Keith Urban’s “You’ll Think of Me” is a somber song and video that shows the contrast of feelings felt during the heart of a relationship and the feelings of that bond being broken. The producers of this video use dark, dreary lighting to convey the feelings of loneliness and heartbreak and bright colors to show the happiness in memories. The video alternates between these two very different types of scenes so the viewer gets a full understanding of that contrast.
Clips that show Urban alone make us, as viewers, feel sympathetic and quite likely bring back memories of our own. The dark sky gives a Halloween-like feel, the settings are bare. Urban’s downcast glances, sorrowful eyes and lack of enthusiasm to go about normal activities emphasize his despair. On the contrary, clips of Urban’s memories are uplifting. Laughter lights up the former lovers’ faces, sunlight fills the scene. We are able to smile at happier times, even if through sorrow felt from scenes of loneliness.
The end of the video finds Urban picking himself up and attempting to move on. We see his strength as he opens the door and walks out of the dark house into the sunlight. At that moment, we are hopeful, and the roles of the characters in the video are reversed. Urban walks alone, but sees hope for the future. His face is no longer sorrowful; the backdrop is no longer dark. We see his former lover alone in the lifeless house, in much the same position as Urban was presented early on.
Form of music videos is relatively simple to meld with content; we can follow the story with clips as we listen. Urban’s video does just this by showing scenes of despair along with lively scenes of memories. Although we are sorrowful throughout most of the video, the ending gives a sense of hope. As the song wraps up and we can hear the strength in Urban’s voice, we can also see his strength as he walks away from his heartbreak.
