“Cuts Like a Knife” by Bryan Adams

The phrase cuts like a knife is an idiom used which generally alludes to someone experiencing a sharp pain. In this case said pain would be of the emotional variety, and the victim of it is the singer himself. The reason he is so devastated, at least initially, is because his significant other has moved on to someone new. Yes, he acknowledges that their relationship had its issues. But more to the point is that he does in fact have feelings for her, and her decision to do so has caught him off-guard. 

But conclusively, he goes on to assert that the  overall situation “feels so right”. So at the end of the day, Bryan has apparently made peace with the fact that the relationship is over, despite simultaneously suffering from a sort of heartbreak.

When did Bryan Adams release “Cuts Like a Knife”?

This song is the title track of the album Bryan dropped, via A&M Records, on 18 January 1983.  The success of the tune proved it to be what can be considered as Bryan Adams’ breakthrough song. And why? The track made it onto the top 20 of both the Billboard Hot 100 and Bryan’s native Canada Top Singles, in addition to charting in Australia.

Writing and Production of “Cuts Like a Knife”

And all of this success for a song which has a peculiar origin. It originated from Bryan Adams mumbling an indecipherable phrase which the track’s other co-writer, Jim Vallance, luckily caught on tape. And from it they were able to derive a phrase that “sounded like cuts like a knife”, which they based the lyrics on.

Bryan Adams also co-produced this song and in that regard worked alongside Bob Clearmountain.

Music Video

The music video to the song was directed by Steve Barron and features an adult model by the name of Raquel Pena. Interesting to note is that when “Cuts Like a Knife” (the album) went Platinum (which it did in both Canada and the US), Adams used the same venue the video was shot in – that being an abandoned swimming pool – to host his celebration party.