whistle down the wind is a 1996 andrew lloyd webber musical with jim steinman who wrote the lyrics. whistle down the wind was first a book, published in 1959, written by mary hayley bell, then became british film, made in 1961 and set in lancashire. however, the musical is set in the deeply religious state of louisiana. "swallow", a fifteen-year-old girl who has recently lost her mother, discovers a strange man hiding in her barn. when she first asks him who he is, his first words are “jesus christ!”, before falling back unconscious. certain that this man (who is in fact an escaped murderer, who the police are searching for) is jesus, swallow, her siblings and the other children of the town vow to protect him.