Ellie Goulding Drops A Video For Her Cover Of Joni Mitchell’s “River”

Mike Wass | December 4, 2019 2:46 pm
Ellie Goulding's 'Hate Me'
The UK pop star teams up with Juice Wrld for a new banger called 'Hate Me.'

Ellie Goulding’s long-awaited 4th LP didn’t arrive in 2019, but she made her presence felt with the Juice Wrld-assisted “Hate Me” (her 14th entry on the Billboard Hot 100) and a lovely, stripped-back cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” The latter, which was released as an Amazon Music exclusive in November, now gets a subdued — but still slightly festive — video. In it, the UK pop star cleans up a river with her friends and uses found objects to make an environmentally friendly Christmas tree.

“I have always loved Joni Mitchell, she was one of the first female artists that made me want to be a singer,” Ellie says of her faithful cover. “She is one of the greatest songwriters of all time and I just truly hope that I have done this song some justice. Shooting the video in Dungeness was beautiful but a timely reminder that every single piece of plastic ever made is still on this planet. Plastic stuff is everywhere and our coastlines are suffering horrendously.”

The UN Global Ambassador used to video to highlight the dangers of plastic to our oceans and waterways, and suggest a partial solution. “It’s a material that will last for hundreds of years so we need to have a plan,” Ellie continues. “We wanted to show something different and to incorporate a different type of Christmas message while creating something reusable and beautiful — I’m so happy that it will live on at the Village Prep School, hopefully visiting many more schools to come.” Watch below.

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