Carrie Underwood Channels ‘Wizard of Oz’ in Chilling New ‘Blown Away’ Video

Carrie Underwood‘s stormy video for ‘Blown Away‘ finds the country superstar playing two roles. She portrays her character as both a teenager and as an adult, and borrows a bit from the theme of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ when she’s caught up in a tornado.

The flashback scenes are told in black and white, where we meet a teenage Carrie doing her homework at the kitchen table and trying to avoid her father, who spikes his coffee cup with an alcoholic beverage. She tries to ignore him when he probes her with questions, prompting him to grab her arm and remind him just who he is. Clearly, their relationship is not a loving and supportive one.

Fast-forward to sequences of a violent and stormy sky punctuated by thunder and lightning. There, we find an adult Carrie, now walking down a yellow brick road. She returns home and revisits the past, trying desperately at one point to wake her father up. But he’s passed out on the couch, seemingly unreachable. Is that her way of trying to save him from himself as the house crumbles, both literally and figuratively? Perhaps.

Every window gets shattered while bricks and boards are blown away. The old house takes a beating, reminding us that only when we totally destroy something are we free to rebuild. With rain falling on her as she lies on her back on a battered mattress, Underwood still stuns with smudged, smoky eyes. She’s a picture of alternating strength and vulnerability here.

Overall, the ‘Blown Away’ video is a somber one, thanks to the heavy and provocative lyrical subject matter of the song, also the title track of Underwood’s new album. It ends with blinding light and an obscured image of the singer. Again, sending the message that we can only step into the light once we’ve fully experienced the dark. That’s the theme of ‘Blown Away.’

Other ‘Oz’ references? Red shoes, a plaid shirt and a dog.

Watch the Carrie Underwood ‘Blown Away’ Video