# The Sun Will Never Settle
**"The Sun Will Never Settle"** is a 2026 single by the Irish indie folk trio Kingfishr, released on May 26, 2026 through B-Unique/[Atlantic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-records). Written by Edmond Keogh, Eoghan McGrath, and Eoin Fitzgibbon, it is a breakup song whose central claim is that a relationship can end and still have been worthwhile if both people come out of it better.[1](https://musicbrainz.org/release/b9c9f5f5-3cd0-4f5c-bc4e-1a944773f8d5) • [2](https://www.pmstudio.com/music/20260527-28263)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Kingfishr, an indie folk trio from Limerick, Ireland: Edmond Keogh (vocals/guitar), Eoghan McGrath (banjo), Eoin Fitzgibbon (bass)[2](https://www.pmstudio.com/music/20260527-28263) |
| Release | May 26, 2026, B-Unique/Atlantic Records; single track length 2:28[1](https://musicbrainz.org/release/b9c9f5f5-3cd0-4f5c-bc4e-1a944773f8d5) |
| Production | Produced by David Curley at Grouse Lodge Studios, County Westmeath, Ireland[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999) |
| Position in catalog | Second single of 2026, following "The Blade"; the band's second Irish number one[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999) • [4](https://everysongby.com/artists/kingfishr/) |
| Chart peak | Number 1 on the Irish Homegrown chart, with 13 weeks on that chart as of the week ending August 28, 2026[5](https://www.irma.ie/irish-charts/homegrown/?week=2026-08-28) |
| Live history | First played May 14, 2026 at The Great Escape 2026; 28 documented performances through September 4, 2026[6](https://www.setlist.fm/song/kingfishr/the-sun-will-never-settle-2b9830c6.html) |
| Streaming | About 18.1 million Spotify streams since release[7](https://www.mystreamcount.com/track/23SqhGYsqaZJNbDSc17wqA) |
## Background and writing
The song arrived during a deliberately incremental period for the band. After their debut album *[Halcyon](https://www.edgepedia.org/halcyon-kingfishr-album)* (2025), which reached number 1 in Ireland and the UK top 10, Kingfishr began drip-feeding new material and testing unreleased songs on the road rather than holding them back for an album cycle.[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999) "The Blade", released earlier in 2026, was the first of these; "The Sun Will Never Settle" was the second.[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999)
The song came together quickly. The band said they wrote it in Sixmilebridge earlier in 2026, went rowing around a lake afterward, and recorded it a few weeks later at the end of a long studio day, with the song taking final shape in about 30 minutes, specifically, they said, in the car one morning on the way to their Airbnb.[2](https://www.pmstudio.com/music/20260527-28263) It was added to the live set late in the process, and the band premiered it on [BBC Radio 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-radio-1)'s New Music Show with Jack Saunders as the station's Hottest Record before its commercial release.[2](https://www.pmstudio.com/music/20260527-28263) • [8](https://readdork.com/news/kingfishr-sun-will-never-settle-single)
## Theme and lyrics
Frontman Eddie Keogh described the song as being "about the end of a relationship, and being better off for the experience", adding that "sometimes these things don't work out. That's not ideal, but it also doesn't mean it wasn't worth it either."[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999) Speaking to Saunders, he called it, "for better or worse, a breakup song" that is "not regretting the fact that you gave it a whack", focused on seeing the good that came of it and the person you became.[2](https://www.pmstudio.com/music/20260527-28263)
The opening verse sets the reflective tone: "My heart it has been broken / By who I cannot tell / By what I loved and what I lost / And what I did as well."[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999) The verses dwell on "lonely nights" and pain after the split, but the chorus insists that "the sun will never settle on the love I have for you", and a later verse imagines both former partners "living in the future that we won".[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999) • [9](https://www.irish-folk-songs.com/the-sun-will-never-settle-lyrics-and-chords-by-kingfishr.html) Reviewers read the song as celebrating personal growth rather than dwelling on heartbreak.[10](https://www.thebeat.ie/kingfishr-the-sun-will-never-settle-review-2025.php)
## Sound
The arrangement is built on banjo and warm, swelling acoustic guitars behind Keogh's vocal, in a style described as distinctly Irish folk.[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999) A review in *The Beat* noted layers of banjo and mandolin over a warm acoustic guitar base and praised the simplicity of the arrangement.[10](https://www.thebeat.ie/kingfishr-the-sun-will-never-settle-review-2025.php) Chord transcriptions place the song in the key of D at around 111 bpm.[11](https://chordify.net/nl/chords/kingfishr-the-sun-will-never-settle-lyrics-kingfisher-alternative-music-lyrics-straya-sounds)
## Live performances and reception
Kingfishr road-tested the song before releasing it, giving it its first documented performance on May 14, 2026 at The Great Escape 2026; setlist.fm records 28 performances by the band through September 4, 2026, most recently at the Moseley Folk Festival in [Birmingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/birmingham).[6](https://www.setlist.fm/song/kingfishr/the-sun-will-never-settle-2b9830c6.html) The single became the band's second Irish number one, and by late August 2026 it had spent 13 weeks on the Irish Homegrown chart, sitting at number 2 behind Amble's "The Swell" with a peak of number 1.[4](https://everysongby.com/artists/kingfishr/) • [5](https://www.irma.ie/irish-charts/homegrown/?week=2026-08-28) A live version recorded at Malahide Castle, "The Sun Will Never Settle (Live from Malahide)", was released as a single on October 9, 2026.[12](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-sun-will-never-settle-live-from-malahide-single/6820178945)
The release coincided with a sold-out UK tour ending with two nights at London's O2 Academy Brixton, followed by summer festival dates including Reading & Leeds, Rock Werchter, and Pinkpop, and outdoor headline shows in Ireland at St. Anne's Park and Malahide Castle in Dublin.[3](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999)
## References
1. [Release "The Sun Will Never Settle" by Kingfishr, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/b9c9f5f5-3cd0-4f5c-bc4e-1a944773f8d5)
2. [Kingfishr Premieres New Song "The Sun Will Never Settle" on BBC Radio 1, pm studio world wide music news](https://www.pmstudio.com/music/20260527-28263)
3. [Kingfishr face "the end of a relationship, and being better off for the experience" on new single 'The Sun Will Never Settle', NME](https://www.nme.com/news/music/kingfishr-release-new-single-the-sun-will-never-settle-listen-nme-radar-3947999)
4. [Discography: Every Kingfishr Song & Recording, everysongby.com](https://everysongby.com/artists/kingfishr/)
5. [Homegrown chart, week of 22–28 August 2026, IRMA Irish Charts](https://www.irma.ie/irish-charts/homegrown/?week=2026-08-28)
6. [The Sun Will Never Settle by Kingfishr song statistics, setlist.fm](https://www.setlist.fm/song/kingfishr/the-sun-will-never-settle-2b9830c6.html)
7. [The Sun Will Never Settle – Spotify Stream Counter, MyStreamCount](https://www.mystreamcount.com/track/23SqhGYsqaZJNbDSc17wqA)
8. [Kingfishr have shared new single 'The Sun Will Never Settle' ahead of their huge summer shows, Dork](https://readdork.com/news/kingfishr-sun-will-never-settle-single)
9. [The Sun Will Never Settle Lyrics And Chords By Kingfishr, Irish folk songs](https://www.irish-folk-songs.com/the-sun-will-never-settle-lyrics-and-chords-by-kingfishr.html)
10. [Kingfishr – The Sun Will Never Settle Review, The Beat.ie](https://www.thebeat.ie/kingfishr-the-sun-will-never-settle-review-2025.php)
11. [kingfishr – the sun will never settle (lyrics), Chordify](https://chordify.net/nl/chords/kingfishr-the-sun-will-never-settle-lyrics-kingfisher-alternative-music-lyrics-straya-sounds)
12. [The Sun Will Never Settle (Live from Malahide) – Single, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-sun-will-never-settle-live-from-malahide-single/6820178945)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Folk, traditional, and blues-rooted songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license