The Americana duo debuts the music video for their latest single, “Cryin’ Shame.”
The song: “Cryin’ Shame” is the latest single off of Swearingen & Kelli’s third album, Cold-Hearted Truth, due out September 20.
About the artists: After a night of impromptu duets at St. Petersburg, Florida’s cozy listening room the Hideaway, solo artists AJ Swearingen and Jayne Kelli joined forces to create the Americana duo Swearingen & Kelli. On the cusp of releasing their third record, the Nashville-based artists keep finding fresh ways of plying their flowing harmonies, sweeping pedal steel, and storytelling-style lyrics.
About the song: “We wrote [‘Cryin’ Shame’] while lamenting about the most important commodity that you can't make more of: time,” says Kelli. “We wish we had met each other sooner in life. Wow, that would have saved us a whole lot of trouble! It was also fun commiserating about our chosen profession. I used to pride myself on not being too much of a gambler (which runs in my family), but I guess I’m the biggest one of all, choosing to go into the music industry.”
Swearingen agrees: “This song is surely about endurance in life and the mystery of chance and timing. I remember the night we wrote ‘Cryin’ Shame.’ We had been spending some time at The Station Inn in Nashville, where the band was playing some ‘real’ country music. Hearing it played live by some of the best musicians on the planet gave us a huge nostalgic dose.
“There was this couple at the show who seemed to be on their first date. It was almost as if I could read their minds: ‘We better figure this thing out soon because neither of us have a whole lot of time to waste it on the wrong one.’ That was part of the inspiration to the opening lines of the song. The lines are also about me (and us as a duo). There is always an autobiographical pulse that runs through everything on some level.”
About the video: Directed by Frank Weysos, the video follows Swearingen and Kelli as they walk through Tennessee.
“We shot the entire video in 50 minutes a few blocks away from Kimbro’s in downtown Franklin, Tennessee,” says Kelli. “This was the last of three videos, all shot in less than two days with Frank Weysos and crew. The sun was going down, and we only had one take left for one of the key shots, so we had to go for it.”
“’We really had a good time on the shoot and I think that element really comes through,” Swearingen adds. “Frank said his spirit animal for the video was 9 to 5 Dolly Parton.”
Why we like it: Swearingen & Kelli are two voices made for each other. Pair their singing with lyrics about staying true to yourself and pursuing dreams and you a have an uplifting country-strong tune.
Listen to “Cold-Hearted Truth,” below.
For more on Swearingen & Kelli, visit their website.
