I Follow Rivers

Album: Wounded Rhymes (2011)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is the second single from Wounded Rhymes, the sophomore album of Swedish indie singer-songwriter Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson, who records under the stage name of Lykke Li. Peter Bjorn & John's Bjorn Yttling produced the song, which was released digitally in Sweden on January 21, 2011.
  • Zachrisson took her time before recording her second album. She told The Daily Record: "I took time to figure myself out. I was dying to do new material because I was sick of my first record. Then I found myself in strange situations, like meeting the wrong kind of guy." The resulting record contains eleven tracks about broken love, including this song about the destructive passion of obsession.
  • Zachrisson explained the song's meaning to NME: "You know when you're kind of into it really badly, you're in some kind of destructive situation, very unbalanced. You're driven by desire, and desire can lead you into a very dark place, whether it be drugs or love, and it's kind of like you're powerless."
  • The music video was directed by Tarik Saleh and features Li in a black robe and veil. The clip also stars the Lebanon-born, Swedish based actor Fares Fares playing the man being chased through a snowy landscape.
  • The song topped the singles charts in several European countries including Belgium and Romania.

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