Ontario Folk Artist Willem James Cowan’s “You Will (A Brief Reminder to Look Up)” Offers a Gentle Reminder of Hope

Willem James Cowan’s new single, “You Will (A Brief Reminder to Look Up),” is a warm, Laurel Canyon–inspired ode to optimism – a gentle reminder that no matter how heavy life feels, things will get better. Breezy yet reflective, the track blends folk, rock, singer/songwriter, and Americana influences to create an uplifting space that feels both timeless and personal.

The spark for the song came in an unlikely place – a movie theatre. “A couple months after ending a long-term relationship, my brother and I went to see the movie Beau is Afraid,” Cowan recalls. “The movie as a whole didn’t have a huge impact on me, but I was really inspired by the dream sequence about three-quarters of the way through where a woman is prophesying a character’s life. Each sentence starts with the phrase ‘you will’ as she details the events to come, and I really liked the way it sounded. I had to pull my phone out and write the idea down (against theatre etiquette – sorry everyone). I went home and wrote the lyrics with the same idea. This song is a reminder to myself and others that no matter how down you feel, things will get better.”

From a production standpoint, Cowan set out to capture the comforting, easygoing essence of the Laurel Canyon scene of the ’60s. “There’s something really comforting and easy about a lot of those records and I wanted to capture that too. It’s definitely lighter and breezier than anything I’ve released before. Less wordy, maybe. I’m not usually so optimistic in my writing, so I wanted the production to reflect that.”

The song’s standout moment for Cowan is a personal one: a clever Joni Mitchell reference in the second verse. “It’s specific to someone in my life and a little more personal than I usually get. I like a lot of the lyrics in this song, though. It’s easy to get corny with songs in this theme, and I think I rode that line pretty well.”