Origins is a recurring series that gives artists a space to break down everything in the latest release. Australian singer-songwriter Angie McMahon returns today with her new song, “The Return of Saturn.”
“I’m going to dance every day ’til I’m old,” Angie McMahon swears on her new single “Saturn Returning,” which marks her first original score in four years. It’s one of several vows in the song’s dizzying chorus; when fluttering piano keys and dreamy synths roar, McMahon follows suit. “I’ll love every inch of this body / Every limb I’ll write every day of this story / I’ll hand over my keys to the universe,” she said, each phrase radiating a fragile warmth.
Her promise lives up to the song’s title. In astrology, your “Saturn return” is a maturity of sorts; it signals a change or transformation that will take place during a particular astrological period. So McMahon is embracing the shift. “Your Saturn return is like a teacher,” McMahon wrote in a statement, “The biggest lesson I’ve learned in this chapter of my life is to build a gentle and loving relationship with myself. The value of relationships, no matter what.” That self-love emerges and bursts out of “Saturn Return,” and the artist sounds refreshed.
As the Australian singer-songwriter’s first original song since debuting in 2019, Salt, It’s a welcome return — not only does McMahon have some serious vocals, but her guitar work and songwriting prowess are always on top. On “Saturn Returning,” she opts for a freer structure, allowing the song’s grand crescendo to reflect an outpouring of love and emotion.
The accompanying video begins by acknowledging that it was filmed on Aboriginal land (“It was, and always will be, Aboriginal land,” reads the message about the video being shot on Bunurong and Barapa Barapa lands). Throughout, McMahon stands and sings in the crisp breeze, walks the ocean, and dances as a delicate fabric billows in the wind.
Watch the video for “Saturn Return” below, followed by Angie McMahon’s breakdown of the song’s origins.