This is the only song on the EP which actually does have a direct inspiration. Everyone who knows me well I'm sure knows how much I like the outdoors and generally taking in the world around me. So, when I saw the 2014 film 'Wild', about a woman (Cheryl Strayed, played by Reese Witherspoon) who walks the entirety of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) on her own in a bid to find herself, it really got me thinking - not only about how much I'd like to one day hike the PCT (a 4270km hike running from the USA-Mexico border in California, all the way up to Manning Park in British Columbia on the Canada/USA border), but also what it must be like to be running away from your life and to feel that the only way to find "right way" again is to put yourself under such immense physical and emotional strain.
This song was basically written about the film, following the protagonists path from darkness to enlightenment and through her ups and downs. Throughout the film there are flashbacks, essentially showing the audience the character's history and the sequence of events that led her to end up hiking the PCT, and the song is supposed to reflect that for the most part. I'd never written a song based on an already existing piece of work, but I thought I'd give it a go and this is the result of that challenge.
On a different level, less about the film and more about the music in general, this song is speaks of leaving a more artificial world behind to be healed by nature and shown the way again. I am one of those people who likes to go for a run if I'm stressed just to feel the fresh air in my lungs, or go hiking somewhere just so I can look down on the world from the top and be reminded how small I am (almost like a reality-check) - so mostly on this level, the song is about appreciating nature's ability to cradle you and nurture you but also scare and overwhelm you. It's about nature's ability to put everything into perspective for you; and although the song may not explicitly be about that, it is definitely an undertone.
I feel I should probably add that the main reason why I'm not really holding back the meaning of this song is because I think that this film is really worth watching. Its strange and raw and beautiful and sometimes difficult to watch, but to me that is an indication of a really great piece of work and I would highly recommend watching it if you haven't. And I also hope that one day I can listen to this song while walking the PCT and remember the film that originally inspired me to do it - although I hope I'll be walking it for different reasons from the character in the film!
Bx