Furtado keeps "Riding"

Switching from her usual banjo to acoustic guitar, but backed by members of the same ensemble as the earlier singles — sisters Lu (bass, harmony vocal) and Malia (fiddle, harmony vocal) Furtado along with producer Kristin Scott Benson's husband, mandolinist Wayne Benson — Furtado sings the opening verses, accompanied only by the guitar:

We're all riding
Til we make it home
Find a helping hand every now and then
But mostly we must
Go it alone I
've been through that shadow
Let's just say that I know
On the days we're ridin'
Feeling frightened
We'll do anything to make ourselves feel strong

"One of my favorite things about songwriting is that it can be so magical in making sense of things," Furtado said. "The process of writing about difficult situations often seems to produce the answers I was looking for. That was the case with 'Riding.' I was confused, angry and sad because a stranger mistreated me in a very big way for no reason at all. I sat down with a guitar, and the song all but wrote itself."

Punctuated with restrained solos from Malia and Wayne, the sparse arrangement waits until nearly the last moment to introduce harmonies on the final chorus:

So for my heart and for your heart
I'm gonna let it go
For my heart and for your heart
Gonna let it go

"Once it was finished," Furtado said, "I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and gratitude. Even understanding. Forgiveness feels good on both ends. As a great poet once put it... 'It blesses him that gives, and him that takes'."

Furtado, known for her work as the banjo player for Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, has a long history with her banjo. Born and raised in Front Royal, Virginia, Gina began touring up and down the east coast in her tween years with her siblings. She later played in a number of regional acts before making her international touring.