The band presented a gold record of the single to Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. As of February 2018, the video for "Wind of Change" has been viewed more than 520 million times on YouTube. The Scorpions were the first German band to receive over 100 million views.
The lyrics celebrate glasnost in the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, and speaks of hope at a time when tense conditions had arisen due to the fall of Communist-run governments among Eastern Bloc nations beginning in 1989.
The Scorpions were inspired to write the song on a visit to Moscow in 1989, and the opening lines refer to the city's landmarks:
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
The Moskva is the name of the river that runs through Moscow (both the city and the river are named identically in Russian), and Gorky Park is an urban park in Moscow named after the writer Maxim Gorky.
The song also contains a reference to the balalaika, which is a Russian stringed instrument somewhat like a guitar. The balalaika is mentioned in the following verse:
The wind of change blows straight
into the face of time,
Like a stormwind that will ring
the freedom bell for peace of mind.
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say
"Wind of Change" opens with a clean guitar intro played by Matthias Jabs, which is played alongside Klaus Meine's flat whistle. The song's guitar solo is played by Rudolf Schenker.
The band also recorded a Russian-language version of the song, under the title "Ветер перемен" ("Veter Peremen") and a Spanish version called "Vientos de Cambio".
In 2005, viewers of the German television network ZDF chose this song as the song of the century. It is the best-selling song ever in Germany, reportedly selling over 6 million copies in that country alone, and is frequently played on television shows presenting video footage of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In Germany, it is remembered as the song of German reunification and a message of hope.
Played in a scene from the 2010 film Gentlemen Broncos, when main character Benjamin Purvis walks out of a bookshop with his date.
Popular UK football show Soccer AM uses "Wind of Change" as its tribute to UK troops overseas.
Featured in the video game SingStar Rocks! and has been added as a downloadable content from the SingStore.
Featured in the episode "Chuck Versus the Seduction Impossible" of the TV show Chuck.
In series 15, episode 2 of Top Gear, the song can be heard during the introduction of The Stig's "German cousin".
In the independent film In Search of a Midnight Kiss (distributed by IFC in summer 2008), writer/director Alex Holdridge has characters in the film sing an impromptu version of "Wind of Change" as the movie concludes in celebration of the main character's changing fortune, and as the credits start to roll. Austin, Texas-based rock band Sybil performs a cover of the song.
Was used in the Berlin Wall trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) in the "First Strike" DLC.
Hong Kong pop singer Alan Tam included a Cantonese version of the song called "再等幾天" (English: "Wait a few More Days") in his 1992 album Lover.
Played at the end of the 2014 film The Interview.
Played on the church bells of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, Netherlands as part of the project 'Recording Heaven' by the artists Roos Blogg and Maia Lyon Daw in 2009.
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