Lisa O’Neill – The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right

Its release as a standalone single feels like the right way to encounter this jaw-dropping track. It shows a depth of songwriting, and of performance, which needs to be sat with, thought about and given space after hearing – I first heard it on a recent radio 2 folk show – “She shies away from nothing”, said Mark Radcilff, before, thankfully, playing the track in full with no interruptions, or fade out.

The song starts with the intimate and personal, “I’ve lately been thinking of an old friend, who I haven’t seen in a while. Last Night I dreamt that the same friend passed without saying goodbye”. Perhaps the narrator stays dreaming – or semi awake, throughout the song’s six minute span, as a stream of consciousness move their thoughts to the political and global. Or maybe not – this is not just a song of passive observation but one of anger and defiance against a prevailing political weather: “My Blood is Red out of Fury, The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right”.

Lisa does not pinpoint this as a reaction against any particular conflict, policy or political figure – there are too many candidates for lines such as “some leaders are players, and players can sometimes be clowns”. She describes the song as a more general “reaction to the unsettled times we live in”. That, coupled with its simple folk melody (notwithstanding the experimental drone based soundscapes it is set against) makes this song feel significant and universal – a powerful statement from one of the most authentic and unique voices of our time.

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