Village

Album: On Sunset (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • Paul Weller wrote this breezy blue-eyed soul song with his longtime producer Stan Kybert. The track is sung from the standpoint of someone standing "10 stories high... not a single cloud in the sky."

    "'Village' is a dreamy and beautiful meditation sung from the decidedly un-rock'n'roll perspective of a man who is entirely happy with his state in life," Weller said of the tune. "It's a response to being told that we've all got to explore the Amazon and climb Everest to make our lives complete. And there's a guy who says, f--k all that, I've got heaven around me."
  • Weller has cited Roy Ayers' 1972 track "We Live In Brooklyn Baby" as a key inspiration for this song. The song's spooked groove was also sampled by Kendrick Lamar for his 2012 cut "Good Kid."
  • Former Style Council bandmate Mick Talbot adds keys to the track, one of three On Sunset songs he contributed towards.
  • Paraorchestra, an integrated orchestra of professional disabled and non-disabled musicians based in Bristol, provided the orchestral accompaniment.
  • Paul Weller elaborated on the song's meaning to Rolling Stone: "I really love where I live in London," he explained. "I was imagining this character who was wholly and entirely happy with their lot - where they lived. Didn't feel the need to travel anymore. Because they were more happy with themselves inside."

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