The Rousseau referred to in the songs title and lyrics is Jean-Jaques Rousseau, a French Enlightenment philosopher. The song references various beliefs and ideas of Rousseau, specifically how the narrator deals with them.
More information about him can be found here.
A state of grace
Untouched
Untraced
A ritual of passage
And from the Earth
Unbound at birth
You came, a noble savage
Rousseau is following me, following me
Following me down to the letters
Oh, are we really born free?
Are we born free, or just born again
And you think, you feel
Yeah, you think you'll be
Your own kind philosophy
But he's following me
Fresh rain, like blood
Like blood upon
A stark and asphalt jungle
You sense these things
Remembering
The safety of the dark
Such fantastic beasts
Roamin' city streets
Terror takes your hand and sets you free
Rousseau is following me, following me
Following me down to the letters
Oh, are we really born free?
Are we born free, or just born again
And you think, you feel
Yeah, you think you'll be
Your own kind philosophy
But he's following me
(he–, he–, he–, he–, he–, he–
He–, he–, he–, he–, he–, he–)
Such fantastic beasts
Roaming city streets
Glorious machines
Sigh, release
Rousseau is following me, following me
Following me down to the letters
Oh, are we really born free?
Are we born free, or just born again
And you think, you feel
Yeah, you think you'll be
Your own kind philosophy
But he's following me
Rousseau was written by Nerina Pallot.
Rousseau was produced by Andy Chatterley & Nerina Pallot.