Follow the Sun is the last song Xavier Rudd recorded for the album Spirit Bird and the only track recorded in Australia (the rest of the album has been recorded in Canada). The album’s name is particularly meaningfull as there are thirty species of Australian birds playing as backing singers.
Follow the Sun is the song who placed him in the international scenario of pop-folk music, becoming the voice and the inspiration of wild spirit people, nature lovers and for all those seeking a simpler and less materialistic life. The song is a fast-peaced yet laid-back meditation on the importance of stopping every once in a while to look around and think about where you are, what has come before and what is to come.
“I wrote that (Follow The Sun) back down south (from Canada To Australia), I guess reflecting on the massive amount of stuff that’s happening, that has been happening on this ancient land for many years, a long time before our culture, and just how we don’t take any time to acknowledge that. And it just came from that whole understanding when I got home.” Says Xavier during an interview “I wanted it to have that feeling of gentle flowing water”.
When you feel life coming down on you,
Like a heavy weight
When you feel this crazy society,
Adding to the strain
Take a stroll to the nearest waters
And remember your place
Many moons have risen and fallen long, long before you came
So which way is the wind blowin’,
And what does your heart say?
Rudd is talking about not getting caught up with the societal structure of the day and the day’s worries. When life seems like it’s getting crazy, he invites us to rest in the rhythms of our environment, to embrace the constant of the water and its ebbing tide, the rise and fall of the moon. Just as the earth has its rhythms, so does life. There is a deep interconnection with us and the earth, he suggests we can find peace in it.
