Martha Spencer, ‘Left Behind’ Music Video [Exclusive Premiere]

Singer-songwriter Martha Spencer is premiering the music video for her song "Left Behind" exclusively for readers of The Boot. Press play above to watch.

Spencer's breathy soprano lends an ethereal vibe to "Left Behind," a quiet, slow-burning ballad with a vintage feel and classic instrumentation. It's a mournful track, almost a bluegrass-styled hymn, that explores the sadness of the things that we've left behind as the years pass.

"The current flows on, here and then it's gone / Those waters will never return," Spencer sings. "Things lost in life, we look but never find / And the cruel hands of time strike on."

Like all of the best songs, "Left Behind" comes from a place of deep personal grief for Spencer, who wrote the track as she was trying to process the loss of loved one. “I wrote "Left Behind" while trying to sort through what being in the world was like without them," Spencer tells The Boot. "It definitely came from a sad place, and took on an old-timey feel to it naturally, I think."

Produced by filmmaker Michelle Kowalski, the music video for "Left Behind" was filmed in various settings across Grayson County, Va., where Spencer grew up. It's a fittingly nostalgic setting for a track that's all about honoring and grieving the people, places and things that are no longer with us. "Even though the song came from a place of loss and grief, I think, when filming, I wanted to represent also things lost to time, like old houses, cars, places or loves," Spencer tells The Boot.

A native of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, Spencer infuses classic country, roots and bluegrass into her sound, thanks in large part to her Appalachian upbringing. As a kid, she joined her family's world-famous band, the Whitetop Mountain Band, in which she honed her vocal skills and started playing guitar, fiddle and bass. In 2018, she released her self-titled, full-length debut album.

Keep up with Spencer via her official website, and stay tuned for new music from this promising young voice in roots music.

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