Mercury News | 01/24/2003 | ‘Autumn Wind’: It must be Super Bowl time if the newspaper has a whole article about the Raiders theme song. The Autumn Wind was created by NFL Films to accompany highlights from the Raiders games.
The genius of NFL Films was its ability to make even the most innocuous off-tackle play for a 2-yard gain seem like the climactic struggle of an epic battle.
True Raiders fans must have their own copy to play on a moment’s notice. Get it from the Raiders website. (Update 2007-09-19: The audio file seems to have been removed from the Raiders site. You can probably find a copy by searching for autumn_wind.mp3). Better yet, buy a legal copy – see below for a link to Amazon.
The autumn wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea
With a rollicking song he sweeps along
swaggering boisterouslyHis face is weather beaten
He wears a hooded sash
With his silver hat about his head
And a bristly black mustacheHe growls as he storms the country
A villain big and bold
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake
As he robs them of their goldThe autumn wind is a Raider
Pillaging just for fun
He’ll knock you around and upside down
And laugh when he’s conquered and won
The Autumn Wind and The Raiders Song are available on “The Power and the Glory: The Original Music and Voices of NFL Films” CD: