Charley Crockett has released the next installment of his cinematic universe for his new album, Welcome To Hard Times, with “Fool Somebody Else”.
The song sees the rising country revivalist expanding the neo-Spaghetti Western storyline that runs through all of the videos for his upcoming album. The release of the music video for “Fool Somebody Else” on Thursday came one day prior to Welcome To Hard Times, which was out Friday via Thirty Tigers.
Related: Charley Crockett Shares Neo-Spaghetti Western Video For “Run Horse Run” [Watch]
While the album was released on Friday, that is no clear indication that “Fool Somebody Else” is the final visual chapter in the evolving Welcome To Hard Times storyline. A mix of French New Wave cinema alongside classic Western elements, the story seems to never begin nor end, but rather finds our nameless main character, played by Crockett, rolling into yet another town, but we all know he won’t be sticking around too long.
As for the song itself, it too combines a mix of influences, most notably with the prevalent use of the harpsichord. Yet the lyrical content of “Fool Somebody Else” is drenched in the classic Western influence that seeps through Crockett’s music and persona. While Crockett’s character is pursued by a mysterious woman in red, and the ever-present rotary phone rings with the call of fate, his love-scorned character behooves the temptress to “Put my heart back on the shelf/Why don’t you fool somebody else?” Crockett said of the song,
“Everybody thinks it’s about a relationship,” he said in a statement. “On the surface I guess it is, but I was thinking of it as a metaphor about my health problems. But the meaning belongs as much to the folks listening as it does to me.”
In January 2019 during a routine doctor’s visit, Crockett was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a congenital heart condition, as well as Aortic Valve disease, for which he immediately underwent life-saving surgery. The 36 year-old musician said that near-death experience inspired him to make Welcome To Hard Times the way he wanted to make it.
“I look at that scar and all I can think about is the limited amount of time I’ve got left,” Crockett said. “I wanted to make an album that would try to reclaim the conversation about country music.”
Watch the video for “Fool Somebody Else” by Charley Crockett. Welcome To Hard Times is available everywhere now.
Charley Crockett — “Fool Somebody Else” (Official Video)
[Video: Charley Crockett]