkins, and Kara DioGuardi. “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” was written by Brett James, Gordon Sampson, and Hillary Lindsey.
