Synopsis

"Weird Al" Yankovic turns the solemn imagery of "Gangsta's Paradise" into a deadpan portrait of rural Amish life. Dressed in traditional clothing and sporting oversized glasses, he sings about chores, faith, modest living, and the hazards of farm work while the video recreates the original's dramatic visual style. Florence Henderson appears as a stern teacher, while Al and his fellow villagers perform chores, tend animals, and endure slapstick mishaps. The closing sequence reverses the action, sending people, animals, and objects backward across the farm.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in Southern California rather than Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Transporting the cast and crew to Pennsylvania was considered too expensive.

• Many of the Amish villagers and background performers were Yankovic's own relatives, including his parents, Nick and Mary Yankovic.

• Florence Henderson plays LouAnne Johnson, the teacher character portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in the film "Dangerous Minds," which is referenced by the original "Gangsta's Paradise" video.

• The backward finale required Yankovic to memorize the chorus phonetically in reverse and perform it over a backward recording. He also had to walk backward through a field while live farm animals were expected to hit their marks.

• Yankovic said the animals were more difficult to manage than the reversed singing. The production team reportedly worried that the complicated shot would not work.

• The falling-house sequence pays homage to Buster Keaton's famous stunt work. Yankovic later described filming the steel-reinforced frame gag as one of the most frightening stunts he had attempted.

• Yankovic did not know about The Pharcyde's backward music video until after "Amish Paradise" had been completed. He had hoped to be the first artist to use the technique in a music video.

• The song became one of Yankovic's biggest commercial successes, reaching No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1996.

• The parody caused a public dispute with Coolio, who initially said he had not approved it. Coolio later admitted that objecting to the song had been a mistake and praised Yankovic's work.