Bark is Stronger Than Bite For Blake Shelton’s “She’s Got A Way With Words” Video

When Blake Shelton released his new single “She’s Got A Way With Words,” a tremor rippled through the world of country music; everyone took the not-so-subtle lyrics as a direct slap to now ex-wife Miranda Lambert, even though Shelton had no part in the song’s writing (credited writers are Wyatt Earp, Andy Albert and Marc Beeson).  But given the little bit of information, aka rumors, that was made public about the end of their relationship, it’s not hard to see where that conclusion was determined with lyrics such as these:

She put the her in hurt
She put the why in try
She put the S.O.B. in sober
She put the hang in hangover (hangover)
She put the ex in sex
She put the low in blow
She put a big F.U. in my future
Yeah she’s got a way
She’s got a way with words

So when the announcement was made regarding a music video, a widespread “gasp” was heard from Nashville to Oklahoma to Texas and everywhere in between. How nervy would the video be?  Would there be a Miranda look-alike? Would a “hell hath no fury as a man scorned” be the theme?

The anti-climactic answer is … nope.

The video centers around Shelton and his band at a table playing poker (one can notice his deer track tattoo as he pushes his chips all in – possible symbolism?). The lyrics become the conversation as he fills in everyone on what went down. Shelton’s demeanor while with his band is fairly lighthearted, even laughing, as they drink beers at a pool hall. But there are moments where Shelton shows signs of personal irritation such as during the cuts to he and the band performing (the 1:30 mark for example) – it’s in these scenes where his “poker face” is no longer in play, and glimpses of the raw, bitter emotion are visible.

And visible they are. In these moments, sneers and raised eyebrows indicate that there is a personal bitterness resonating. But then again, Blake has been honing his acting skills, so maybe we’ll never know.

Divorce or not, “She’s Got A Way With Words” is a song that was meant for Shelton to sing, falling in line with previous tongue-in-cheek songs in his catalog.