Synopsis
A young girl leaves home with her mother after her parents' separation, beginning a road trip filled with uneasy silences and passing glimpses of life on the road. The journey moves through cold, gray weather and tense moments before gradually opening into brighter surroundings. The girl's perspective keeps the story intimate, while the Lumineers appear only briefly as street performers. By the end, she rolls down the car window and smiles, suggesting a small but meaningful sense of release and hope.
Factoids & Trivia
- The official narrative video was released in February 2013, several months after an earlier "Stubborn Love" tour video assembled from live and behind-the-scenes footage filmed during the band's 2012 Big Parade tour.
- The story was developed from a concept credited to Isaac Ravishankara and Stelth Ulvang. The production was made by Doomsday Entertainment.
- Talula Paulson plays the daughter, with Beth Lepley and Zack Kraus portraying her mother and father.
- The Lumineers are used sparingly in the narrative. Their brief appearance as street performers keeps the focus on the family story rather than turning the clip into a conventional performance video.
- The video's changing atmosphere mirrors the emotional movement of the journey: its early grayness and tension give way to warmer, brighter images as the girl begins to experience a sense of freedom.
- "Stubborn Love" was the second single from the band's self-titled debut album. The song became a major adult-alternative success in the United States, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's year-end Adult Alternative Songs chart for 2013.
- The band resisted pressure to shorten the song for Top 40 radio. That decision helped preserve the track's full, gradual build, which also gives the video room to unfold as a short road drama rather than a quick promotional vignette.