Eric Church”s evocative new video for “Give Me Back My Hometown” hints at some deeper story than the song”s lyrics alone.
The mid-tempo, building track, from the lyrics, seems to strike out at some romantic interest who has skipped town, but her ghost remains and Church can”t walk through town without being haunted by the memory of everywhere they used to go, like the Pizza Hut.
In the Peter Zavadil-directed video, the story takes on a more sinister tone. It opens at a funeral and travels back in time as a murder mystery involving townies and carpetbaggers who come and take what isn”t theirs.
It leaves a lot of questions unanswered, some of which will probably be answered in future videos. For those under 20, that”s a cassette that the protagonist takes out of his car and tosses. We used to listen to music on them.
“Hometown” is the second single from Church”s new album, “The Outsiders,” which comes out Feb. 11.