Music News

Margo Price Confronts The Demons Of Her Past In New Video For “Hey Child”

January 30, 2021 Nick Cantwell Americana, country music, hey child, margo price

Last year saw the release of Margo Price’s third studio album, “That’s How Rumors Get Started” (Loma Vista) her first since parting ways with her previous label Third Man. It’s a more rock-influenced project than her other albums, which of course that shouldn’t be a great surprise to those familiar with her musical heritage, including her time with rock’n’ roll band “Buffalo Clover“, or indeed to anyone who has been fortunate enough to witness her high octane live shows which even see her back on the drums from time to time.
It was actually back in 2012 when she was out on the road with the band that she and husband Jeremy Ivey wrote “Hey Child” which made its way onto the 2020 release thanks to the suggestion of album producer Sturgill Simpson who had always loved it.
At the time of writing Margo and Jeremy had just suffered the loss of their son Ezra, just two weeks after he was born, and part of their reaction and coping mechanism was to party hard with their musician friends. Initially written about how many of those talented people were wasting their lives through their behaviour, the couple realised a few years later that the song was just as much about them. The band broke up and Margo retired the song, but as mentioned earlier Sturgill convinced her to resurrect it… and what a moving and thought provoking track it turned out to be, not least thanks to the backing by the Nashville Friends Gospel Choir.
Last week saw the release of the song’s official music video, directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch, which not only shows pieces of Margo’s well-documented dark past lives but also how she has moved on.
To quote Margo “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“.
And director Kimberly Stuckwisch explains “‘Hey Child’ explores the perpetual cycle of addiction and depression… 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 face her demons head-on that she is able to run back through her past and out the door, finally breaking free of the relentless cycle“.
The video provides helpline numbers at end for anyone who may be battling their own demons.