So Brad Paisley wrote almost a whole album of breakup songs, inspired by his failed relationship with a woman he took to see Father of the Bride.
And when it came time to shoot the video for one of those songs — the tongue-in-cheek ‘I’m Gonna Miss Her,’ in which he is forced to choose between his girlfriend and fishing — he thought about that movie again.
The actress playing the titular bride, Kimberly Williams, seemed like a lovely young woman — why not invite her to appear in his video?
Williams took the job and before long the New York actress and West Virginia country singer were in love. Now that’s a meet-cute worthy of the romantic comedies that helped Williams make her name.
Their marriage, and the birth of their two sons, have offered a wealth of material to Paisley. He wrote a couple of love songs on his first two albums, but you can tell that he means the ones that show up on every album after he and Williams met.
Paisley has a sharp wit but he’s also a bit of a goofball. This video is the first of many he’d release to feature corny guest stars and slapstick comedy. But I’m sure it holds a special place in his heart as the way he met his wife.
But I love the fish
I spend all day out on this lake
And hell is all I catch
But today she met me at the door
Said I would have to choose
If I hit that fishin’ hole today
She’d be packin’ all her things and she’d
Be gone by noon
Well I’m gonna miss her
When I get home
Right now I’m on this lakeshore
And I’m sittin’ in the sun
I’m sure it’ll hit me
When I walk through that door tonight
Yeah I’m gonna miss her
Oh, lookie there, I’ve got a bite
Now there’s a chance
If I hurry
I could beg her to stay
That water’s right
And the weather’s perfect
No tellin’ what I might catch today
So I’m gonna miss her
When I get home
Right now I’m on this lakeshore
And I’m sittin’ in the sun
I’m sure it’ll hit me
When I walk throught that door tonight
Yeah I’m gonna miss her
Oh, lookie there, another bite.
Yeah I’m gonna miss her
Oh, lookie there, I’ve got a bite.
That is such a cute meet cute story that I can hardly stand it. Wonder why she agreed to do it. Did she know and admire Paisley or was it just a job her agent said she should do? I’d like to think the former.
I love the Jerry Springer segments in this video, and I love Brad’s American fish t-shirt. This is a great example of a video that uses guest stars to serve the song not just for the sake of it.
The song, of course, isn’t much more than a punchline, but it’s engaging enough in that respect. And it led to songs I like much better which you will feature on future weekends, so I appreciate it even more for that reason.
Great love story. Cute video. Funny lyrics. Tune is just another garden variety country song.