Growing up in a family of seven children in Torquay, Victoria (Australia), near the famous surfing location Bells Beach, Rudd showed a keen interest in music. While primary school-aged, Rudd used his mother's vacuum cleaner as a makeshift didgeridoo and he began playing his brother's guitar. He also played saxophone and clarinet as a child.
Before launching his solo career, Rudd began playing music as part of the band 'Xavier and the Hum'. In 2004, Rudd released Solace, his first album to be distributed by a major label.
Rudd's music is compassionate and always manages to render emotion in his fans. His songs include stories of the mistreatment of the indigenous people of his homeland; they tell of humanity, spirituality or the environment. The songs are written and sung with compassion and they urge the celebration of life.
Rudd is skilled with a variety of instruments, include guitar, shaker, didgeridoo, Weissenborn slide guitar, Tongue drum, stomp boxe, djembe, harmonica, ankle bells, and slide banjo. It's an experience to watch him perform his songs live, as he plays the guitar, digeridoo and various percussion instruments simultaneously, using a unique stage setup. But the real magic comes when he opens his mouth and his soulful voice spills upon his audience.
Rudd recalls that when he was 10, his dad took him to see Paul Simon’s Graceland tour. “I remember seeing it and knowing that that was what I was gonna do,” he says. “I had no doubt. It sort of made sense, because I’d always lived in my head, in this world of song that was my own little secret. But to see that show and that whole thing happening, I sort of felt comfortable as a human, and thought.” He learned to play the digeridoo, the 50,000-year-old wooden trumpet of the Aboriginal people, by practising on a vacuum cleaner pipe.
As a teenager, Rudd really got into songwriting. He started performing at his school, with solo gigs following. He drew inspiration from artists such as Leo Kottke, Ben Harper, Natalie Merchant and multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, as well as music from diverse sources, such as Hawaii and Native American music.
As with most solo artists, Rudd has experimented playing in a band. Though it was a short- lived experiment, as Rudd quickly found that it wasn't the right way to go for him. “What I do now is just more me,” he says. “And it sounds full.”
Quotes:
“It’s all about peace and happiness,” he says of his performances. “That’s sort of the blanket that seems to sort of settle in the room, or on the venue when I play, but I sort of feel not solely responsible. I don’t really feel like it’s me and the audience. I feel like it’s all of us, one big connection and I just happen to be channeling the energy through music. It comes from the audience and channels through me and I put it back in the audience.”
“My music is about good spirit. I’m so lucky to be able to do what I do. I’m so blessed to be able to be able to travel around and play music and connect with so many people in so many places in so many cultures. It’s a gift of life as a musician.”
After the failure of his marriage in 2009, Rudd was supported in his grief and recovery by new South African bandmates, bassist Tio Moloantoa and percussionist Andile Nqubezelo. Rudd had met Moloantoa and Nqubezelo performing at the 2008 Wiesen Nuke Festival in Austria. Rudd described his connection with Moloantoa and Nqubezelo as musical, spiritual and emotional—"I feel like they were sent to me," he said.
In 2010 Rudd bought 20 hectares of property at Koonyum Range, Mullumbimby, the location was the inspiration for the name of the album Rudd would release with Moloantoa and Nqubezelo, titled "Koonyum Sun", as Xavier Rudd & Izintaba. The album moved away from the heavier sound of Rudd's 2008 album "Dark Shades of Blue" to a more up-beat style.
"Nanna", the 2015 album Rudd released as Xavier Rudd & the United Nations champions cultural understanding and condemns racism and intolerance. It features a diverse group of musicians from Australia, South Africa, Samoa, Germany, Ireland, and Papua New Guinea.
In 2018, Rudd released "Storm Boy".
Come Back
Xavier Rudd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like you're hangin' out to dry
And my reasons have left you wondering why
Life has this question looming over me
Since the day you took fly
And if you come back there will be good times
Beaming down in the moonlight
Winter is colder, life sought you by my side
All I have is this photo whom you're
Smiling to remind me of my words
In my rights if you come back there would be good times
And my answers, often left to feelin'
Like you're hangin' out to dry
And my reasons have left you wondering why
Life had this question looming over me
Since the day we took fly
And if you come back there would be good times
And I see your face when I'm staring out the window
Beaming down in the moonlight
Winter is colder, I sought you by my side
Now all I've is this photo whom you're
Smiling to remind me of my words
In my rights if you come back there would be good times
In Xavier Rudd's song "Come Back", he reflects on the absence of someone he loves and the impact it has on his life. The opening lines describe the frustration and isolation he feels when his answers are misunderstood and his reasons for being distant are questioned. He notes that life has been uncertain since the person he misses left, and this uncertainty hangs over him like a shadow. However, he holds onto the hope that the person he lost will come back, because if they do, there will be good times.
As the song progresses, Rudd becomes more specific about the person he's addressing; he often sees their face in his mind's eye, especially when he's alone and staring out of the window. This person brought warmth and light to his life, and their absence has made winter feel colder and darker. But Rudd doesn't give up hope; he has a photo of the person, where they're smiling, and this image reminds him of his promise that if they come back, there will be good times.
Overall, "Come Back" is a song about missing someone deeply and hoping for their return. Xavier Rudd uses powerful imagery to convey the emotions experienced by someone who feels incomplete without the presence of a loved one. The song highlights the unpredictable nature of life and how it can be challenging to navigate without the support and companionship of the people we care about.
Line by Line Meaning
And my answers, often left to feelin'
I frequently give incomplete or vague answers
Like you're hangin' out to dry
Leaving you to fend for yourself in difficult times
And my reasons have left you wondering why
My explanations have not been satisfactory and have left you confused
Life has this question looming over me
I am plagued by a question that is difficult to answer
Since the day you took fly
Since you went away, since you left this world
And if you come back there will be good times
If you were to return, things would be happy and positive
I see your face when I'm staring out the window
I remember you and your image is always in my mind
Beaming down in the moonlight
Your radiant presence is always with me
Winter is colder, life sought you by my side
This season is harder to bear without you, you were my constant companion
All I have is this photo whom you're
This picture that captures your image is all I have left of you
Smiling to remind me of my words
Your smile reassures me that my words will not be forgotten
In my rights if you come back there would be good times
It would be fair if you were to come back and we could enjoy good times together
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: XAVIER RUDD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind