Point Of Know Return Dust In The Wind Kansas

Point of Know Return Album: Point of Know Return (1977)
Dust in the Wind Album: Point of Know Return (1977)
by Kansas

Written by Kansas drummer Phil Ehart, violinist Robby Steinhardt, and frontman Steve Walsh, Point of Know Return was the first track from the band's fifth album, Point Of Know Return, released in October 1977. It was included in the album at the last moment, but became one of their most popular songs, still getting airplay on Classic Rock radio.

The lyric is about a seafaring journey, with our hero joining a crew and heading into the ocean. He wonders when the ship will reach the point of no return, when there will be no going back.

Kansas set themselves apart on Point of Know Return by arranging it like an orchestra, with interplay between violin, guitar and synthesizer. Layering vocals on top, it gave them a signature sound.

Kansas is indeed from the very landlocked state of Kansas, but they have a thing for nautical imagery as heard in Point of Know Return. Guitarist Rich Williams has said that they think of themselves on a boat together, pulling in the same direction.

Note the title is "Point Of Know Return," which makes the song much more profound. There had been popular songs called "Point Of No Return" (one by Gene McDaniels, another by Adam Wade), but this was the first with the Kansas spelling.

It has been re-released on many compilation and live albums, including The Best of Kansas, The Kansas Boxed Set, The Ultimate Kansas, Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection, Two for the Show, Live at the Whisky, King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas, Dust in the Wind, Device, Voice, Drum, and There's Know Place Like Home. Live video performances were also released on Device, Voice, Drum and There's Know Place Like Home. The musical publishing organization BMI presented certifications to the songwriters for over 2 million plays of the song in 2013, as part of the band's 40th anniversary celebration at a concert in Pittsburgh.

Steve Walsh – lead vocals, keyboards Robby Steinhardt – violin, backing vocals Kerry Livgren - guitar Rich Williams – guitar Dave Hope – bass Phil Ehart – drums

James Gunn used the song in his film The Suicide Squad (2021).

Dust in the Wind peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 22, 1978, making it Kansas's only single to reach the top ten in the US. The 45-rpm single was certified Gold for sales of one million units by the RIAA shortly after the height of its popularity as a hit single. More than 25 years later, the RIAA certified Gold the digital download format of the song, Kansas' only single to be so certified as of September 17, 2008.

The title of Dust in the Wind is a Bible reference, paraphrasing Ecclesiastes:

I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: everything he has accomplished is futile — like chasing the wind!

A meditation on mortality and the inevitability of death, the lyrical theme bears a striking resemblance to the biblical passages Genesis 3:19 ("...for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.") and Ecclesiastes 3:20 ("All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return."). The phrase "dust in the wind" occurs in Psalms 18:43 ("I ground [my enemies] like dust on the face of the wind..."). It is similar to the famous opening lines of the Japanese war epic The Tale of the Heike ("...the mighty fall at last, and they are as dust before the wind.") and from a book of Native American poetry, which includes the line "for all we are is dust in the wind."

Kerry Livgren devised what would be the guitar line for "Dust in the Wind" as a finger exercise for learning fingerpicking. His wife, Vicci, heard what he was doing, remarked that the melody was nice, and encouraged him to write lyrics for it. Livgren was unsure whether his fellow band members would like it, since it was a departure from their signature style. After Kansas had rehearsed all the songs intended for the band's recording sessions of June and July 1976, Livgren played "Dust in the Wind" for his bandmates, who after a moment's "stunned silence" asked: "Kerry, where has this been?... 'That's our next single.'"

Recorded at Woodland Studios in Nashville, "Dust in the Wind" featured Livgren playing a Martin D-28 acoustic guitar borrowed from Williams: highlighted by the electric violin work of Robby Steinhardt, the track featured Steve Walsh as lead vocalist despite being recorded after Walsh had given his immediately effective resignation to his bandmates (Walsh's 1977 "departure" from Kansas would last a month).

Kansas guitarist Kerry Livgren wrote this song after reading a book of Native American poetry. The line that caught his attention was, "For all we are is dust in the wind."

This got him thinking about the true value of material things and the meaning of success. The band was doing well and making money, but Kerry realized that in the end, he would eventually die just like everyone else. No matter our possessions or accomplishments, we all end up back in the ground.

Kerry Livgren wrote Dust in the Wind when he was under pressure to write a follow-up to the group's hit, "Carry On Wayward Son." While playing his acoustic guitar exercises, his wife suggested that putting lyrics to the patterns would yield his hit song. "I didn't think it was a Kansas-type song," he told Bruce Pollock. "She said, 'Give it a try anyway.' Several million records later, I guess she was right."

Kansas was almost done writing and rehearsing the Point of Know Return album when their producer, Jeff Glixman, asked if they had any more songs. Livgren reluctantly played Dust in the Wind for his bandmates on acoustic guitar, insisting they wouldn't like it because it was not Kansas. To his surprise, they loved the song and insisted they record it. Livgren then fought against his own song, but was overruled. "Dust In The Wind" became their biggest hit, but Livgren never did think very highly of it. "I tend to like the more bombastic things, like 'The Wall,' he said in his interview with Pollock.

This slow, acoustic song was not typical of Kansas, whose previous singles included "Carry On My Wayward Son" and "Point Of Know Return." It put the band in the position of having their best-known song be one that doesn't reflect their sound.
The phrase "dust in the wind" shows up in the Bible:

You are dust, and to dust you shall return
-Genesis, 3:17-19

Kerry Livgren became an evangelical Christian in 1980. He says of his songwriting in the '70s, "I was only expressing my own searching for something," adding, "If you look at my lyrics, even 'Dust in the Wind' is a song about the transitory nature of our physical lives. That falls under the umbrella heading of God."