Music

Watch Tucker Beathard’s Video for “Momma and Jesus” Like the Country Daredevil You Are

If we at Noisey had a dollar for every music video we’re sent that involves low-budget stunts and general tomfoolery, we’d be Scrooge McDuck rich. We probably would no longer be running a music website, due to all the dollars we’d have, which in turn would probably cause that income stream to dry up. But no matter: We’d have enough videos of hairy dudes jumping into pools of water to keep us entertained for a lifetime. Come to think of it, a pretty miserable lifetime. Nonetheless, the point is that Tucker Beathard’s video for “Momma and Jesus,” which features many such wacky stunts and even involves TPing someone, was not obviously going to be one that stuck.

But: Buddy. Those guitar licks. Listen to the flames wrapping around that guitar and try to get the fire that they light in your brain to stop. This song is stuck there. Momma and Jesus. Whaow whaow whaow (but in a guitar voice). This is hot, smokin’, Southern rockin’, good old-fashioned tuneage. Like any good country song, there’s a bit of world-weariness and moral conflict, with the singer, like Merle or Willie all those years ago, promising to give it all up after just one more thrill. But more importantly there’s that sick guitar.

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“I had a teacher in school come up to me one day when I was in ‘in-school suspension,’ who gave me a bit of a guilt trip, saying something along the lines of ‘I can see it now, you sitting in jail and having to have your mom, with your little sister on her hip, come bail you out.’” Beathard says about the song over email. “So that pissed me off, but at the same time he probably had a good point, because I knew and still know, no matter what I did… the two people I can always count on to never give up on me are my mom and Jesus.  And I thank God for it.”

Tucker Beathard is the son of songwriter Casey Beathard, who’s written hits for the likes of Eric Church, George Strait, and Kenny Chesney, including Chesney’s “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems,” one of the all-time greatest chill bro anthems. The younger Beathard isn’t a slouch either: He played over 200 shows last year, and his single “Rock On” is currently making its way up through the Billboard Hot 100. “Momma and Jesus” is the latest single from his EP Fight Like Hell. The video, directed by Wes Edwards, is worth your time, too. Sure, like I said, homemade stunt videos tend to follow clichés, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not fun to watch someone get hurled from a shopping cart or shot with a paintball gun. 

“I always loved the show Jackass,” Beathard explained. “And growing up I was always making stupid daredevil videos with my brothers and friends.  Shooting this video, really gave me an excuse to just have fun and do pretty stupid stunts with my friends, just like we always have.” If there’s a Noisey motto, it’s do stupid stuff with your friends just like you always have, so we strongly recommend tuning in below.

Follow Kyle Kramer on Twitter.