The Bellamy Brothers honor some of country music’s greats in their new “No Country Music for Old Men” music video. The clip, which also features John Anderson, their collaborator on the song, is premiering exclusively on The Boot; press play above to watch.
Directed by Derrek Kupish, the “No Country for Old Men” music video finds both Anderson and David and Howard Bellamy performing their collaboration in rural locations: Anderson from the back of his truck in a sunlit field, the Bellamys from a tchotchke-filled barn. Interspersed with those shots, however, are scenes of the Nashville skyline, an arch in Bakersfield, Calif., the Ryman Auditorium, Music Row and Lower Broadway’s honky-tonks.
In particular, viewers will note some of the murals of the country legends name-checked in the song: Many of them — the paintings of Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn, for example — are from the House of Blues recording studio complex in Nashville’s Berry Hill neighborhood, but the one of the Highwaymen is located in the Pie Town neighborhood. Near the end of the video, there’s a shot of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash‘s graves; they’re buried in a Hendersonville, Tenn., cemetery.
“Kenny Rogers passed away on March 20, and I wrote the song that night,” David Bellamy says of the inspiration behind “No Country Music for Old Men,” which mourns the losses of so many icons. He and his brother had been hoping to keep their Bucket List EP, on which the song appears, on the lighter side, but ”[i]t felt like, in addition to the pandemic, there was a cloud over country music at that moment.”
“Of course,” Bellamy adds, “at the time, we didn’t realize we would lose Charlie Daniels, Mac Davis and a lot more in what seemed like a very short time.”
When he penned “No Country Music for Old Men,” Bellamy says, he kept hearing Anderson’s voice singing its lines in his head. He asked Anderson to collaborate on the track for real with his brother’s encouragement.
“I’ve known David and Howard for over 40 years. I have always been a fan and loved their music and their style,” Anderson shares. “It’s an honor to work with them, and we always have a great time.”
The Bellamy Brothers’ Bucket List EP arrived in July. It’s available to stream and purchase here.
The Most Anticipated Albums of 2021: