Watch Tom Petty’s Romantic Fairytale-Themed ‘Something Could Happen’ Video
Tom Petty’s estate has released a new music video for “Something Could Happen,” a track off the recent reissue, Wildflowers and All the Rest.
The clip opens on a book that tells the story of a woman, played by Lauren Cohan of The Walking Dead, whose “heart has been broken beyond repair.” So, she moves far away “never to love again.” While the days, months and years pass, she begins throwing away items from her past. Eventually, she decides to try her hand at love again, only to be disappointed by the matches she meets through an app. All the while, the belongings she had discarded have slowly come to life and merge together to become a “person,” with whom she shares a whimsical “last dance” and embraces the emotions felt from revisiting the loving memories.
“Seems like a long time/I was torn in two,” Petty sings. “But I feel like something could happen/I feel like something could happen with you.”
The video was directed by Warren Fu. In a statement, Fu said he wanted the video to recall some of Petty’s classic clips and highlighted a few easter eggs scattered throughout.
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“In looking back on Tom’s old music videos, it was obvious that he had a lot of fun with them and was not afraid to get a bit weird,” Fu said. “I wanted to create another modern fairytale in the spirit of Tom’s music video for ‘Into The Great Wide Open.’ In our story, we have a character that is an incarnation of memories reassembled into a living creature, trying to make its way back home. I think the message I was trying to convey is that all our experiences, the good the bad, the beautiful and the painful make us who we are, and we should embrace them. Tom never compromised his artistic integrity and always stayed true to who he was, so I feel like our message in this video is in line with his spirit.”
He continued: “Hints of his presence are also felt throughout the video in easter eggs: The skywriting heart from ‘Free Fallin’,’ a crown for ‘It’s Good To Be King,’ a dog collar with an ‘R’ in a nod to Tom’s dog Ryder, the slow dance dip from ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance,’ the Alice and the Mad Hatter hat from ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More,’ and the storybook motif from ‘Into The Great Wide Open.’ When Tom’s fans watch this video, I hope they feel the same way I felt hearing the song for the first time: Something new, yet something nostalgic and familiar.”
The clip for “Something Could Happen” premiered during a special livestream that offered a deep dive into Petty’s classic music videos. The event featured directors who’d previously worked with Petty, as well as collaborators like the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart. It also boasted previously unreleased behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the “You Don’t Know How It Feels Video,” with on set commentary from Petty and director Phil Joanou.
