The River
"It’s about that feeling to let off some steam..."
A few days ago I met a fellow warrior on his way to see Aurora live at Bergenfest. It was a very nice encounter, and we went for a short walk to see some local history. We shared some stories, some tears and more than a few laughs. It was lovely. We talked a bit of my newsletters, and he reminded me that my old song stories need to be updated. Not all of them, of course, but the ones that still are being brought along on tours around the world. Her 2019-song “The River” is one of those.
Trigger warning: suicide, self-harm
This article touches on themes like suicide, self-harm, and depression. If you are struggling with intrusive thoughts, know that help is available. Every country in the world has national call centers which are there to support people in crisis. If you're not sure where to find help, visit Befrienders Worldwide to find trained counselors who speak your language. Open 24/7.
I asked Fabrice if he could make just one more “Aurora songs over the years”-video. I know he has decided to step down a bit, but I’m happy to announce that he made an exception for us. So here it is; The River over the years:
About the song
The river was officially released in 2019, May 10th. It was the 3rd and last single released prior to her "A different kind of human"-album. The recording of this one was done in a small, dark room - quite the opposite to the album before, which was recorded in a french castle.1
The recording of Infections of a different kind was very elaborate - the location [a French chateau] was huge and beautiful and dreamy... For this record I wanted to make it a very tiny room with a purple floor and dark blue walls, and it was just me and my drummer.
I don’t have such keen ears to pick out such nuances, but I do believe that the space you work in affect the results. In my mind, creating a tiny safe space encourages vulnerability and open mindsets, which suits well for songs like The River.
About a month after its release, Aurora announced #theriverchallenge on TikTok. There was a filter you could apply that made the flower and the leaves from the music video appear on your face. Have you seen it?
Addressing political themes on a global scale
A few days ago, we could read in the Norwegian news site Dagsavisen that “Aurora is actually one of the most political pop artists we have.”.2 - A statement I can completely agree with. Just look at the stories behind songs like “The Seed”, “Queendom” and “Cure For Me”. The River is not that different, and the story behind this song is quite sad:3
It was inspired by something quite sad as I looked at the suicide rates on this planet and apparently 73% of them were men...
Traveling the globe, meeting people on her tours, she learned a lot about human nature, and she found this rate to be strange, and she came to a conclusion:
"... obviously, it must be because of the feeling that you can’t talk about your emotions and show that you’re in pain because pain is often associated with weakness..."
Studies from Norway support these statistics4. Men have a higher risk of succeeding in their suicide attempts. A bigger research done across northern countries (including UK) found that “Belonging to an indigenous group, male sex, being middle-aged or older adult, not being married, having lower education, being unemployed was linked to elevated risks of suicide.”5 . I haven’t found any article that supports the statements of cultural masculinity and inability to share emotions, but I’m quite certain she’s right. She has at least found that having an outlet for emotional distress is important, something she encourages time and time again:
... but you know, here in my world it’s not (a weakness), so the song is inspired by something quite sad but it is also happy because crying can be such a positive experience, especially afterwards when you actually feel a bit lighter. It’s about that feeling to let off some steam as they say in England6
Here’s another statement from Aurora’s Q&A with aurorafanbr:
Music really saves lives, and I feel so honored to know that people use my music as a companion when they need it. I feel that the purpose of the song is to help people with feelings that we have a hard time explaining. Being human is difficult.7
What I take from this, is that this song is part of Aurora’s plan to make this world a better place. She’s not afraid to touch on topics others might shy away from. As the old Norwegian saying goes: The trolls will burst if we shed some light on them.
The song’s expansion
Back in 2019, the song was quite electronic in how it sounded and how it was played. Over the course of time, Aurora seem to have made it more instrumental, closer to acoustic, but still kept some electronic sounds. I must say, I quite like how it has evolved. Just look at how she opens the concert with The River in Finland, 2023:
The music video for this song was released the same day as the song itself. It says it was directed by Nick Walters and produced by Jamie Silk, but knowing Aurora I guess she had something to say within the process of making it. Viktoria and Miranda were in charge of her appearance, of course 😉. Interestingly, the following line is added within the written lyrics of the original song, but she doesn’t sing it - but it’s sung after the first verse in Askjell’s remix of the song:
Come back to me, when you’re ready to reveal your worst.
Aurora sat down with Anny Caroline from the Brazilian online magazine Capricho. Here, they dive a little into the meaning of the song, and I think I will let this sum up the content of this newsletter:8
… I wanted a video that really emphasized the emotional message of the song, because I think it's so important to be open about your emotions. I saw.. I think i read an article about suicides.. and i saw that 73% of the suicides in in the whole world is men. And then i thought to myself: 'why is that?'
And it must be because… You know the world doesn't offer the same comfort to men … It doesn't offer the same openness … Especially in many other countries they say that … you know … If you're a man you can't cry. You can't be vulnerable. You can't talk about your emotions or be … you know … sensitive. Which of course, men are … We are! We are all a sensitive thing … We're all the same. So i thought, you know … It was inspired by that.
… and then of course the song is about everyone … I want everyone to cry, because it is kind of like the pain is water inside of you and you can actually cry it out and feel better, because crying can be such a positive experience … and that's why this song is so happy.
Credits
Composer: Aurora, Odd Martin, Magnus
Producer: Aurora, Odd Martin, Magnus, Mark Ralph
Vocals: Aurora
Synths: Aurora, Mark Ralph, Magnus
Drums: Mark Ralph, Magnus
Percussions: Aurora
Programming/Engineer: Magnus, Kristian Fanavoll Tvedt, Odd Martin
Fabrice’s corner
The Aurora Media DB by Fabrice is a real gold nugget to have linked up on your phone, tablet or computer. After he stepped down from updating the community page on YouTube, he made this for us. I especially like the option to search for content within the interview transcripts, and the fact that song search results also provide link to both the song and the correct playlist. Make sure to make a bookmark to this one. There’s no way to find a specific video on YouTube that’s better than this one. As long as we talk about Aurora content, of course 😉
Final words
Yes. The final words.
My kids are heading into summer vacation now, which means less time for me to be sitting here in front of my computer. I don’t know when I will be able to send you my next letter, but you will hear from me during the summer. So, until then:
Have a day💚 - and a lovely summer.
Rune
Sources
Find the older song story as a post on Instagram
Kenneally, C. 2019, May 10. “Interview with Line Of Best Fit”. The Line Og Best Fit. Retrieved 2025, Jun 17 from https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/aurora-returns-with-new-release-the-river
Rakvaag, G. 2025, June 14. “Stor konsert med sterke meldinger”. Dagsavisen. Retrieved 2025. June 16 from Amrothian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DK4Kq9iMImk/?img_index=1
Kenneally, C. 2019, May 10. “Interview with Line Of Best Fit”. The Line Og Best Fit. Retrieved 2025, Jun 17 from https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/aurora-returns-with-new-release-the-river
Lein, M. 2022, Dec 15. “Middelaldrende menn og selvmord: topper statistikken”. NHI.no. Retrieved 2025, Jun 16. from https://nhi.no/forskning-og-intervju/middelaldrende-menn-og-selvmord-topper-statistikken
Tema Nord 2024:509. "Prevention of suicide and suicide attempts in the Nordic countries - A situation analysis". Nordic Council of Ministers. Retrieved 2025, Jun 17 from Https://pub.norden.org/temanord2024-509/index.html
Kenneally, C. 2019, May 10. “Interview with Line Of Best Fit”. The Line Og Best Fit. Retrieved 2025, Jun 17 from https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/aurora-returns-with-new-release-the-river
Q&A with Portal Aurora Brazil (@portalaurorabr) (No longer available online)
Anny Caroline. 2019, Jun 5. “Aurora fala sobre novo álbum empoderado e manda recado fofo para fãs“. Capricho. Retrieved 2025, jun 18 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lroKSIC4Ms
Rune, thank you so much for your kind words! What a surprise to find this newsletter on my last day in Norway! I'm also looking back to our meeting with a smile on my face. And thank you Fabrice for making the River through the years song, Rune knows what this song meant for me...