This was written and recorded by country singer John Anderson, who was born in Florida. "Seminole Wind" is about the Native Americans (Seminoles) in Florida. The lyrics reference the Seminole war chief Osceola, whose ghost cries out over the destruction of natural resources for financial gain.
In the second verse, Anderson uses the draining of the Florida Everglades as an example of human greed. Native American tribes took refuge there under Osceola's leadership during the Second Seminole War in the mid-1800s. By the end of the century, developers began making plans to drain the vast swampland, covering nearly 4,000 square miles, and convert it to farmland. The continuous drainage projects, for development and flood-control purposes, wreaked havoc on the Everglades' delicate ecosystem and, despite efforts to restore the wetlands, it was named the most critically endangered site in the US in 2017.
Anderson's label, BNA Records, was skeptical about releasing this as a single, thinking it wouldn't make an impact outside of Florida. But when Anderson got a standing ovation after debuting the song at a Seattle concert, he knew it was the right move. It reached the top of the country charts in the US (#2) and Canada (#1).
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