Dust in the Wind - wikipedia Dust in the Wind This article is about the 1977 song by Kansas. For the 1986 movie by Hou Hsiao - hsien, see Dust in the Wind ( film ). For the Todd Rundgren song, see Something / Anything ? This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2015 ) `` Dust in the Wind '' Single by Kansas from the album Point of Know Return B - side `` Paradox '' Released January 16, 1978 Recorded June -- July 1977 Genre Soft rock Length 3 : 27 Label Kirshner Songwriter ( s ) Kerry Livgren Producer ( s ) Jeff Glixman, Kansas Kansas singles chronology `` Point of Know Return '' ( 1977 ) `` Dust in the Wind '' ( 1978 ) `` Portrait ( He Knew ) '' ( 1978 ) `` Point of Know Return '' ( 1977 ) `` Dust in the Wind '' ( 1978 ) `` Portrait ( He Knew ) '' ( 1978 ) Point of Know Return track listing 10 tracks `` Point of Know Return '' `` Paradox '' `` The Spider '' `` Portrait ( He Knew ) '' `` Closet Chronicles '' `` Lightning 's Hand '' `` Dust in the Wind '' `` Sparks of the Tempest '' `` Nobody 's Home '' `` Hopelessly Human '' `` Dust in the Wind '' is a song recorded by American progressive rock band Kansas and written by band member Kerry Livgren, first released on their 1977 album Point of Know Return. The song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 22, 1978, making it Kansas 's only top ten Billboard Hot 100 charting single. 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 do so certified as of September 17, 2008. Contents 1 Background and writing 2 Personnel 3 Chart performance 3.1 Weekly charts 3.2 Year - end charts 3.3 Certifications 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 External links Background and writing A last - minute addition to the track lineup for Point of Know Return, `` Dust in the Wind '' would also be its greatest success. The guitar line for this song was written by Kerry Livgren 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 he played the demo for the band, there was a `` stunned silence '' and the band asked him, `` Kerry, where has this been ? '' In spite of Livgren 's reservations, the rest of the band knew it was going to be a hit. The title of the song 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 well - known biblical passage Genesis 3 : 19 ( ``... for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. '' ), as well as 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. '' `` Dust in the Wind '' was one of Kansas 's first acoustic tracks ; its slow melancholy melody and philosophical lyrics differ from their other hits such as `` Carry On Wayward Son '' and `` Point of Know Return ''. The guitar track comes from two guitarists playing six - string guitars in unison, one in standard tuning and the other in Nashville tuning, to create a chimy sound similar to a twelve - string guitar. The instrumental bridge contains a distinctive melodic line and harmony for violin and viola. Kansas also released a live version of the song on their album Two for the Show and a symphonic version on Always Never the Same. Personnel Steve Walsh -- lead vocals Kerry Livgren -- acoustic lead guitar Robby Steinhardt -- violin, backing vocals Rich Williams -- acoustic rhythm guitar Phil Ehart -- percussion Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1978 ) Peak position Australian Kent Music Report 52 Belgian VRT Top 30 29 Canadian RPM Top 100 Canadian RPM Top Adult Contemporary Dutch Singles Chart 19 French Singles Chart 22 New Zealand Singles Chart 36 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 6 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 6 U.S. Cashbox Top 100 Year - end charts Chart ( 1978 ) Rank Canadian RPM Top Singles 24 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 39 U.S. Cashbox Top 100 37 Certifications Country Provider Certification Canada CRIA Gold United States RIAA Gold In popular culture In the 1989 movie, Bill & Ted 's Excellent Adventure, Bill and Ted encounter a language barrier when they meet the Greek philosopher, Socrates. With Bill 's suggestion, Ted ' philosophises ' that `` All we are, is dust in the wind, '' while making pertinent gestures. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the song was placed on the list of songs deemed lyrically questionable distributed by Clear Channel. In the 2003 movie `` Old School '', Will Ferrel sings the song during `` Blue 's '' character burial. In the 2016 Korean Movie Unforgettable / Pure Love ( Hangul 순정 ), the song was featured many times when the main female protagonist listen through her ear - phone. It was used to describe her destiny like a dust in the wind. References Jump up ^ `` VH1 's 40 Most Softsational Soft - Rock Songs ''. Stereogum. SpinMedia. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2016. Jump up ^ `` RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - November 10, 2015 ''. Riaa.com. Archived from the original on 2007 - 06 - 26. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 13. ^ Jump up to : `` In the Studio with Point of Know Return, featuring Kansas ''. In The Studio. 7 September 1992. Archived from the original on 28 December 2004. Retrieved 8 December 2010. Jump up ^ Kansas - We Knew It Was Going to Be a Hit, interview ( posted to YouTube on Jan 28, 2015 ) Kerry Livgren tells the story of how Dust In The Wind was written, and how the band reacted to hearing it for the first time. Jump up ^ `` A Once Wayward Son Carries On ''. Christianity Today. 2006 - 03 - 06. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Ecclesiastes 1 : 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun ; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind ''. Biblehub.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ Kent, David ( 1993 ). Australian Chart Book 1970 -- 1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0 - 646 - 11917 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Radio2 top 30 : 7 november 2015 ''. Radio2.be. Archived from the original on 9 April 2012. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Dust in the Wind in Canadian Charts ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm. Retrieved June 10, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Dust in the Wind in Canadian Adult Contemporary Charts ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm. Retrieved June 10, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Discografie Kansas ''. Dutchcharts.nl ( in Dutch ). Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Infodisc : Tous les Titres de chaque Artiste ''. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Discography Kansas ''. Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2012. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Jump up ^ ( 3 ) Jump up ^ `` RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - November 10, 2015 ''. Riaa.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 13. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Kansas Phil Ehart Rich Williams Billy Greer David Ragsdale David Manion Ronnie Platt Zak Rizvi Kerry Livgren Dave Hope Robby Steinhardt Steve Walsh John Elefante Steve Morse Greg Robert Studio albums Kansas Song for America Masque Leftoverture Point of Know Return Monolith Audio - Visions Vinyl Confessions Drastic Measures Power In the Spirit of Things Freaks of Nature Always Never the Same Somewhere to Elsewhere The Prelude Implicit Live albums Two for the Show Live at the Whisky King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas Dust In The Wind Device -- Voice -- Drum There 's Know Place Like Home Compilations The Best of Kansas Carry On The Kansas Boxed Set The Ultimate Kansas Sail On : The 30th Anniversary Collection On the Other Side Works in Progress Playlist : The Very Best of Kansas Singles `` Song for America '' `` Carry On Wayward Son '' `` Point of Know Return '' `` Dust in the Wind '' `` Portrait ( He Knew ) '' `` People of the South Wind '' `` Hold On '' `` Play the Game Tonight '' `` Fight Fire With Fire '' `` All I Wanted '' Tours 2011 Collegiate Symphony Tour Fall 2012 Tour Related topics Discography Native Window Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dust_in_the_Wind&oldid=812506680 '' Categories : Kansas ( band ) songs 1977 songs 1978 singles Sarah Brightman songs Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers American soft rock songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Glixman Songs written by Kerry Livgren Ecclesiastes Hidden categories : CS1 Dutch - language sources ( nl ) All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from June 2016 Articles needing additional references from November 2015 All articles needing additional references Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français Italiano Nederlands Português Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 28 November 2017, at 05 : 56. 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Question: who wrote all we are is dust in the wind
Answer: Kerry Livgren