Country Singer/Songwriter Liddy Clark opens up about her powerful single “Shot Down (Stand Up)” – a narrative for changing the conversation and speaking out on the urgent issue of gun violence in our country.
Having grown up in Parkland, Florida, the news of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting hit all too close to home for 20-year old Liddy Clark. Following the tragedy on February 14th, 2018, Clark channeled all of her emotions into her music, and in a performance that June at the Wear Orange: Healing Through Harmony concert honoring those affected by gun violence, she premiered her song “Shot Down (Stand Up).”
“As a kid you learn the two topics of conversation you should avoid are politics and religion,” Clark told heirwaves, “but I feel like even the most controversial of topics can be talked about in a civil manner if the people in that conversation are open to the thoughts of other people,” she says, hoping that her song with inspire people to be more open minded when discussing the issue of gun violence with others.
For Clark, the most difficult part about writing such a heavy song was controlling her emotions. “It’s counterintuitive, given that these songs all have my emotions poured into them,” she says, “but it was important for this song to make sense intellectually as well as emotionally so I didn’t sound like I was just ranting.” She adds that it has been an incredible experience to hear people’s stories about the loss that they’ve dealt with and how they want to have these conversations.
“What does it take to see that nothing changing is killing our humanity?” – Liddy Clark, Shot Down (Stand Up)
The emotional music video for the song shares the sheer urgency of the issue by bringing it close to home with students in classrooms with a stirring wave of panic from the candlelight vigils, to the pain that follows, and leads towards a rising tide of hope and change, mirroring the signs from the March For Our Lives rallies that followed the Parkland tragedy.
“I knew the overall message I wanted the video to have, that this was an urgent issue, but I was not quite sure of the storyline I wanted to take on.” Working with Laura Malatos, Brad Wong, and Helen Sun, Clark was able to bring that message of urgency to life.
“I want people to realize that this is an urgent issue, and that by ignoring it or just yelling at each other nothing is ever going to be solved,” Clark explains.
Following the impactful wave of “Shot Down (Stand Up)” – Liddy Clark has plans to release a new set of songs and videos this coming summer. “Very excited to be planning all of this now & can’t wait for you guys to see what we’ve done,” she exclaims.
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