How Fanny Lumsden’s Latest Song Was Inspired By A Bushy’s Meticulously Planned Wake

“This song has a muse.” So states Fanny Lumsden as she recounts the incredible story behind When I Die, and the inspiration for its lyrics.

The muse in question is a big, bearded lumberjack and bushy called Brett. This song is about his meticulously planned celebration for his own wake, which involves a hillside with an 'awesome view' (as he calls it), a bonfire of an old truck, live music from Lumsden to serenade him out of this world - and his ashes getting shot out of shotguns (BYO) during golden hour!

Lumsden explains, “Brett bailed me up at the pub one day to ask me how much I would charge to perform at his wake. I nominated an outrageous fee and a down payment of a cow and 2 loads of wood. He rocked up a few months later with the first load of wood and let’s just say it has taken off since then! The song is really about sticking to your guns and being true to who you are both in life and in death. I wrote it sitting around a campfire on my own on the Nullarbor Plain.

The feel-good, hugely fun music video featuring of course, Brett – was directed by Lumsden and Dan Freeman, with DOP Sam Brumby (King Stingray). 

Watch the video below or via the link here.

The track is lifted from her highly anticipated fourth album, Hey Dawn, due for release on August 4. The album will be accompanied by a national tour with her band The Prawn Stars, kicking off on July 28 in Bendigo and working along the East Coast, all pre-empted by a late June/early July UK tour, including Glastonbury Festival’s Avalon Stage on June 23 – a genuine pinch-me moment for Lumsden.

Ahead of album release, Lumsden has devised the most amazing opportunity for fans – the Golden Fanny Ticket!   Hidden inside one Hey Dawn CD and one Hey Dawn vinyl is the ticket that will give the lucky winners a lifetime pass to any and all Lumsden headline shows. To be in the running, fans just order Hey Dawn on vinyl or CD from Lumsden’s website, to be the lucky recipient!

The album Hey Dawn is a rich character study, with the singer-songwriter reflecting on the stories that have shaped her and those around her. It’s also a more sonically diverse outing than Lumsden’s previous records, incorporating elements such as guitar-based indie-pop into her trademark world of gorgeously crafted, emotionally rich acoustic songwriting.

Hey Dawn is, in short, Lumsden’s most complete offering to date. Having focused inward lyrically on Fallow, Lumsden was once again interested in telling detail-rich stories – both her own, and other peoples. In particular, she found herself drawn to her childhood, “when obviously I felt no weight of anything.”

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