Cody Johnson’s ‘The Painter’ Was ‘Stripped Down’

Cody Johnson's "The Painter" video is one of six CMT Music Videos of the Year nominees and could take the top prize at this weekend's (4/7) CMT Music awards.

Cody after his 2023 CMT Music Award win.
Photo - Emma McIntyre

Cody told us in a recent interview that there was more to the song than what people hear today. He revealed, "It was very complex. I will say this. Trent Wilmon, my engineer, and I, Jack Clark. We had 'ooos' and 'aahs' and too much of this, and we had three guitars on there, and then the more we listened to it in editing, I'm going 'Take that out. Take that out. OK. Now let's strip this down.'"

He continued, "And finally, Trent and Jack, we're like, 'Look, are you just wanting a more stripped-down version of this?' I said, 'Yes.' Simple. A guy standing there with his guitar and his band behind. But you know, you leave little things like the violins really make it. It has depth."

Johnson concluded, "You've got that that resonator finger picking thing that reminds me of like, Robert Earl Keen 'Feeling Good Again' or 'Gentle On My Mind' by Glen Campbell. It's got that rolling beat to it. And I think that that's what makes it so dynamic is the simplicity of it."

Cody and Jelly Roll are good buddies and have a song together on Cody's latest album, Leather, called "Whiskey Bent."

Photo - Chris Douglas

Johnson told us in a recent interview that he and Jelly are close and have some real similarities. He said, "I've said this in a few interviews over the last six months: Jelly's Roll face tattoos are as authentic as this cowboy hat. That's him unapologetic."

He continued, "One of the first times I came to Nashville, they said I could have a record deal if I ditched the cowboy hat; that's something I live in every day. Last night, we were on the ranch breaking new cattle and training. I mean, it's something that I do."

Something Jelly Roll told Cody when they met sticks with the real Texas cowboy. He told us, "Jelly Roll wears his walk on his face for everyone to see, and I wear this hat unapologetically. When we met, we just hit it off, and we both recognized what was real. He told me one of the very first times that I met him, 'I modeled my career after you.' He said, 'I wanted to stay indecent because I wanted to be myself. I didn't want anybody to change me.' He said, 'I wanted to go through the ups and downs and the hardships of trying to do it on your own the way you did it.' He said, 'Because I feel like it instills more of an appreciation.'"

Cody Johnson is well on his way to becoming one of country music's bigges stars. The former rodeo star, who now sells out arenas with high-action music concerts, is an award favorite at the CMA and ACMs.

Johnson makes sure he always leaves the audience with a memorable performance when it comes to taking the stage, whether at one of his concerts or an awards show. He told us, "Leave nothing behind. We play this show like it's the last show we're ever going to play. This is the show we get remembered for. I hit the stage with the exact same mentality and the exact same intensity every single night because we're not guaranteed tomorrow, so it's like you gotta go out there, and you gotta play it like it's the last one. You gotta play it with the same intensity as if you're never going to get to do it again."

Cody added, "Now, after the fact, we can be like, 'Man, that was cool,' but when you're in the moment… you're like, leave no doubt, leave nothing behind, make sure they remember your name."

Jan. 19 -- Sacramento, Calif. @ Golden 1 Center
Jan. 20 -- Anaheim, Calif. @ Honda Center
Jan. 26 -- San Diego, Calif. @ Pechanga Arena
Jan. 27 -- Glendale, Ariz. @ Desert Diamond Arena
Feb. 2 -- Nashville, Tenn. @ Bridgestone Arena
Feb. 9 -- Wichita, Kan. @ Intrust Bank Arena
Feb. 10 -- N. Little Rock, Ark. @ Simmons Bank Arena
Feb. 16 -- Sunrise, Fla. @ Amerant Bank Arena
Feb. 17 -- Jacksonville, Fla. @ Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena
March 16 -- Birmingham, Ala. @ Legacy Arena @ BJCC
June 1 -- Panama City Beach, Fla. @ Gulf Coast Jam
June 14 -- N. Lawrence, Ohio @ The Country Fest
July 11 -- Ft. Loramie, Ohio @ Country Concert @ Hickory Hills Lakes

As he gears up to hit the road this weekend (1/19), we take a look at four amazing music videos.

This is Cody's first song released under the Warner Brothers record label in Nashville. Although he did not write this song, Johnson says the song reflects on his many hardships and heartbreaks en route to finding the girl he's meant to be with forever. The lyrics of the song's chorus include: "All the stars I've seen / All the songs I've sung / All the beers I've drank / All the damage done / I was just passin' time / Kinda just passin' through / On my way to you."

This music video includes scenes of "fishing excursions, classic-car rebuilding sessions, family dinners" interspersed with footage of Johnson delivering a fiery solo performance of the song. He said of the video, "I love the storyline in the video. You think it's going in one direction, and then suddenly, you are surprised at the turn of events. When they sent me the rough edit of the video, it was so powerful and brought tears to my eyes. It put into perspective the song that I had been singing for months."

The song won the Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year and Video of the Year at the 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards in 2022.

Johnson wrote the song as a very personal tribute to his previous career in bull riding, which struck a chord with Reba McEntire, who grew up on a family ranch competing in barrel racing.

Reba said, "It was a thrill to sing 'Dear Rodeo' with Cody because we're both from the rodeo world. I grew up in a rodeo family; I'm a third-generation rodeo brat. So the song means a lot to me because I did leave rodeo to be in the country music business. I sure miss it."

Cody added, "The story behind 'Dear Rodeo' is more a story about life and less about rodeo. I feel like everybody has their own 'Dear Rodeo' story, and when I found out that Reba was impacted by this song enough to want to do a duet, it was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done in my career."

This music video shows the former bull rider riding horses and also scenes of him playing live in concert. It also shows video clips of Johnson roping cattle in a rodeo arena setting. Cody said that "Human" is his most autobiographical song to date.