LaFave began school down the road from Wills Point in Mesquite and by Junior High was making music perched behind his Sears & Roebuck drum kit. It was in this landscape that he began to define his sound and soak up a combination of his experiences among authentic songwriters from the tradition of Woody Guthrie. Before leaving Oklahoma for Austin, Jimmy did some independent recording and toured the southwest with the first version of his band Night Tribe.
In an article published in The Austin Chronicle in April 2017, LaFave announced publicly that he was battling myxofibrosarcoma, a rare form of cancer that had been diagnosed one year earlier. After various treatments failed, doctors advised LaFave that there was nothing else the medical profession could provide. During the course of his illness leading up to this announcement, LaFave continued to perform – not cancelling even one show. In addition, he continued to record new songs that he hoped would add to his legacy.
At the time of the public announcement, The Austin Statesman announced that a concert to honor LaFave would be held at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on May 18, 2017. LaFave helped in the selection of friends and musicians who would perform that night. LaFave also selected charities that would benefit from a crowdfunding effort set up in his honor. A crowdfunding effort "Celebrating Jimmy LaFave" was set up via GoFundMe and received about $55,000 in donations.
LaFave died of cancer at his home in Austin, Texas, at the age of 61. His death came just three days after making an appearance at the Paramount Theater tribute show in Austin. According to The Austin Statesman: "A sold-out audience heard artists ranging from Austin artists including Eliza Gilkyson, Slaid Cleaves and Ruthie Foster, plus some from out-of-state including Nashville’s Gretchen Peters, Boston’s Ellis Paul and Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter Sarah Lee Guthrie, primarily playing songs that LaFave wrote or were part of his repertoire."
Within 24 hours, LaFave's death was reported in numerous newspapers throughout Texas and Oklahoma, in The New York Times and as far away as England, where he often performed
He moved to Austin in 1986, where he continued to write songs and to develop his musical ideas. Shortly after arriving he was asked to help launch the songwriter nights at the new performance venue Chicago House. In 1988 he recorded his self–produced tape, Highway Angels...Full Moon Rain, which won the Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll Tape of the Year Award. This led to a recording contract with a small independent label and allowed LaFave the opportunity to work with Bob Johnston, producer of several of LaFave’s favorite albums including Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Nashville Skyline.
His second album, Highway Trance was released in 1994 followed by his third CD, Buffalo Return to the Plains, in 1995.
The grass roots demand and critical acclaim for LaFave’s music, which led to extensive touring in the United States and Europe, was recognized in 1996 when he was asked to tape a performance for the PBS musical series Austin City Limits, and was invited by Nora Guthrie to appear in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to Woody Guthrie. That same year LaFave won his second consecutive Austin Music Award for Best Singer–Songwriter. His fourth CD, Road Novel, which was released in early 1997, received many glowing reviews. That year he was asked by Nora Guthrie to speak and perform at the induction of Woody Guthrie into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
In 2001, LaFave released Texoma, a celebration of the Americana spirit with a heartfelt valentine to the heartland. KGSR Program Director, Jody Denberg called it a “phenomenon.” Denberg said, “the phones lit up immediately after it was added to the playlist, and they stayed lit.” Since the release of Texoma, Jimmy combined his solo dates with the Woody Guthrie tribute tour titled “The Ribbon of Highway – Endless Skyway,” featuring a rotating cast of Americana musicians that has included such notables as Eliza Gilkyson, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Tom Russell and Slaid Cleaves. The two–disc live album Ribbon of Highway Endless Skyway is a collection of the tour’s live performances that features some of Jimmy’s interpretations of Woody Guthrie classics.
Encouraged by his friend, fellow Austin artist Eliza Gilkyson, LaFave signed with indie label Red House records, and in 2005 released Blue Nightfall. This stunningly soulful album was LaFave’s first in 4 years and won him much critical attention. LaFave’s album Cimarron Manifesto finds LaFave taking a more country road, with sweet and mournful songs about life and loss and special guest appearances by Carrie Rodriguez, Ruthie Foster and Kacy Crowley. Following the release of this album, LaFave toured across North America.
Catch The Wind
Jimmy LaFave Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna 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
I wanna 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
It would make me sing
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
Diddy, da da, la da da, da da da
Ya da da, da da, la da
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 standing in your heart
Is where I wanna be and I 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
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
The lyrics of Jimmy LaFave's song "Catch The Wind" are a heartfelt declaration of love and longing. The opening lines, "In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty / I wanna be in the warm hold / Of your loving mind", describe a desire for emotional warmth and security in the face of uncertainty. The singer wants to feel their lover's presence all around them and take their hand along the sand, but acknowledges that trying to "catch the wind" may be futile - much like trying to hold onto something intangible or fleeting.
The second verse continues with a longing for the comfort and reassurance of a loved one's smile and gaze, and an acknowledgement that loving this person now would be the sweetest thing. However, the final lines of the verse bring the listener back to the idea that catching the wind may be an impossible feat.
The third verse brings a sense of melancholy, with its imagery of rain-soaked leaves and fear. The singer wants their lover near in order to kill their fears and leave their blues behind - again recognizing the healing power of love. The lyric "For standing in your heart / Is where I wanna be and I long to be" is a simple but powerful declaration of the desire to be loved and belong to someone.
Overall, "Catch The Wind" is a tender and bittersweet love song that captures the timeless feeling of longing for connection and security in the face of life's uncertainties.
Line by Line Meaning
In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty
During times of doubt and confusion
I wanna be in the warm hold of your loving mind
I desire to be comforted and embraced by your affection and care
To feel you all around me
To sense your presence and your love surrounding me
And to take your hand along the sand
To walk hand in hand with you on a sandy beach
Ah but I may as well try and catch the wind
It may be impossible, but I still want to try to be with you
When sundown pales the sky
When sunset fades away the brightness of the sky
I wanna hide a while behind your smile
I want to find solace in your happiness and comfort
And everywhere I'd look, your eyes I'd find
I want to see you in every moment, in every place
For me to love you now would be the sweetest thing
To love you at this moment would be the most wonderful feeling
It would make me sing
It would bring me joy beyond words
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
It may be impossible, but I still want to try to love and be with you
When rain has hung the leaves with tears
When the rain has made the leaves heavy and sad
I want you near to kill my fears
I need you close to help me overcome my worries and fears
To help me to leave all my blues behind
To assist me in leaving all my sadness and sorrow in the past
For standing in your heart
To be accepted in your heart
Is where I wanna be and I long to be
I want to be in your heart and truly desire it
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
It may seem impossible, but I still want to try to be with you
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
It may be impossible, but I still want to try to be with you
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
It may be impossible, but I still want to try to be with you
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind
It may be impossible, but I still want to try to be with you
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Donovan Leitch
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind