You've heard the phrase, "double-edged sword" before, right? The concept that something's strength can easily be counterbalanced as its weakness. Or that the very thing that can help you can hurt you in equal ways. Newcomer Rachel Wammack's stunning debut single "Damage" puts a new twist on the concept. And it's bound to hit home for a lot of folks.
"I'm a bartender — best friend pretender," Wammack sings on the opening line. A subtle bed of piano (Wammack's first instrument) and acoustic guitar underscores her gentle, earthy tone.
"I make drinks to help forget and help remember." And there's her first use of the "double-edged sword" concept. Her role serving drinks can have opposite reactions for people seeking opposite ends. And sometimes you don't get the desired outcome — a theme many country songs explore.
The singer-songwriter uses that scene to eventually launch the chorus, a gorgeously simplistic but powerful line. "Oh and love can do some damage," she sings.
Without spoiling it for you, the rest of the song contains several key lines and juxtapositions. Phrases like "from breaking up to making up" and "beautiful ruins" continually reinforce the concept she lays out in the opening lines. Hear the audio below. Be sure to listen to the entire song.
"Damage" is the type of single from a new artist that should absolutely floor people. A lot like Cam did with "Burning House" and Carly Pearce did with "Every Little Thing."
It's heading to the country radio airwaves, a treacherous landscape for a new female artist. But as folks continually discover music outside the antiquated platform, the best thing you can do for Rachel Wammack is to spread the word to your friends your own way.
It doesn't hurt that the country singer wrote "Damage" with Tom Douglas ("The House That Built Me" among many others) and David Hodges (Grammy-winning rock/pop/EDM writer and artist).
A Muscle Shoals, Alabama native, Wammack grew up around music. And there's a sense of that deep-rooted, classic sound in her debut, self-titled EP. She released Rachel Wammack via RCA Nashville on April 6, 2018. Dann Huff produced it.
Rachel Wammack 'Damage' Lyrics:
I'm a bartender
Best friend pretender
I make drinks to help forget and help remember
Beautiful humans
I am a student
And I've seen it from all sides winning and losing
Oh, love can do
Love can do
Love can do some damage
She was his first wife
She was his whole life
He whispers through the whiskey that I've got her eyes
And then the others
The cancer, the mother
And the prodigal just trying to find some shelter
Oh, love can do
Love can do
Love can do some damage
Oh, love can do
Love can do
Love can do some damage
I listen and I smile
The breaking up to making up to walking down the aisle
We try to manage
From the cradle to the grave
Getting lost and getting saved
Love's always been the same in any language
I'm a bartender
If you came in here
I'd pretend that I've forgotten to remember
All of the beauty
Beautiful ruins
And tonight I'll make a toast to me and you and
And all that love can do
Love can do
Love can do some damage
Oh, all that love can do
I still love you
And love can do some damage
Oh, some damage
