Dammit Randy

Album: Postcards From Texas (2024)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In March 2023, Miranda Lambert announced she was leaving Sony Music Nashville after 19 years. Thirteen months later, she declared she had signed a joint deal with Republic Records and Big Loud, with the latter set to handle country radio promotion and marketing. "Dammit Randy" came from a conversation between Lambert and her producer, Jon Randall, the night before they went into the studio to make her first album for Republic.

    "We were talking about how excited we were to be starting this journey with a new label family and how supported we felt by them, which turned into chatting about situations where you might not feel so supported by someone - in this song's case, an unappreciative Randy," said Lambert. "So, this one's for anyone with a Randy they need to move on from."
  • The song is a sassy and confident take on moving on from a relationship. Lambert sings of a woman who has found closure. She imagines her ex-partner, "Randy," now regrets letting her go.
  • Miranda Lambert co-wrote "Dammit Randy" with Brendan McLoughlin, Audra Mae and Jon Randall. She co-produced it with Randall.

    Brendan McLoughlin is Lambert's husband, whom she wed in early 2019. A former police officer, he has starred in music videos for two of her songs: "Settling Down" and the Telemitry remix of "Tequila Does." This is his first songwriting credit.

    Oklahoma singer-songwriter Audra Mae did the original recording of Lambert's Platinum track "Little Red Wagon." She also co-wrote "Wranglers," Lambert's first single released through Republic Records.

    Jon Randall is one of Lambert's most frequent collaborators. He and Jack Ingram were her partners on The Marfa Tapes, a collection of stripped-down tunes they cooked up in a Texas town in 2021.
  • Brendan McLoughlin once joked to his wife about songwriting being easy, so Lambert and Nashville songwriter Jesse Frasure gave him a crash course, and to everyone's surprise, he proved to have a natural talent.

    Later, while Lambert and her co-producer Jon Randall were at her house working on Postcards From Texas, McLoughlin unexpectedly joined in with some songwriting ideas.

    "We were writing this song, and Brendan kept chiming in from the couch while watching football," Lambert recalled on Bunnie Xo's Dumb Blonde podcast. "I finally said, 'Are we doing this or not? Turn off the game if you're in.'"

    With that, McLoughlin grabbed a pen and jumped into the process, contributing some of the best lines in the song. The result was "Dammit Randy."

    When Lambert decided to include "Dammit Randy" on her Postcards From Texas album, she kept it a secret from McLoughlin until the track was finished. She surprised McLoughlin in the studio, and his reaction was priceless. "He won't say it, but he got a little misty-eyed," Lambert recalled. "He's like, 'You cut my song?!'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Boy Bands

Boy BandsFact or Fiction

From NKOTB to 1D, how well do you know your boy bands?

Brandi Carlile

Brandi CarlileSongwriter Interviews

As a 5-year-old, Brandi was writing lyrics to instrumental versions lullabies. She still puts her heart into her songs, including the one Elton John sings on.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"They're Playing My Song

Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?

Did They Really Sing In That Movie?Fact or Fiction

Bradley Cooper, Michael J. Fox, Rami Malek, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and George Clooney: Which actors really sang in their movies?