Video Premiere: Shelly Waters “Drink The Water” (The Daily Country)

Shelly Waters’ musical roots run as deep and wide as the mighty Mississippi River that snakes through her home state of Louisiana. Her perfectly blended sound – a seasoned Americana stew of blues, country, and rock – is evidenced on her latest self-titled album, which was released July 28th. Recorded in Nashville with producer Josh Kaler, the project contains twelve tracks including album opener, “Drink The Water,” a soulful number about the realization that you simply can’t make another love you.

“I can beg and plea, you don’t want me
Help me understand, tell me why
I can bring a man to the river
But I can’t make him drink the water.”

Waters relays the story behind the song,“My parents were salt-of-the earth, simple folks but with wisdom I did not come to appreciate until much later in life. One of the things I can still hear my Dad saying is, ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.’ I chose to relay that message in a song about a relationship, but it’s a universal truth, and it can apply to many situations where someone chooses not to seize an opportunity. Over the years, those words have churned in my head. I walked away from my first love, music, for ten years… just when my career was taking off. The opportunity was there, but I turned away from it. In retrospect, I even say to myself, ‘Tell me why.’ Funny, I can also still hear Mom saying, ‘It’s never too late.'”

TDC is pleased to premiere the video for “Drink The Water” which you can view in its entirety below, then read on as Waters gives further insight into the song and video.

An emotional, thoughtful ballad, “Drink The Water” is highlighted by Waters’ earnest delivery, bluesy guitar, and organ – an instrument Kaler suggested having on the track. Waters explains,

“I absolutely love the way this song turned out, but during pre-production, I wasn’t so sure how it was going to end up. Before recording, when producer/multi-instrumentalist Josh Kaler mentioned having an organ on this tune, my response was, “Hmm…maybe.” Josh convinced me that Nashville musician Danny Mitchell was the perfect guy for the song, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use the C3 organ in the studio. Josh was right, and Danny nailed the solo! As the recording process went on, this song clearly emerged as the opening track. Vocally and emotionally, I think it’s one of the best on the album.”

Directed and edited by William Wright (with assistant Nico Valderrama) of Resound Media Group, the video features a Waters, in both black and white and color, pensive and alone. Waters describes the treatment behind the video,

“William and I met a few days before the shoot to come up with a plan. We knew the location had to be near the water and he suggested going out to the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve on Folly Beach, SC. This was happening just after my husband accepted a new job opportunity in Portland, ME. We had been living in Charleston, SC since 2006 and knowing that we were about to move away, I agreed with William on this location for a couple of reasons. Despite living in the area for 11 years, I had not been there yet and I thought it would be cool to have a video souvenir from this historical spot.”

While the video itself is more serious than not, Waters says the shoot had it’s fun and interesting moments,

“It was a fun day on a beautiful island, but it was blistering hot! About 95 degrees and humid, so I was a sweaty mess the whole time. We had a brief encounter with the law; Folly Beach police do their best to help preserve the area and he was a little concerned when he saw the camera equipment. All good though when we promised to treat the island with extra TLC. It was interesting using an alcove on the wooded side of the island as a dressing room, lots of sand and plenty of bugs to keep me company. I spent a lot time walking in wet sand; my dress cleaned up okay, but I ruined a pair of my favorite shoes. But, like I said, it was fun day on a beautiful island!” (The Daily Country)