Miranda Lambert’s Husband Got Emotional Hearing Their Co-Written Song, “Dammit Randy”

Miranda Lambert is gearing up to release her new album Postcards From Texas with a brand new label. After leaving her longtime label, Sony, last year, Miranda has now signed with Republic Records. She returned to her Texas roots to co-produce the record alongside Jon Randall, recording all the tracks at the legendary Arlyn Recording Studios in Austin.

Describing it as “honky tonk as hell,” Miranda believes this could potentially be one of her best albums yet. Many of the songs were penned with frequent collaborators like Luke Dick, Jack Ingram, and Natalie Hemby. But among the tracks is a unique addition: her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, co-wrote one of the singles called “Dammit Randy.”

When the writing credits for “Dammit Randy” were first revealed, seeing Brendan’s name came as a surprise. On a recent episode of Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast, Miranda shared the story behind the collaboration.

“My husband got his first cut on any record ever,” Miranda began, clarifying that Brendan, though a retired police officer, has never been a songwriter. One day, Brendan was bantering with her co-writer, Jesse Frasure, proclaiming that writing wasn’t hard. Jesse took this as a challenge and made Brendan join a writing session.

“He made Brendan sit there, fresh off the golf course in his golf outfit, and write with us for about four and a half hours. By the end, Brendan realized it’s actually really tough,” Miranda recounted.

However, this was just the beginning of Brendan’s songwriting efforts. Later, during a session at Miranda’s house with Jon Randall—one that included some pre-production tequila—the idea for “Dammit Randy” was born. Inspired by her feelings about leaving Sony, Miranda and Jon started writing. Brendan, meanwhile, was watching a football game and began contributing.

“We started writing, and Brendan kept chiming in. At one point, I told him he needed to turn the game off and join us fully. He ended up writing some of the greatest lines in the song,” Miranda shared proudly. She added that the song’s context was something Brendan was familiar with, having heard her frustrations about the situation.

Brendan’s involvement turned out to be quite special. “He’s super excited about it,” Miranda said. When she first played the finished song for him, he got misty-eyed. “He couldn’t believe we actually cut his song. It’s now one of my favorites on the record.”

Being part of the creative process was a touching moment for Brendan, and it’s a testament to how natural and organic their collaboration was. Miranda has expressed hope that maybe he has a future in songwriting.

Miranda’s new album, Postcards from Texas, features a tracklist that promises to resonate with fans. Here’s a glimpse:

• “Armadillo” (Aaron Raitiere, Jon Decious, Parker Twomey)
• “Dammit Randy” (Miranda Lambert, Brendan McLoughlin, Jon Randall)
• “Looking Back on Luckenbach” (Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally, Natalie Hemby)
• “Santa Fe” feat. Parker McCollum (Miranda Lambert, Jesse Frasure, Jessie Jo Dillon, Dean Dillon)
• “January Heart” (Brent Cobb, Neil Medley)
• “Wranglers” (Audra Mae, Evan McKeever, Ryan Carpenter)
• “Run” (Miranda Lambert)
• “Alimony” (Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnally)
• “I Hate Love Songs” (Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, Jon Randall)
• “No Man’s Land” (Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick)
• “Bitch On The Sauce (Just Drunk)” (Miranda Lambert, Jaren Johnston)
• “Way Too Good At Breaking My Heart” (Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Jesse Frasure, Jenee Fleenor)
• “Wildfire” (Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, Jon Randall)
• “Living On The Run” (David Allen Coe, Jimmy L. Howard)

Source: Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde podcast, Republic Records