For my money, Tornado is a perfect video. It’s visual, it doesn’t distract from the song, and it interprets the song in a way that feels true.

It starts out as pretty standard video-fare. The four members of Little Big Town are striding with purpose through a burned-out small southern town. The wind is blowing, the residents are restless. The Tornado is coming; and the tornado is Karen Fairchild, the lead vocalist on the song.

Three quarters of the way through the video it becomes clear who she’s coming after–a man who did her wrong by making her just another notch on his belt. The man has a fistful of necklaces in his cheating hand–one from each of his conquests.

When Karen and the rest of Little Big Town arrive, the man is afraid and the tension crackles. What are they going to do to him? How will he be punished? How is the tornado going to strike?

In the air, Karen wants only one thing from him–her necklace. She takes the mass of jewelry, takes back her necklace like she’s taking back her self-respect, and leaves him lying on the ground.

I love that imagery, those metaphors. I never hear this song without thinking of that moment. Revenge, as is often said, is a dish best served cold.