Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover

This is far from your typical pop song. It finds Hawkins yearning to set someone free and become that person's lover. A careful listen reveals that this person is a woman, and likely one who is being abused or neglected by a man. Hawkins, who wrote the song, sings about freeing her mind and easing her pain, and she makes it clear that her intentions are erotic. Most listeners didn't pick up on the same-sex relationship Hawkins was singing about, but to the LGBT audience, it was clear. This was a pretty big deal because it was the first hit song so explicitly dealing with lesbian love. Melissa Etheridge, who came out the year after this song was released, kept her songs gender-neutral, and it wasn't until 1994 when she had a hit where she sang about being in love with another woman ("I'm The Only One"). Hawkins, who has a large gay and lesbian following, describes her sexual orientation as "Omnisexual."

So who, specifically, is the song about? When Hawkins spoke with Songfacts in 2019, she said: "I'm going to be very honest with you. There may have been a person that triggered the feeling, but I feel strongly that the most meaningful teachings come from our child self somewhere back in time when we couldn't express these incredible feelings. When we finally start developing as artists we find a way to express them. So, 'Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover' truly is my anthem and I'm learning things about it all the time. Only as I grow do I grow into knowing why I wrote it. And so, while I want to say maybe somebody triggered the song, that person is irrelevant and long-forgotten."

In a rather feckless programing decision, MTV rejected the original version of the video on grounds of erotic content. This original clip was far leas controversial than many of Madonna's videos, but Hawkins didn't have the clout to fight it, so a more mainstream video was produced where she is fully dressed and performs the song with a band. A portion of the original video is featured in the documentary The Cream Will Rise, which was made during Hawkins' 1996 tour.