Richie Havens wasn't exactly a songwriter in the traditional, hit-making sense of the word. Not usually. He was more of an interpreter, a man who could take a song you’ve heard a thousand times and make it sound like it was being born right there on the stage. But "Follow" is different. When you look at the lyrics Follow Richie Havens sang, you aren't just looking at a folk song from the late sixties. You're looking at a spiritual manifesto.
It's a heavy track. It originally appeared on his 1967 album Mixed Bag, which is widely considered his masterpiece. The thing is, Richie didn't actually write it. It was penned by Jerry Merrick. Yet, almost nobody remembers the Merrick version. Havens owned it so completely that the words became synonymous with his percussive, open-tuning guitar style and that gravelly, soulful voice that seemed to vibrate from the center of the earth.
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The Poetry of Displacement
The song opens with a plea. "Let the days go by the way they want to go." It’s an immediate surrender to the universe. In a decade defined by protest and noise, these lyrics offered a quiet, almost Buddhist path forward. Havens sings about the "velvet of the morning" and "the silence of the noon." It’s incredibly vivid imagery.
Most people think of Richie Havens as the guy who improvised "Freedom" at Woodstock because the next act wasn't ready to go on. That’s the legend. But "Follow" is the intellectual spine of his discography. It deals with the passage of time and the shedding of the ego. When he sings about being "the shadow of the sun," he's talking about the inherent insignificance—and beauty—of the individual human experience. It’s deep stuff. Honestly, it’s the kind of song that makes you sit in your car for five minutes after you’ve arrived at your destination just to hear the end.
Breaking Down the Lyrics Follow Richie Havens Made Famous
The structure of the song is unconventional. It doesn't rely on a catchy, repetitive chorus. Instead, it moves like a river.
- The First Verse: It sets the stage for a journey. It’s about leaving behind the "chains" of the past. Havens uses his thumb to fret the low strings—a technique most guitarists find impossible—creating a thumping, heartbeat-like rhythm that underlines the urgency of the words.
- The Search for Self: "Don't be afraid to find your mind is gone." That’s a terrifying line if you think about it. But in the context of the 1960s counterculture, it was an invitation. It was about losing the social conditioning and the "proper" way of being to find something more primal.
- The Nature Imagery: There is a lot of talk about trees, wind, and water. This isn't just "hippie talk." It's an observation of the natural order. Merrick’s lyrics, through Richie’s mouth, suggest that we are out of sync with the planet.
Havens had this way of stretching syllables. He would take a word like "follow" and turn it into a three-second event. It wasn't just about the linguistic meaning; it was about the vibration. If you look at the sheet music, it looks simple. If you listen to the record, it’s a cathedral of sound.
Why "Follow" Resonates with Modern Listeners
We live in a world of constant pings. Notifications. High-speed anxiety. The lyrics Follow Richie Havens chose to highlight are the literal opposite of a TikTok scroll. They demand a lower heart rate.
Critics like Robert Christgau and magazines like Rolling Stone have often pointed to Havens' ability to bridge the gap between folk, soul, and jazz. "Follow" is the perfect example of this "genre-less" space. It doesn't feel dated because it doesn't use the slang of 1967. It uses the language of the elements.
There's a specific section in the song where the lyrics mention "the colors of the dark." Think about that for a second. It's a paradox. Most people see darkness as an absence of color. Havens saw it as a spectrum. This kind of nuanced songwriting is why the track has been covered by everyone from Beth Orton to Matthew E. White. Everyone wants a piece of that stillness.
The Technical Brilliance Behind the Soul
Richie’s guitar was tuned to an Open D chord (D-A-D-F#-A-D). This is crucial. Because he tuned this way, he could bar his entire thumb across the neck. This created a massive, drone-like sound similar to a sitar.
When he sang the line "Follow the path of the wind," the guitar literally sounded like wind. He used the instrument as a percussion tool as much as a melodic one. He’d beat the hell out of that Guild D-40. If you watch old footage of him performing "Follow" on The Dick Cavett Show, you can see the sweat flying and the strings vibrating so hard they look blurry.
It wasn't just a performance. It was a physical exorcism.
Misconceptions About the Meaning
Some folks think "Follow" is a drug song. Given the era, it’s an easy assumption. But if you dig into Jerry Merrick’s intent and Havens' lifelong philosophy, it’s much more grounded in transcendentalism. It’s closer to Thoreau than it is to Timothy Leary.
It's about the "un-learning" of things. We spend our whole lives being told who to be. Havens is saying: stop. Just follow the natural trajectory of your own soul. It’s a song about radical autonomy.
- The "Mind" Verse: People often misinterpret "find your mind is gone" as a reference to insanity. It's actually about the "no-mind" state in Zen philosophy.
- The "Shadow" Verse: Being the "shadow of the sun" isn't about being dark; it's about being an inseparable part of the light. You can't have one without the other.
Actionable Takeaways for Music Lovers
If you want to truly appreciate the depth of these lyrics, don't just stream it on a tinny phone speaker.
- Listen to the 1967 Mixed Bag Vinyl: The analog warmth brings out the woodiness of Richie’s guitar. You can hear the pick hitting the pickguard.
- Compare the Covers: Listen to Jerry Merrick's original to see how much Richie changed the phrasing. Then listen to Beth Orton’s version from Central Reservation to see how the song translates to a trip-hop/folk electronic vibe.
- Analyze the Tuning: If you’re a guitar player, tune your guitar to Open D. Try to play along. You’ll realize quickly that the "simple" lyrics are held up by a very complex rhythmic structure.
- Read the Poetry: Read the lyrics as a poem without the music. You’ll notice the internal rhymes and the meter are much more sophisticated than your average pop song.
Richie Havens left us in 2013, but "Follow" remains a sort of lighthouse for anyone feeling lost in the modern shuffle. It’s a reminder that the path isn't something you find on a map; it's something you feel in the rhythm of your own breathing.
To get the most out of this track, find a quiet space, put on some high-quality headphones, and pay close attention to the way Richie’s voice cracks on the high notes during the final verse. That’s where the truth lives. He wasn't trying to be perfect. He was trying to be honest. And in the world of music, honesty is the only thing that actually lasts.