Promising newcomer Parker McCollum asks some tough questions in the video for his first Nashville single, “Pretty Heart,” wondering why he chose to push love away.
Placing the grass-roots Texas star in the thoughtful role of a guy who knows he messed up big, the tormented mid-tempo was co-written by McCollum with Randy Ennis Schlappi. It finds the singer deep in a hole of romantic regret with no clear way of climbing out, focusing not on unavoidable circumstance but his own mistakes. Meanwhile, the video finds McCollum feeling desperate and alone — even when surrounded by the hustle of a bustling big city.
“What does that say about me / I could do you like I did / That I could break an angel’s wings / What does that say about me? / That I stood there like a fence post / As you drove off in your car / What does that say about me / Now that I’ve broke your pretty heart?” goes the song’s introspective hook.
Starting out as an Americana-flavored 22-year-old, McCollum gained a hard-to-ignore following on Texas’ famous live-show circuit, releasing two independent albums and a handful of EP’s before signing with MCA/Universal Nashville last summer. “Pretty Heart” marks the first taste of his upcoming major label album debut, which is expected sometime later this year.