Kacey Musgraves Honors John Prine in New ‘Cardinal’ Video
Four years after John Prine’s death of Covid-related complications, the beloved troubadour continues to be mourned in the music world. He’s already been the subject of a few tribute songs, including one by Strand of Oaks. But none has been as prominent as Kacey Musgraves’ “Cardinal,” which has now received a somber conceptual video months after it appeared on her Deeper Well album.
On a record that pared down Musgraves’ sound to the barest of bones, “Cardinal” stood out for its lush, gently whooshing sonics and the layered, spiraling harmonies in its chorus. That arrangement offset the sadness in its lyrics, which picked up on Prine’s admiration for those birds: “I saw a sign / Or an omen / On the branches / In the mornin’ / It was right after I lost a friend / Without warning.” Musgraves and Prine became friendly in the years before his death, and Musgraves joined him onstage at least twice.
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The video, directed by Scott Cudmore, adds a layer of numbed-out solemnity to the tribute. Described by her team as “an abstract and kaleidoscopic trip through birth, rebirth, nature, memory, dream, and the fragmented pieces of ourselves that eventually transform into different energy when we leave this world behind,” it places Musgraves alone in different rooms in a house. She’s cut off from the world and in mourning, with occasional cardinal-red splashes appearing in drapes and a painting of the bird. A bit of Mother Earth trippiness emerges at the end, complete with a levitation scene that’s one of the most evocative in a music video in recent memory.
Two weeks ago, Musgraves (and the Hawk Tuah Girl) joined Zach Bryan onstage in Nashville, with Musgraves appearing for “I Remember Everything.” Musgraves’ own North American tour starts Sept. 4 in Chicago and continues through December.
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