Jake Owen Revisits the ‘80s in ‘I Was Jack (You Were Diane)’ Video
As inspired by John Mellencamp's original ode to small town America, Jake Owen keeps the theme alive by showing the progression of a high school relationship in his new video.
It all started with the classic tale of boy meets girl, boy falls in love and girl leaves behind the life she’s known forever for the big city. Jake Owen takes over as the narrator, though, for the rest of the story in the music video for “I Was Jack (You Were Diane).”
The video takes viewers back to the spring of 1982, where Diane (played by Mackenzie Porter) starts a row with Jack (Jake Etheridge) over the future and whether they would move on into the real world with each other. From that tension comes the rewind back to fall of 1981 when the two began their high school relationship in puppy love. Sharing kisses and funny moments with one another, the couple looked like the ultimate teen love story.
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Flashing back and forth between the good times with the current fight, the treatment plays out dramatically with Diane storming out on Jack for what seems like forever. A decade passes by as the song cuts in and out, but puts the two right back in their routine diner spot during a chance run-in. Although Jack once used to be sure of where he was headed and Diane needed time to think, the roles reversed and it was Jack who wanted a moment to run over things in his head.
The question from many years ago hung in the air of if the two would run away together from the small town they knew perfectly for a bigger life outside, and viewers are left guessing their next move as the screen cuts to black for a romantic cliffhanger.
Feels good to be making music again… @bigloudrecords
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Without the work of John Mellencamp’s original “Jack and Diane,” Owen would have never dreamed of such a video treatment or sought out the inspiration for his latest single and wanted to pay tribute to the man who made the all-American dream come to life through lyrics.
“John, thanks for building the highways we’ve been riding on, and providing the soundtrack to the lives of so many small town kids like me,” Owen signed off at the end of the video.
Fans will be able to live out the words to Owen’s “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)” when he hits the road this summer for the Life’s Whatcha Make It Tour. More information is available through his official website.
