Jack Johnson will tour Australia at the end of the year with songs from a new album that packs a political punch.

The songwriter, who’s long been associated with surf culture, has been compelled by world events and US politics to address things head-on in his upcoming seventh album, All The Light Above It Too.

One of the first tracks Johnson released, My Mind Is For Sale, seems pretty clear he had Donald Trump in mind – at one point he mentions the “elephant in the room” and “those hateful words he uses.”

“The whole song, in my mind, is definitely about the political situation in America,” Johnson told AAP.

“I kind of wrote it while the election was still happening and just even his inaugural speech when the tone of it was: ‘America first’ and that kind of thing … just that tone I don’t think is a very positive way to put it out there. And there’s a lot of talk in the United States about this wall that will border Mexico and that was just a lot of divisive language again.”

This Australian tour will take Johnson back to some beautiful outdoor venues, including a return to the Sydney Opera House forecourt where he performed on his last tour four years ago.

“I love being in Sydney and getting to play at that, it’s nice when you don’t have a roof over your head sometimes, I like the way that feels when you’re playing music,” he said.

Johnson has had a long affinity with Australia, and he’s achieved four number one albums here including the album that put him on the map, 2005’s In Between Dreams.

“The music has always made sense in Australia for me, it was definitely the first place that took off in the way it did,” he said.

“Some places we go, the music just seems like it matches that culture better and I think it has a lot to do with the surfing culture. It quickly took off for us there and I think it was the first place we ever had a number one.”

-AAP