The latest video from Margo Price is a visual representation of personal challenges and trauma she has faced over the years. Directed by Kim Stuckwisch, it is a powerful, intimate portrait of Price, including direct references to substance abuse and time spent in prison. ‘Hey child’ is actually an older song, written with Price’s husband in 2012, but Sturgill Simpson convinced her to re-record it when he produced 2020’s acclaimed ‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’. This new arrangement, backed by the Nashville Friends Gospel Choir, soars with Price’s emotive vocal performance mesmerising the listener. Lyrically, it’s devastating. Opening with: “Hey Child, you got blood on your doorstop,” she is singing for anyone who has felt despair, faced their demons and managed, ultimately, to reclaim themselves.
Price describes the video and the history of the song: “‘Hey Child’ was a song that was written back in 2012 not long after my husband Jeremy and I lost our son Ezra. We were playing shows with our rock and roll band Buffalo Clover and occupying most of the bars in East Nashville. We had begun hanging with a rowdy group of degenerate musician friends and partying harder than The Rolling Stones. We were outsiders to what was going on with mainstream Nashville in every sense and it was the beginning of my bourbon drinking phase. The song was about how many of our talented friends were drinking and partying their talents away but after a few years had passed, we realized it was just as much about us as our friends. I had retired it when the band broke up but Sturgill Simpson resurrected it when he asked me if I would re-record it for ‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’.
I knew I wanted Kim to direct the video. She and I wanted to show pieces of my past lives and how I have moved on. It was both therapeutic and painful to revisit those memories and who I used to be. I know so many people who struggle with substance abuse. I just lost a family member to alcohol. My second cousin Tammy locked herself into a hotel room and drank herself to death two months ago. In another life, that could have been me.”
Director Kimberly Stuckwisch continues: “‘Hey Child’ explores the perpetual cycle of addiction and depression, the scars you carry around with you from its relentless push and pull, and the daily struggle to regain control of what has left you powerless. The video takes on a cyclical journey, starting off with Margo’s ‘mind’ (the camera) being in full control as it pushes and pulls her through the moments and memories that led her to this dark reality. It’s only when she decides to take back control and to face her demons head-on, is she able to run back through her past and out the door, finally breaking free of the relentless cycle.”
In this video, Margo Price truly gives something of herself to her audience. Simply, this is outstanding songcraft and production with a quality visual accompaniment. Absorb this.
