Proud Gumbaynggirr and Yamatji artist Emma Donovan released her new single Wednesday; her interpretation of Al Green's 1974 hit Take Me To The River.

The new track also arrives alongside a deeply personal music video.

"I'm quite nervous releasing a song like Take Me To The River because the Al Green version is such an iconic version, and it's a big song," Donovan said.

"But it's exciting and good to share my perspective on it. A song like Take Me To The River is similar to an Archie Roach song like Get Back To The Land. It's about filling that cup up after a big breakup, going to look for that Country, looking for that water, to cleanse and feel good.

"I love my connection to that song and I'm excited to share it.

"My take on this song is really about family and community. We always talk about going up the river, that's our outlet. We go fishing, we go swimming, we go to hang out, and we take the little ones and we're there with family. We've been following my nannas and my grandfathers for years to the river. So hopefully, with that bit of language that we translated, people will feel the connection to that."

No stranger to soulful territory after fronting acclaimed outfit The Putbacks, Donovan's new take on Take Me To The River also carries threads of her lifelong love of gospel and country.

"In my new soul era, I would have to describe it still with country and gospel in there," she said.

"All of those things also make up soul. There's also a lot of soul in country, and I believe country and gospel need to be included in soul! And the other parts of my soul era are family and connection.

"For the single itself I worked closely with Ben Edgar who has been playing guitar for me for a while, and he's been doing most of our recordings.

"He pulled that sound at his home studio in Melbourne, in Belgrave. I also worked with David Symes (Boy & Bear) on this one, he plays bass on the track too. Me, Ben and David all put our three heads together for Take Me To The River."

Donovan weaves her personal narratives into both the song and its compelling companion video.

"A lot of the concept and a lot of the story behind the clip is re-enacting some old photos and some memories that I have with family and fishing and the river," she shares.

"A lot of the reenactment is me as a little kid, but played by my own daughters in the present day. Because my grandparents were so active in my music — they were musical people and they would also fish and take us to the river — I've got an Aunty and Uncle just like them in the clip too.

"For the song itself, I was channeling my nanna, my mum and her brothers.

"I grew up having these big fishing trips up the river of Kempsey, a little place in Northern NSW. We used to have huge trips there. Now, it's probably not as big, but when I was a kid, we'd take all these cars full of kids and families, and we'd go out onto the back areas of the river near the airport at Kempsey. My grandmother would have to get permission to go on properties, these white fellas had bought properties, but they were at the back of the river. So, we'd go and my nan would make friends, or she'd have some connection to a lot of people who owned these properties.

"These were areas she'd been to when she was growing up, so I was channelling a lot of my grandmother and all of the family trips that we had going to the river in this song."

Widely regarded as one of Australia's most beloved voices, Donovan's career spans over two decades, carving a path that fuses gospel, country and soul with the storytelling traditions of her culture.

Having performed on iconic stages including WOMADelaide, Bluesfest Byron Bay and the Sydney Opera House, she has become a guiding voice for the next generation of First Nations artists.

On the horizon, Donovan will perform a special multidisciplinary show (also titled Take Me To The River) that reimagines her catalogue with powerful new arrangements, visuals and storytelling.

Following its premiere at Darwin Festival, the show will appear at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival this month and Sydney Festival in 2026.

"With these upcoming performances, fans can expect a deeper connection to these songs," she said.

"I love storytelling, I love putting my own spin on things. And playing live, I'll be sharing lots of reasons why these particular songs in the show mean so much to me. I feel like with my last album I focused so much on the family, country vibe, and the gospel vibes. So, it's been a while since I've sat in the soul hot seat again. This is just me slowly driving back into that area!."

Take Me To The River is out today via Civilians.

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