I watch a lot of music videos. Some of them are straightforward and workmanlike. They present the song and the artist and leave it at that. Others are like mini movies. They exude superior creativity and craftsmanship. I consider them masterpieces of the form. The thought, planning, and originality they represent is simply amazing. I'm in awe of their beauty and of the talent of the people who brought them to life. Here are four country music videos that are among the very best. Thank you Ella Langley and Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, Johnny Cash, and Reba McEntire.
Videos by Wide Open Country
"You Look Like You Love Me" by Ella Langley and Riley Green
If you have not seen this video, I urge you to make some time to give it a look. It is beyond inventive and clever. I love everything about it - the Wild West theme, the 1800s-era saloon setting, and the period costumes. Langley's sassy character is priceless. I adore the way she swoops in on one gent, yanks his brew, out of his hand, and gives it to a startled Green. Jamey Johnson's ornery sheriff is a hoot. It all works perfectly. The sweet way that Langley and Green dance together is so cute, no wonder people think they are a real-life couple.
"The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert
This song always brings me to tears. The video is similarly evocative. A wistful, melancholy mood saturates it. How many of us harken back to the days when we were kids and life was simple and playful, as represented by the home we lived in? Lambert gets off a bus at her long-ago childhood house, looking to go back in time to heal herself. The memories she shares in the song of things like the tree where her dog is buried and the bedroom where she learned to master the guitar come rushing back. The house in the video is like millions of middle-class homes everywhere - ordinary-looking, weather-beaten, and awash in precious thoughts of bygone days. I agree with the YouTube commenter who wrote, "Thank you for the memories of the memories, Miranda."
"Hurt" by Johnny Cash
Cash's grizzled face and barely-there husky voice tell it all here. This video is like a mournful farewell from a man who has truly lived the extremes of the good and the bad - a deeply rewarding marriage to his beloved June, scrapes with the law, and intense battles with addiction. Cash seems to intuitively realize that his time is ticking down, and indeed it was. Per the-independent.com, "June would die three months after filming, her husband, seven." Almost every frame is redolent of death. Now, years later, the video is an eternal monument to the brilliance of The Man in Black.
"Fancy" By Reba McEntire
Bobbie Gentry is indelibly known for her masterful story song, "Ode to Billie Joe." She also penned "Fancy," which is exceptional in its own right. Some thirty years after Gentry released it, Reba McEntire did this potent cover and video. She plumbs the furthest reaches of her singing and acting talent to portray Fancy's journey from hardscrabble waif to high society doyenne. Even though it's over six minutes long, I could watch more of the mystery and magic in this video.
