Valley James | Playing Dead | Western AF

Valley James | Playing Dead | Western AF

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The first time I worked with Valley James was in Nashville. We’d only talked over the phone, just two strangers navigating the awkward dance of planning a shoot. In this line of work, I fly solo more often than not, and there’s always that line you walk that you don’t want to be the creep asking a female artist to meet you in some remote corner of the world with a camera and vague promises of “art.”

But Valley cut right through all that. “Let’s shoot this in the graveyard,” she said. No hesitation. No fluff. She was the kind of artist who’d chase a good idea straight into the dirt, if that’s where it lived. That was our first video, and she became an immediate friend after,

Fast forward to the latest shoot. We’re out in Wyoming, off Highway 130, standing on a private field we absolutely shouldn’t be on, but we had a nod and a wink kind of permission. A snow fence in the distance, mountains brooding like background actors, waiting for the kind of light that only shows up when the world’s about to go to sleep. The golden hour, they call it. I call it borrowed time.

Valley stood there, singing a song that felt like a wound being reopened in real-time. It was something raw, heavy, and honest. The kind of music that doesn’t ask for your attention, it just takes it. And in that fading light, something happened. A moment that wasn’t pretty, but it was beautiful. And if you were really listening, it could chill you straight to the bone.

I wish more people appreciated what Valley James does. Really appreciated it. Because this is the kind of music that actually means something. The kind I’m willing to chase down backroads for, lug gear through mud for, and trespass or politely trespass for. t’s not safe. It’s not polished for mass consumption. It doesn’t beg for radio play.
But it f*ck’n matters.

Meanwhile, the pop-country machine keeps cranking out pre-fab songs about beer, tailgates, and heartbreaks that feel more like branding exercises than actual human emotion. Slick, soulless, and somehow louder than everything else. It floods the airwaves, sells the tickets, wins the awards.

And yet, the real stuff? The blood and bone kind of music? That often gets left behind. Forgotten.
It’s a damn shame. Because if you ever heard Valley sing with your eyes closed, you’d know. You’d feel it in your chest like a memory you don’t want back. And maybe then you’d realize… this is what music is supposed to be.

I pity the f*ck outta y’all who miss the mark.

-Mike
…
Lyrics:
Writers: Blake Sennett, Caitlin James, Morgan Nagler

First time I thought of dying I was seven years old
My mothers hands pressed against my mouth
Her rage was silent, no one every knew
We were living in a burning house

Cleaned up the messes in our matching Sunday dresses
Painting the roses red
Climbed through her mirror just trying to be near her
Living was playing dead

Just a girl trying to be a woman
Momma’s shoes and her pearl necklace
But I would sin for a taste of freedom
This pretty bird is gonna fly the nest
Where do beggars go when they die?
‘Cause I oughtta buy my ticket tonight
Unfold these dusty wings and fly
Where the broken songbirds fly

The moment I met him I knew he’d be mine
The sound of his fury felt like home
When his hands were around my throat I wasn’t surprised
I knew better than to tell a single soul
Cleaned up the messes and his handprings from my dresses
Crawled back inside my head
Watched like a movie as if I never knew me
Living was playing dead

Just a girl trying to be a woman
Momma’s shoes and her pearl necklace
But I would sin for a taste of freedom
This pretty bird is gonna fly the nest
Where do beggars go when they die?
‘Cause I oughtta buy my ticket tonight
Unfold these dusty wings and fly
Where the broken songbirds fly

Where do the songbirds fly?
Where do the songbirds fly?
Where do the songbirds?
…
More music from Valley James:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valleyjames/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valleyjamesmusic/
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@valleyjames
Website: https://valleyjames.com/
…
Mixed: Will Ross
Editor: Manuel Deakins
Executive Producers: Irvin Maddox, Arron Tschida, and Frank Stelter
Producers: Brian Harrington, Will Ross, Travis Blankenship & Mike Vanata
Special thanks: Mak Kearney
…
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…
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