Richmond’s prolific songwriter Levi Douthit shares his new somber video for “Dog Song,” from his debut album, Lucky Pennies released March 26.
Douthit has been an integral part of Richmond’s underground punk community for several years, helming synth duties for Teenage Cenobite and recording projects for locals like True Body to Black Button. Douthit hails from a family of musicians who has had their roots in the city for decades – noted Virginia bluesman John Cephas gave lessons to his mother as a teenager while his father has been a producer since the 80s.
On “Dog Song” Douthit expands upon the folk influences his family instilled in him while offering up a tender yet sorrowful exploration on the childhood discovery of death.A descending acoustic guitar part opens the track as though a crisp fall breeze runs through each strum.
A violin-esque synth enters the fray joining Douthit’s airy vocals that sound as though he’s whispering directly into your ear. “Cause death is a natural fact, you’ve gone and passed but you’ll be back in this song to last,” Douthit sings with a quake in his voice.
The nostalgic turn of the clock comes to life in the track’s self-directed video, which is shot on film, capturing the orange fall laden memories from the perspective of Douthit’s dog.
“Since the song is about the loss of my childhood dog and seeing him being put down, I just transferred the visuals of somebody walking around their neighborhood to the point of view of the dog they’d be walking,” Douthit wrote in a statement. “Walking the dog is just one of those things that is routine but the video kind of reflects on how special it is in retrospect. The little things in life.”