"The River" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem AM (born November 9, 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Goodrem signed to Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut album, '' Innocent Eyes'' (2003), topped the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive week ...

, released as the fourth single from her fifth studio album, ''

Wings of the Wild ''Wings of the Wild'' is the fifth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem. It was released on 1 July 2016, through Sony Music Australia. A follow-up to her last studio album, '' Child of the Universe'' (2012), it was her firs ...

'' (2016). It was written by Goodrem, along with

David Hodges David Hall Hodges (born December 5, 1978) is an American songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a studio contributor to the rock band Evanescence from 2000–2002. He has since had success co-writing and co–produci ...

and Steven Solomon, and produced by Hodges. It was sent to radio on 23 September 2016 as the fourth single from the album. The song tells the story of a woman walking in on her lover cheating on her, and murdering him as a result. "A volatile relationship and getting rid of that person and having a second chance."

Background

Goodrem has said that the song is a story and that the theme is "one of redemption, about cleansing off volatile relationships and washing off that energy and starting a new."

Promotion

Goodrem went on a short promo tour in New Zealand in September 2016 to promote the song. She also appeared on The Project the night prior to the single's release. Goodrem performed the song on the

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and at Nickelodeon Slimefest 2016. She also performed the song on her national Wings of the Wild Tour.

Critical response

Cameron Adams of

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likened the song to

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

's "

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" and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's "

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", saying that it "demonstrates in three minutes that 15 years into her career she’s still able to surprise".

Music video

In mid-September 2016, Goodrem began posting teasers for the upcoming music video. The teasers featured a man running among dark, murky forests. On 22 September 2016, she appeared on '' The Project'' to deliver a preview for the music video. The video was released the next day via-Goodrem's

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. It features Goodrem and a man kissing, caressing and running around together. Goodrem then finds out that the man is cheating on her, and ends up suing him in court. The video ends with Goodrem going to a river, with several people draped in white cloth lowering her down into the water, cleansing her of her bad relationships and allowing her to start anew.

Track listing

*Digital single #"The River" – 3:04 *CD single #"The River" (Miles Walker Mix) #"You & You Alone" *Digital EP #"The River" (Miles Walker Mix) 3:02 #"You & You Alone" 3:39 #"Morse Code" 4:37 "Morse Code" was previously an exclusive download for Goodrem's Wings of the Wild Tour meet&greet purchasers.

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:River Songs about rivers 2016 singles 2016 songs Delta Goodrem songs Songs written by Delta Goodrem Songs written by David Hodges