When outsider-country singer Sturgill Simpson released his third album, A Sailor's Guide To Earth, in the beginning of April, he told NPR how the entire work serves as a letter to his infant son. On the record's second track, "Breakers Roar," the letter transforms into a sweet lullaby as Simpson sends comfort to his little one.
Like the other two videos made for A Sailor's Guide To Earth — "Brace For Impact (Live A Little)" and "In Bloom" — this one presents a surrealist take on the song's narrative. The video begins with a surfer riding out into the ocean before a mighty wave capsizes him and drags him under the surface. We then switch between shots of Simpson, sitting on a stool and observing/commenting on the video's events, and the slowly drowning surfer. As he sinks slowly to the depths, we see images of crashed cars, cutlery, a stroller and an endless sea-floor of broken hearts. As the surfer wakes on the shore, Simpson offers up some parting advice: "Bone breaks and heals / Oh, but heartaches can kill / From the inside, so it seems / Oh, I'm telling you, it's all a dream / It's all a dream."
Sturgill Simpson's third album, A Sailor's Guide To Earth, is out now on Atlantic Records.
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