"I Follow Rivers" is a song by Swedish recording artist

Lykke Li Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and electronic. Her debut studio album, ''Youth Novels'', was released in 2008, and has been fol ...

from her second studio album, ''

Wounded Rhymes ''Wounded Rhymes'' is the second studio album by Swedish singer and songwriter Lykke Li. It was released on 25 February 2011 by LL Recordings and Atlantic Records. Written in Los Angeles and recorded in Stockholm, the album was produced by Björn ...

'' (2011). Produced by Björn Yttling of

Peter Bjorn and John Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie pop/rock band formed in Stockholm in 1999, named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass guitar, keyboards and vocals) and John Eriks ...

, it was released on 21January 2011 as the album's second single. The track premiered exclusively on

SPIN.com ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. History ...

on 10January 2011. Belgian DJ/producer The Magician remixed and reworked "I Follow Rivers" in 2011, peaking at number one in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania, number two in Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, and the Netherlands, and number four in France. The remix was deemed "'90s

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

". Belgian band Triggerfinger covered "I Follow Rivers" in 2012, peaking at number one in Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Music video

The music video, directed by

Tarik Saleh Tarik Saleh ( ar, طارق صالح; born 28 January 1972) is a Swedish television producer, animator, publisher, journalist and film director. He was born in Högalids församling, Stockholm to a Swedish mother and an Egyptian father. In th ...

and filmed at

Närsholmen Närsholmen is a peninsula and a nature reserve on the southeast coast of Gotland, Sweden, adjacent the village of När. The landscape is savanna-like and has a rich birdlife, about 45 species has been spotted, and a number of orchids. In the l ...

on the Swedish island of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

, features Li in a black robe and veil chasing a man (Swedish-Lebanese actor

Fares Fares Fares Fares (; born 29 April 1973) is a Swedish-Lebanese actor of Assyrian descent. Early life Fares was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His younger brother is director Josef Fares, and he has four sisters. In 1987, when Fares was 14 years old, his ...

) through a snowy landscape. An unofficial music video consisting of scenes from the French film ''

Blue Is the Warmest Colour ''Blue Is the Warmest Colour'' (french: link=yes, La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2; ) is a 2013 romance film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Abdellatif Kechiche and starring Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. The film foll ...

'' played with The Magician's remix was uploaded to YouTube by user Aldo Zuga on March 9, 2014, and has over 397 million views as of August 2022, surpassing the original music video's 82 million views as of August 2022.

Track listings

*;Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish iTunes EP – Remixes #"I Follow Rivers" – 3:42 #"I Follow Rivers" (

Dave Sitek David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady ...

Remix) – 3:58 #"I Follow Rivers" (The Magician Remix) – 4:40 #"I Follow Rivers" (Van Rivers & The Sublimial Kid) – 6:41 *;UK iTunes EP #"I Follow Rivers" – 3:48 #"I Follow Rivers" (Dave Sitek Remix) – 3:58 #"I Follow Rivers" (Van Rivers & The Sublimial Kid) – 6:41 *;UK 7" single :A. "I Follow Rivers" – 3:48 :B. " Get Some" (Primary 1 Remix) *;UK 12" single – The Remixes :A1. "I Follow Rivers" – 3:48 :A2. "I Follow Rivers" (The Magician Remix) – 4:40 :B1. "I Follow Rivers" (Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid Remix) – 6:41 :B2. "I Follow Rivers" (

Tyler, The Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future. Okonma self-released his debut mixtape Bast ...

Remix) – 3:41 *;German CD single #"I Follow Rivers" (The Magician Remix) – 4:40 #"I Follow Rivers" (Radio Edit) – 3:20

Charts

Weekly charts

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, -

Triggerfinger version

Belgian band Triggerfinger covered "I Follow Rivers" during

Giel Beelen Michiel Antonius Adrianus Beelen (born 25 May 1977 in Haarlem), better known as Giel Beelen, is a Dutch radio DJ and presenter, working primarily for public broadcaster VARA. Since 2004 Beelen hosted his own breakfast show ''GIEL!'' on national r ...

's show on the Dutch radio station 3FM in what was called "a fragile version". They used glasses, cups and knives to create a rhythmical background section. Triggerfinger's version was released as a single on 24 February 2012, topping the singles chart in Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, while reaching number nine in Germany and number seventeen in Switzerland.

Track listings

*;Belgian and Dutch iTunes single #"I Follow Rivers" (Live@ Giel! –

VARA Vara or VARA may refer to: Geography *Vara (river), in Liguria, Italy * Vara Parish, former municipality in Tartu County, Estonia * Vara, Estonia, village in Peipsiääre Parish, Tartu County, Estonia * Vara Municipality, municipality in western S ...

/ 3FM) – 3:34 *;German CD single #"I Follow Rivers" (Live@Giel!) – 3:35 #"Let It Ride" – 3:24

Charts

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Other versions and use in media

* "I Follow Rivers" was performed by

Jenna Ushkowitz Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (; born April 28, 1986) (born Min Ji []) is a South Korean-born American actress, singer, producer and podcast host. She is known for her performances in Broadway musicals such as ''The King and I'' and '' Waitress (musical ...

's character

Tina Cohen-Chang Tina Cohen-Chang is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Jenna Ushkowitz and has appeared in ''Glee'' from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Tina wa ...

in the ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' episode "

A Night of Neglect "A Night of Neglect" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American musical television series ''Glee'', and the thirty-ninth episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Carol Banker, and aired on Fox in the Unite ...

", originally aired 19 April 2011. * American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Plain Jane Automobile Plain Jane Automobile (often referred to PJA) is an American indie rock band based in Orlando, Florida, United States. They have existed as a band for the past seven or eight years, but reinvented themselves in 2005 with key new members, and ha ...

covered "I Follow Rivers" and released it online in February 2012. * The Magician remix of the song was featured in the 2012 French film ''

Rust and Bone ''Rust and Bone'' (french: link=no, De rouille et d'os) is a 2012 romantic drama film directed by Jacques Audiard, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts, based on Craig Davidson's short story collection '' Rust and Bone''. It tell ...

'' and also in the 2013 film ''

''. * The song was used in some ''

Colombiana ''Colombiana'' is a 2011 French English-language action thriller film co-written and produced by Luc Besson and directed by Olivier Megaton. The film stars Zoe Saldaña with supporting roles by Michael Vartan, Cliff Curtis, Lennie James, Callum ...

'' trailers. * The remix version of the song was played as background music in episode 8 of Turkish series "Medcezir" * British singer-songwriter ''

Marika Hackman Marika Louise Hackman (born 17 February 1992) is an English vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. She is considered to fall within the alternative and English-folk genres, and is noted for her dark, melancholic lyrics. Hackman has re ...

'' included a cover on her 2014 Deaf Heat EP * The song appeared in the third episode of the ninth season of ''

CSI: NY ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine seaso ...

'', 2,918 Miles, when Linsay and Sheldon process the evidence. * Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires covered the song on a 2015 two-song EP entitled ''Sea Songs''. * The song was used in the 2016 commercial for American fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger's new fragrance, ''The Girl'', featuring supermodel ''

Gigi Hadid Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid ( ; born April 23, 1995) is an American model and television personality. In November 2014, she made her debut in the Top 50 Models ranking at Models.com. In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the ...

''. * The Magician remix is featured in the 2016 video game ''

Forza Horizon 3 ''Forza Horizon 3'' is a 2016 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One and Windows. It is the ninth instalment in the ''Forza'' series and the third instalment in its spinoff ''Forza ...

''. * French band

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

covered the song on their 2016 '' Vampire en pyjama'' album. * Israeli singer-songwriter Roni Alter released an acoustic cover (together with Alon Lotringer) as a single in 2016.Archived a
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Wayback Machine

References

{{authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs 2012 singles Atlantic Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Lykke Li songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Romania Number-one singles in Russia Songs written by Rick Nowels Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles Songs written by Björn Yttling Songs written by Lykke Li

Music video

Track listings

Charts

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Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Triggerfinger version

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions and use in media

See also

References