Everyone knows that to love country music is to love Dolly, lakes, dogs, Broadway, and early Taylor Swift albums. Of course, there’s also Tennessee. And no I don’t mean the national championship Vols baseball team or Hawk Tuah Girl. It’s Graceland in Memphis. The Nashville honky tonks. The mountains of Gatlinburg. It’s the latter getting the song spotlight from an artist starting her summer tour in just a week or so. Her name is Lauren Watkins and the song is aptly called, “Gatlinburg.” Check it out then scroll down for a 3 things I like, and 3 things I don’t like about the music video…
A few elements of this music video caught my attention. I don’t know what this says about me, but I actually like that she lights up a cigarette in lieu of a vape pen. At least people who smoke cigarettes know what they’re getting. Inhaling unknown chemicals through a vape just sounds like a recipe for horror down the road. Of course, smoking is pretty bad for you, too, but I appreciate the counterculture act of a cigarette in this video.
I’ve never been to Gatlinburg but you might catch me singing this chorus. The melody gets caught up in my head, maybe it’s the downward stair step notes that are so catchy. I do love a good melody.
The aspect ratio is nostalgic, too. Remember televisions before High Definition? This video offers up a nostalgic throwback and I’m old enough now to think about the pre-HD life as “the good ol’ days.” Remember dial-up internet? The phone book? Calling movie theaters to get showtimes? Throwing a ball against a wall for entertainment? Ahhh, the gool ol’ days.
Unfortunately, there are things to dislike about this video, too. The most obvious is the contradictory lyrics: “I took his Chevrolet” as we see her steal her ex’s Ford. 🤔 Would she have needed to move Heaven and Earth to find a Chevy for the video shoot?
Songs that do this irritate me like nothing else. I often refer back to Jason Aldean’s song “Dirt Road Anthem” which features the singer posing ON A PAVED ROAD!!!! I swear country artists (producers, directors, etc) aren’t dumb, but sometimes I wonder.
Smile, you’re on camera. But seriously, don’t smile SO much. Has anyone who just broke up with a lousy partner smiled as much as the women do in this video? No. There are feelings of happiness and joy, sure, but also anger and sadness, and if she’s Hell-bent on hurting him (stealing his car, his wallet, etc), she’s harboring some hurt herself. Too much smiling comes across fake. Kind of like this Publix commercial.
I generally like the lyrics of this song and the cadence, but there was one part that is more confusing than it is intended to be. Lauren sings, “Might just be a long weekend, or I may never, ever, ever come back again.” At this point in the song she’s in Gatlinburg. So does she mean she’s never coming back to Gatlinburg? And how does a long weekend contrast with never coming back? A simple fix would be to swap out “coming” with “going.” Then it would be more clear that she means she might never go back to the city or town where she currently lives because Gatlinburg is so great. As it is now, the lyrics suggest that she’s singing this line from her hometown before the trip to Gatlinburg, which conflicts with the visual of the video. It’s disjointed at best.
All that said, it’s a fun break-up song and who doesn’t love Tennessee? If you have a chance, go to Graceland. Pop in a Nashville honky tonk. Go for a long weekend in Gatlinburg. And also follow Lauren on Instagram @Lauren.Watkins.
-Out of the Wilderness
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Out of the Wilderness 