Lainey Wilson’s “Watermelon Moonshine” has been making its way up the country charts. And, it’s no surprise as the tune provides listeners with a catchy burst of nostalgia.
The song has been known to many as the 2023 version of Deana Carter’s ‘90s country classic “Strawberry Wine.” With both songs incorporating a dreamy melody and similar subject content, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the songs.
Lyric-wise, both tunes paint a picture of a young summer romance that blossoms into the memory of a first love between two coming-of-age kids. Adding another similarity, they share a connection between love and a beverage buzz, hence the titles of the tracks, “Watermelon Moonshine” and “Strawberry Wine.”
Since Wilson’s release of “Watermelon Moonshine,” fans have been buzzing about the striking similarities of the cuts and have requested for the Louisiana native to duet with Carter.
Now, it looks like Wilson and Carter are serving up a response!
Lainey Wilson Covers “Strawberry Wine”
Wilson recently took to TikTok to acknowledge fans’ requests, writing “A lot of y’all have been saying ‘Watermelon Moonshine’ is the modern-day ‘Strawberry Wine.’ So here’s a little a cappella mashup of both for your Friday.”
In the clip, Wilson captures the essence of both tunes, intertwining the lyrics of each, beginning with “Strawberry Wine.”
“Strawberry wine and seventeen / The hot July moon saw everything / My first taste of love, whoa-oh bittersweet / And green on the vine / Like strawberry wine,” Wilson croons before integrating into the lyrics of “Watermelon Moonshine.”“Drinkin’ watermelon moonshine / We cut the burn with a little lime / Parkin’ back in them kudzu vines / I was his and every bit of that boy was mine / Too young to know what love was / But we were learnin’ on a sweet buzz / There’s never nothin’ like the first time / And mine’s always gonna taste like / Watermelon moonshine.”
Deana Carter x Lainey Wilson Mashup
Not long after, Carter shared her own interpretation of the mashup, starting with Wilson’s song. She included the caption: “SO proud of my girl @laineywilsonmusic & per request, I am returning the #songswap with all the love in my heart!”
Catching wind of Carter’s clip, Wilson shared a reaction video. As Carter is seen performing snippets of the songs back-to-back in the clip below, Wilson can’t help but praise the singer calling her “The Queen” and a “Soul Sister” and adding, “Clearly, I was very inspired by ‘Strawberry Wine.’”
“Beautiful inside and out. That is Deana Carter for you right there, y’all. One of the most beautiful people I have ever met. Loves people, loves the lord,” Wilson added.
“Watermelon Moonshine,” which Wilson wrote alongside Jordan Schmidt and Josh Kear, serves as the second single off her album, Bell Bottom Country, following “Heart Like A Truck,” which became her fourth consecutive number-one hit. Wilson’s other number-one hits include, “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell, “Wait in the Truck” with HARDY, and her breakout smash “Things A Man Oughta Know.”
Opening up about the writing process for “Watermelon Moonshine,” Wilson said in a press release: “‘Watermelon Moonshine’ is one of those songs where we sat down and really started talking about those little flings that we had growing up. Everybody I was writing the song with knew exactly that feeling we were talking about. I feel like there [are] so many people in life who have experienced that feeling.”
After wrapping up a tour with Luke Combs on July 29, Lainey Wilson will join Eric Church as a supporting act on select dates of his The Outsiders Revival Tour. After that, she’ll hit the road again for HARDY’s arena tour.
