Fatherhood has a way of turning life’s biggest questions into simple answers. For South African singer-songwriter Hunter Kennedy, that moment of clarity arrived while waiting for his daughter to be born.
In his latest single, “Waiting for Maria,” the Fokofpolisiekar and Die Heuwels Fantasties lyricist trades his trademark existential edge for something more intimate: the hope, purpose, and meaning that emerge in the anxious, quiet days before becoming a parent.
Hunter Kennedy reveals that after years of searching for meaning, fatherhood awakened his purpose in a single, transformative moment
Yet, alongside this newfound clarity lies an undercurrent of uncertainty – the weight of being a good father colliding with the universal human longing to be loved in return.
“I wrote the chorus while I was sitting in the hospital waiting area after she was born,” says Kennedy. “It struck me that I’d probably be waiting for her for the rest of my life – outside school, outside a house party, even at my deathbed. And in that moment, all of life just made sense.”
“Waiting for Maria” took nearly ten years to come to life. Hunter Kennedy worked closely with long-time collaborator Fred den Hartog (Die Heuwels Fantasties), who initially shaped the track into a pop-leaning, almost hip-hop production. Eventually, they stripped it down to its most basic form, a move Kennedy describes as both honest and truthful.
This creative shift mirrors the life changes that inspired it – trading existential satire and sharp-edged commentary for a lighter emotional palette. Still, Kennedy admits with a smile: “Funnily enough the song isn’t really about Maria. It’s about the changes her arrival unlocked in me. Maybe she’ll get it when she has children.”
The lyrics of “Waiting for Maria” balance warmth, sentimentality, and optimism. It’s a track Kennedy imagines his daughter will look back on with a knowing smile, a reminder of the small spaces in life — the waiting, the pauses, the fleeting in-between moments – where meaning can be found.
“Without knowing it, I had been waiting for her all my life,” Kennedy reflects. “I know people say it’s risky to make your kid your sole purpose – what happens when they grow up and leave? But right now, it works for me. Being a dad and exploring the world through a child’s lens is probably the most fun I’m having at the moment. I dunno. Fight me.”
With “Waiting for Maria,” Hunter Kennedy delivers more than a song. He offers a reminder that beauty and purpose live in the quiet spaces between life’s milestones – those fleeting pauses where the vastness of existence meets the intimacy of small, precious moments.
You can stream/download the track HERE.
Hunter Kennedy’s longtime friend and Fokofpolisiekar bandmate, Francois van Coke, was so moved by the song that he urged Hunter to release it and debut it live at Francois van Coke & Vriende, taking place at SunBet Arena in Pretoria on 3 October 2025.
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