Argentina was home for Australian singer-songwriter, Stu Larsen, during the final month of his year-long encounter with Solitude. If you’ve been following this series of posts, you’ll know his project involved spending each month of 2024 in a different location – and writing a new song in each place. Stu posted videos of the songs on YouTube throughout the year.

The locations Stu chose to stay were surrounded by nature, isolated and generally comprised a rustic cabin or cottage. As someone who writes Japanese-form poetry, I found Stu’s experience captured the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi which finds beauty in transience and time-worn imperfection. Hence, I decided to write a haiku inspired by each song.

My haiku don’t tell the story of each song. Rather, each set of lyrics and images forms the basis for a stand-alone haiku that can be appreciated by a reader who hasn’t heard the song. Of course, if you have heard the song, hopefully the haiku will have extra meaning. You can find my series of posts in response to Stu Larsen’s songs of Solitude here.

December 2024

In the final month of his project, Stu stayed in a remote cabin about 1,500 km south-west of Buenos Aires, near the Andean town of Junín de los Andes. The expansive views from his Patagonian hideaway were dominated by the ice-capped Lanín volcano which sits on the border between Argentina and Chile.

His song for December is titled Eden. A song about the passing of time, the learning of lessons and the beauty of nature.

With time and space to think during his year-long journey, Stu’s songs reflect on compelling aspects of human connections – such as friendship, love, loss, hope, peace, fame and legacy.

His words and music also examine the attitudes that drive our choices and conduct – such as our sense of home, the desire for a simple life, our goals in life, our attitude to nature, what we take from life’s lessons and our recognition of life’s fleeting character.

I don’t know whether Stu’s isolation and solitude brought him new understanding of life’s big issues. Perhaps the experience triggered an epiphany and provided him with new insights. Perhaps it changed Stu’s approach to the next phase of his life. Or perhaps his journey reinforced things he already knew.

Regardless of the outcome, it was a grand undertaking. The beauty of Stu’s songs, together with the light they shine on important facets of life, may not make him famous but they are a memorable legacy.

Here is my haiku written in response to Stu’s final song for the year:

Eden
the horses and I
run free

If you haven’t heard Stu’s songs of Solitude and seen his wonderful videos then you can find links to the full set of 12 songs in my posts here. Meanwhile, please click the YouTube link below and enjoy what is quite possibly Stu’s most beautiful video of the year.