Synopsis

Working behind the counter of a roadside diner, Imani Coppola drifts into a series of colorful fantasies. She imagines herself as a fearless cowgirl and biker, cruising through the desert on a three-wheeler, kissing a hitchhiking cowboy, and performing as a glamorous entertainer. The surreal daydreams also include a catsuit-clad, alien-like persona surrounded by dancing men in silver body paint. The video shifts between diner reality and Coppola's playful alter egos, turning the song's themes of independence and sexual freedom into a campy Western fantasy.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video's central concept grew from Coppola's idea for a movie about women who "love 'em and leave 'em and ride off into the sunset." The song and video preserve that larger fantasy in miniature.

• The clip helped push "Legend of a Cowgirl" into the mainstream, entering rotation on MTV, MTV2, and VH1 in October 1997.

• The video spent two weeks at No. 19 on Billboard's MTV Video Monitor.

• In 1998, it received a Billboard Music Video Award nomination for Best New Artist Clip: Pop. Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" ultimately won the category.

• Coppola later recalled that the sequence with the nearly naked, silver-painted male dancers was filmed in an especially cramped space, making the shoot awkward as well as visually provocative.

• The video's playful mixture of diner Americana, biker imagery, camp fashion, and surreal transformations matched the eclectic identity of Coppola's debut album, *Chupacabra*.