It’s been over a year since Maren Morris released her breakout album Girl, and the months following it’s anniversary have not quite been what the singer expected. Rather than continuing a tour, Morris is stuck at home in quarantine with her infant son and witnessing the country rise up in protests against police brutality. Wanting to make her own protest anthem, Morris shares the ballad “Better Than We Found It” alongside a powerful video.
Directed by Gabrielle Woodland, Morris’ “Better Than We Found It” tells the stories of three families with different backgrounds. The video follows a young man who has lived in America under the DREAM Act and now faces deportation, two high school-age girls who organized a massive protest, and the family of a Black man who was shot and killed by police.
Describing the sentiment behind the visual, Morris said:
“I wanted to write something to address exactly how I feel right now, and this came together pretty quickly. It’s a protest song—it’s the most American thing to protest and protest songs have been so embedded in American culture: Bob Dylan, Nina Simone. I think the world right now is sort of in a perpetual mourning period and I wanted to have a song that had weight but also had hope. I still have hope for this country and for the future of it, and as a new mother I wanted to promise my son that I’m going to do everything in my power to leave this world better than the one I came into and the one I see right now.”
Echoing Morris’ statement, Woodland praised the singer’s poignant letter written to her infant song, which is included at the video’s close:
“I think Maren says it best in her letter to Hayes when she states, ‘Our education must grow along side our empathy.’ In present day America, we’re constantly told what to think about certain people, their lifestyles and situations that might be ‘different’ than the average American experience. For this video, Maren wanted to break down the barriers that separate us and remind everyone that, at the end of the day, we are all the same. We are all human and we need to take a lot more time to listen and understand each other. The political climate we live in right now doesn’t give a lot of room for people to converse, and it’s so easy look at our world in black and white. Maren and I both thought it was important to highlight real stories happening to actual people.”
Watch Morris’ “Better Than We Found It” video above.