Synopsis

Fran Healy plays a school photographer preparing to take a class picture on what appears to be a perfect day. As the students and teachers gather outside, the rest of Travis join the lineup. Healy activates the camera's timer and rushes into position, but the sky suddenly opens. The pupils flee for shelter while the band remains seated, continuing to perform as heavy rain pours over them. The simple setup turns the song's ideas of drifting and emotional disconnection into a melancholy, comic image.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed at St Philomena's Catholic High School for Girls in Carshalton, Surrey.

• The rainstorm gives the clip a visual connection to Travis' recurring weather imagery, though the video's central joke is that the pupils escape while the band simply accepts being left exposed.

• "Driftwood" was released as the second single from The Man Who in May 1999. It reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, making it Travis' biggest hit to that point.

• Fran Healy said the song's chorus was inspired by an episode of Cheers in which an employee overhears a boss describing unwanted workers as "driftwood."

• The lyric originally referred to "caterpillars turning to butterflies," but the wording was shortened to "pillars turn to butter" to fit the melody.