Goshen, Indiana native Douglas Riley is a regular on Nashville’s Broadway where you can find him playing at the honky-tonks, but if he hadn’t made a literal in-the-moment decision back in 2001, he might still be in the Hoosier State. Returning home from a gig one night with his band, Riley came to a crossroad – physically and professionally – if he headed North he’d go home, but if he went South, he’d be following his dreams to Nashville. In that split second, he made the choice to go South, and 19 years later he’s still playing up and down that main artery that pumps the life into Downtown.
That life-changing move, his dedication to make it in Music City and the longing for home when things aren’t going as easy as was planned is the backdrop of his latest single ‘That Muddy Water‘ available today. “In one sense ‘That Muddy Water’ is about a struggling artist like me moving away from home and being alone in a big city and realizing it is harder that I thought it was going to be,” says Riley. “In the song, I’m lonely in this city I’ve moved to and I start looking back and reminiscing on the days of my youth, a high school love and happier times.”
By now I can finally see
The only thing that is still clear to me
Is that muddy water, was it all just a dream?
Does it even matter, part of that small town scene
You kissed me on the lips, I have you in my arms
Right there on the front steps of your daddy’s farm
Soon as I think I’ve moved on since then
I close my eyes and I’m knee deep again
In that muddy water
In addition to putting his own story to words, Riley is also releasing the music video for “The Muddy Water’ premiering exclusively with The Country Note today. Directed and produced by Flick Wiltshire/Vintage Flick, the video follows Riley down Broadway, in the alley behind The Stage, and back home where he can put his feet in the muddy water and drive down dirt roads with his love. Even if they are just flashbacks, those heartwarming memories keep him grounded.
Watch the exclusive premiere of the music video below:
An alternate parallel to the song and video are boarded up storefronts, the lack of car traffic on Broadway – all due the pandemic – adding an additional level to the struggle of “these broken dreams, when life is hard, harder than it seems.”
For more information on Douglas Riley, visit his website at douglasrileymusic.com, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.