David Tucker arrives with his powerful new song, “Water it Down,” premiering exclusively with American Songwriter.
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Tucker is relieving himself of the weight he’s been carrying for part of his young adult life with the song that was born out of tragedy. For three years, Tucker was suffering from chronic neck and back pain that continuously worsened, and doctors were unsure of the root cause.
“For a long time, my life just kept going downhill and I felt myself being pulled away from pretty much everything I could do,” Tucker explains to American Songwriter, estimating that he saw at least 100 doctors in the span of three years.
His life took another tragic turn when he got into a near-death car accident when he struck another vehicle on the interstate going 85 miles per hour. Tucker miraculously remained conscious and was able to get out of the vehicle, which he calls a “blessing.” The accident led to a year-long recovery that involved constant surgeries and rehabilitation learning how to walk again. But a miracle came out of one of his darkest moments, as one of the doctors ran a rare blood test that discovered that Tucker had Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a chronic autoimmune disease that impacts the spine. Tucker now gets a monthly shot that’s returned him to health.
“Water it Down” is Tucker’s personal mission statement, getting the fire back in his soul as expressed through such lyrics as you gotta fight like hell when there’s fire in your bones / Burning like the devil’s got a hold of your soul / ‘cause he won’t let go. “It’s such a true song for me,” the Kentucky native expresses. “It was the first song that I had written after coming back from all my health stuff, my car accident. This is a song that I wanted people to hear and would be able to not have to hide or water the things down in their life.”
Tucker is singing from experience, knowing what it’s like to have to hide his chronic pain using pills and medications, as reflected in such lyrics as I’m under attack / take a couple pills / let the world go black.
“For about two full years prior to the accident, I completely watered things down, I completely hid things,” he remarks of his “biggest truth.” “It started to catch up with me and I could not do it anymore. I couldn’t hide it anymore, I couldn’t water it down anymore. It got to the point where I had to be open and honest.”
Tucker ultimately found the help he needed to heal, channeling this sense of overcoming directly into some of the most powerful lyrics in the song that anchor the chorus, ain’t no hidin’ when you’re in the den with the lions fighting / oh take it from somebody who knows / yeah I got way too close / to six feet under the ground / no you can’t water it down.
Raised as the son of a preacher, Tucker recalls learning about a Bible verse wherein Daniel was trapped in a lion’s den that Tucker uses as a metaphor for how he was feeling. “Ultimately, there was a time too where I truly thought that it may kill me with all the meds and pain pills and treatments and things that I was trying to do to stay out of pain–it felt like I was fighting a battle that I couldn’t win and I felt like it may end up taking my life,” he explains, following the advice his father instilled in him about never giving up when life gets tough. “When I was going through those and writing that song when you’re in the den with a lion fighting, it’s that sense of courage and strength behind you to keep going and to keep fighting.”
Tucker pairs the autobiographical song with an intense video that transports the viewer directly to the scene of the accident. Tucker makes one feel like they’re sitting in the driver’s seat with him, blood dripping down his face as he struggles to crawl out of the annihilated car in the dark of night. Intentional about wanting to tell the “whole story,” Tucker admits it was challenging to relive the terrifying incident, particularly when he was lying on his back on the roof of the upside-down truck while looking at the floorboard, with shots of pill bottles adding to the gravity of the situation.
“I remember laying in that moment, I looked out the windshield and it was busted and stuff everywhere,” Tucker recalls, saying that he feels “truly blessed I was able to retell the story.” “You could see the grass and I remember that split second, it was just like I was right there back in the truck… I want people to realize the tragedy of it and how traumatic it was.”
Tucker hopes that fans will be inspired by his story of resiliency and perseverance and apply those qualities to their own lives, knowing that they too can overcome the challenges life presents to them.
“The truth will set you free and that’s ultimately what helped me find healing,” Tucker proclaims. “The song was so true to me because I was a victim of withholding everything from people and it was so tough…I hope this song and video can help people come out of their shells and potentially be able to find the help that they need.
“Music has always been my way of coping,” he continues. “I really hope that people can take away they don’t have to water down their problems, the trials and things they’re facing in life, and they can let the truth set them free as well.”
“Water it Down” will be officially released on Friday (March 10).
Photo Credit: Doltyn Snedden/Courtesy of 117 Entertainment Group
