Willow
Home (feat. Jon Batiste)

Opening for the new album, Empathogen, ‘Home’ is a song with a folksy melody and a serious groove. It’s lyrically sparse but musically rich as Willow continues to create the music that feels most authentic to her.

A lot is going on in this song as it moves through various arrangements. It starts with a stick clacking and huge bass emphasis in the introduction, which carries through the first verse. The vocal style here has a folk element and a strong melody.

The groove picks up and transports us to a variation of the verse, the drums striking the same rhythm but on the ride and the vocal delivering a more forceful version of the words.

In a way, the song is a compressed soundtrack. The essential hooks resurface through different instruments and with variations, like a John Williams composition.

With Empathogen, my emotional shift came with a musical shift to something softer and introspective into a more complex space. I was in a place of healing and trying to find the truest expression of healing. I’m trying to bring people in, rather than explode outwards.

Willow Smith, Variety

Empathogen is available now.

Home Visualiser

Watch Willow – ‘Home’.

Home Lyrics

I live my life
In a river of grace
I trust this river to carry me home

I live my life
In a river of grace
I trust this river to carry me home

Written by Fenton on 26th May 2024

Steve Fenton writes in our music, words, and culture categories. He was Editor in Chief for The Mag and covered live music for DV8 Magazine and Spill Magazine. He was often found in venues throughout the UK alongside ace-photographer, Mark Holloway. Steve is also a technical writer and programmer and writes gothic fiction. Steve studied Psychology at OSC, and Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-1978 at the University of Reading.

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