José González Shares New Single ‘Pajarito’, His First Release in Four years

The track arrives as the folk pop artist prepares to tour North America.

Acclaimed Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist José González returns with new single ‘Pajarito’, his first release since 2021.

At just under two minutes, the track is short but sweet, with González’s trademark finger picking accompanied by his easily identifiable voice singing in Spanish. The track was written with his children in mind, who are also responsible for the promo shot of González sporting face paint.

“Now and then, I want to write songs that are timeless, simple, and carefree,” says González. “‘Pajarito’ is about growing up, learning things, and eventually becoming independent. As usual, there’s also an existential undertone — the meaning of life is something that can emerge gradually as one gets to know the world, more as something you discover for yourself and not necessarily something dictated from above.

“This one is inspired by songs like ‘59th Street Bridge Song’ (Simon & Garfunkel) and ‘Río’ (Silvio Rodríguez), but also by all the children’s songs that have become part of our everyday life in recent years (Alice Tegnér, Georg Riedel, María Elena Walsh).

“This is the follow-up to Lilla Gumman (Lilla G), which I wrote when I was thinking of Laura. Of course, I had to write a song dedicated to Mateo as well!

“The cover is inspired by Swedish folk art – allmoge and the Dala horse. Here is a 'Dala bird.' Painted by Hannele Fernström and layout by Robert Samsonovitz.”

READ MORE: The Cure Announce Concert Film ‘The Show of a Lost World’

Speaking on the video that accompanies the single, González says, “I’ve been curious about technology and how it has led humanity to where we are. Understanding the huge potential and unforeseeable implications of artificial intelligence, I felt curious to explore current tools in a playful and simple way for this light-hearted song.

“We started prompting Sora and VEO in September with lines like ‘A little bird and its parent by the Swedish archipelago, late summer. Clumsy, cute, adorable’. After a chat with video maker Jonny Sanders, we decided to make it a concept video, so we let the models come up with a plot and video prompts. We chose the bullfinch because of its nice colours.”

With four hit albums to his name, González has spent the past several years celebrating the 20th anniversary of his seminal debut, Veener, performing the album in full at venues and festivals across the globe.

Forced to cancel his 2024 US tour due to illness in his family, González is heading back on the road this month, visiting many American cities he hasn’t performed at in over a decade.

González has also been in the studio working on his fifth album, which will hopefully arrive sometime in 2026.

‘Pajarito’ by Jose González is out now. Listen/buy here.