Emma White’s ‘That’s Why I Drink’ Is a Different Kind of Drinking Song [Exclusive Premiere]
Emma White explores the need to escape in her new song "That's Why I Drink," premiering exclusively with Taste of Country.
In the honest track, the up-and-coming country singer, who was named to Taste of Country's Who's RISING Now? list in August 2019, reveals the many reasons she needs a break from reality, whether it's from watching the news to missing a loved one or reflecting on past decisions.
"That's why I drink / To get lost / To not think / To get gone / Get out of my head take off the edge for a little while / Not to get drunk / Just unwind and untangle my mind / I try to remember / I try to forget / That's why I drink," she sings over simplistic production of acoustic guitar and a piano that accents her soft vocals. "That's Why I Drink" is included on White's new EP The Actress, which is set for release on Friday (Sept. 20).
White co-wrote and co-produced the song, which touches on a personal topic for the singer. White shares that she witnessed the effects of addiction during her childhood, adopting the self-discipline to remove the habit from her own life.
"Growing up, I learned a lot about the more serious impacts of addiction and alcohol, and it's made me really sensitive to my own drinking habits. There was a time I was nervous that maybe I was leaning on it too much or making it too regular of a thing — something that had been a struggle in many generations of my own family," she explains. "Songs about drinking are a common theme in country music, but I wanted to write a 'drinking song' from a different perspective, and one that you don’t hear very often."
White broke into the mainstream country scene in 2019 with the release of her powerful song, "Ten Year Town." The rising star also joined forces with entrepreneur Jennifer Coyle in 2019 to launch her own female-focused label, Whitehouse Records.
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