WATCH: A musician shares the realities of domestic violence in new music video

This is an exclusive music video premiere, part of WBUR's effort to highlight New England musicians.

When Leesa Coyne heard about U.S. v. Rahimi, the Supreme Court case reminded her of a song she had put out in 2017 with her group Lonely Leesa and the Lost Cowboys.

The case is about whether restrictions on domestic abusers owning firearms should be lifted. The song “Stayed” was a searing autobiographical look back at a past relationship that had gone well beyond toxic before Coyne finally escaped it. She credits going to support meetings at Respond Inc. for helping her escape the stigma she had previously felt. “When I was in a relationship that was unsafe, I felt like I couldn't tell people about it, because what does it say about me that I stayed in that relationship? I felt like I was trying to protect both [the abuser’s] reputation and my reputation.”

The track first appeared as a B-side to the band’s debut “Reckless,” a far more light-hearted ode to a high school romance. In November, Coyne listened to Slate’s Amicus podcast and learned that the Supreme Court was considering a case that would give domestic abusers legal access to firearms. (The case is expected to be decided this spring.) While listening to the podcast, Coyne thought about the circumstances that inspired “Stayed.”

“In my situation, the person I was in an unhealthy relationship with had owned a lot of firearms in another state. I never got into the specifics, but he said that the permitting is so hard in Massachusetts that he didn’t want to own any guns here,” recalls Coyne. “I’m grateful that a situation that I was in was not made worse [with] that person having access to a firearm.”

Looking to raise awareness about the issue, Coyne created a video for the song, now known as “Stayed 2017.” When she’s not rocking local stages with her gorgeous voice and the scorching country-rock mix of the Lost Cowboys, who have a new album slated for later this year, Coyne runs a creative agency, so she could certainly make a slick video if she wanted to. Instead, she simply filmed herself with an iPhone — alone, bruised and naked in the shower.

“I don’t think I could have done that if there was someone else there filming me,” she says. Because she was looking so vulnerable, Coyne says she wasn’t even sure until she filmed herself if the video concept would work. “I showed it to some people who I wanted to be really hard on me. I have nothing but good intentions, but I’m putting out something to the world, and I don’t want to be insensitive. It can be triggering. How do I tell the story without retraumatizing people?”

Coyne reveals that her initial plan was to have a gun creep into the frame at the end of the song before deciding that “I just didn’t need to go that far — that just goes into a level of violence that I’m not comfortable with.”

This is not the only time Lonely Leesa and the Lost Cowboys have been outspoken. Right after the 2020 election, they released the politically charged “The Reckoning Is Here.” They have their love songs as well, but Coyne says “the climate is so hard right now — I feel like you have to speak up.”

Lonely Leesa and the Lost Cowboys play The Burren in Somerville on Friday, Jan. 26, with Other Brother Darryl. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Editor's Note: If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, use a safe computer and contact help. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.799.SAFE (7233), or visit thehotline.org.