We previously featured Naoko Hiranuma for transforming surfing into a moving meditation on love and healing with the cinematic single, Sea of Light, so when we heard that Naoko was back with Surfing Is a Waiting Game, we couldn’t wait to immerse ourselves in her universe once more and share our experience.
Surfing Is a Waiting Game opens with cinematic, acoustic guitar arpeggios as Naoko Hiranuma shares a delicate timbre with the lyrics, “Surfing is a waiting game, life’s the same old waiting game, no need to chase, no need to race…”
In essence, Surfing Is a Waiting Game manifests as a metaphorical and reflective indie folk song about patience, acceptance, and learning to trust universal timing. It is inspired by a simple piece of surfing wisdom and uses the ocean as a metaphor for trust and to stop forcing outcomes, ergo allowing the right opportunities to arrive naturally.
The writing is gentle, poetic, and deeply atmospheric. It combines personal storytelling with vivid coastal imagery to create a sense of warmth and hope. Naoka confesses, “The song was inspired by something an experienced surfer told me while I was helping run a surf camp in Fiji. What began as surfing advice became a lesson about patience, timing, and trusting that the right wave, and sometimes the right opportunity, will come.”
Its intimate folk style and emotional storytelling are reminiscent of songwriters and artists such as Billie Eilish, Ben Howard, José González, Daughter, Iron & Wine, and The Paper Kites, and the song would fit perfectly in reflective coming-of-age films like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Blue Crush, and The Way, and a television series like Normal People, Virgin River, Outer Banks, and Sweet Magnolias.
Needless to say, we continue to be in awe of what Naoko Hiranuma creates, and have added Surfing Is a Waiting Game to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Naoko Hiranuma, including Sea of Light, and Thirty Years.