Willow Goes Introspective On Jazzy Single 'Symptom Of Life'

After channeling her inner rage and nu-metal bona fides on her 2022 album <ΑΝΤΙΜΕΤΩΠΙΣΗ ΜΗΧΑΝΙΣΜΟΥ>Willow goes in the opposite direction on her just-released thoughtful new single, “Symptom of Life.”

In one Post on Instagram announcing the song's release on Tuesday (March 12), the 23-year-old daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith described the video for the song as something “for all the beautiful people who have been out in nature with their friends and been guided to a deeper understanding of common life than herbal medicine 🌱🌞 I hope this song and image can bring enlightenment to anyone who experiences it.”

The nature visual – which Smith directed – begins with Smith and two friends taking a walk in a forest, where the singer finds and tosses a snail shell before lying on her back in the leaves to begin her Tori Amos-like musings on the mysteries of the universe. “I push and peel myself off my disguise/ Looking at you now I wonder who I am/ If I could try to take you back/ I couldn't define the feeling/ Absence of time/ Knowing everything is decided, there's nothing here to bro/ The story is all in my head/ I push and peel back the layers that cover my mind/ Looking into the shadows now I notice the light/ The magic is real when you see it inside,” Willow sings over a loungy backing track that trades the guitar-heavy sound of her previous piano and jazz drum effort.

At the end of the video, Willow smiles while lying on a patch of grass surrounded by a forest of colorful flowers. Earlier in the week he posted the lyrics, explaining to fans that he wanted to give them time to “digest the words deeply before diving into the whole composition.' At the time of publication, Willow had not revealed whether “Symptom” is a one-off, like November's equally introspective, jazz-influenced single “Alone,” or if the songs are intended for her sixth full-length solo studio album.

Watch the “Symptom of Life” video below.