Jake Shears Made His Own Lyric Video for This New Song Out of Paper at His Parents’ House

We were as heartbroken as anyone when Scissor Sisters went on hiatus back in 2012. Thankfully, Jake Shears‘ debut solo album is coming out next month, and from the two singles — “Creep City” and “Sad Song Backwards” — we’re expecting another classic. The “Sad Song Backwards” video just dropped, though, and while we knew it was going to be a banger, we didn’t expect Jake Shears’ homemade video for the song to be so damn charming.

Shears announced the video today on Twitter, explaining, “So I got a wild hair a couple weeks ago and made a lyric video to ‘Sad Song Backwards,’ in my parents’ kitchen, with a stack of paper, and some Sharpies.”

The idea of Jake Shears sitting at his folks’ kitchen table drawing and cutting out paper figures warms our heart.

But Jake Shears’ homemade video isn’t just adorable — it’s well-made in its ramshackle way, and downright hilarious in places. The “Sad Song Backwards” video illustrates the lyrics with an avatar for Shears that reminds us of Binkley from the comic strip Bloom County.

Shears said the inspiration for the song came from an old joke: “What happens when you play country music backwards? You get your dog back, your wife back, your life back.” He said the joke is “dark, but has a sense of humor.” He describes the song as a “funny song that’s actually about suicide.”

Of course, “Sad Song Backwards” is full of the brilliant turns of phrase that makes his work so rewarding. One of our favorite lines is in the second chorus. It goes, “Play a sad song backwards / And I’ll imagine you’re not gone / And try to forget when I woke up at 11:10 this morning / I was face down on the lawn.”

Jake Shears is out Aug. 10. It’s available for pre-order now in all the usual places.

Watch Jake Shears’ homemade video for “Sad Song Backwards” below:

Are you excited for “Sad Song Backwards” and the rest of the new Jake Shears solo album? What other songs should get their own Jake Shears’ homemade video takes?

Featured image by Raphael Chatelain