SPOTLIGHT: The History of the ‘Two of Hearts’ [ESSAY]

Editor's Note: Sabine McCalla, whose debut LP Don’t Call Me Baby came out November 7 via Gar Hole Records, is No Depression's Spotlight Artist for November 2025. Check out the feature profile about her here and the exclusive, acoustic version of this song here.

Sometimes I think about us trying to find our one true love, over and over. Like, if we are reincarnated, do we look for people with the same birthdate? A friend’s mother, unintentionally, married three different men, all with the same birthday! And certainly, she’s one in a million.

Nowadays, with everyone knowing each other’s horoscopes we might run away when we find out when someone’s birthday is. But then again, some of my longest relationships have been with people who have had birthdays close to each other. And I’ve spoken to other people with similar experiences. If we’re all longing for our number twos, are we picking the same person again and again? 

Surely, some people like variety. And then others want more than two! They want three, four or more. How many partners of twos are in the deck? How many twos make you happy? 

Love has always been a funny thing to hold onto for me. I can laugh about the quake it made, hold it in contempt, or think longingly of yesteryears. I think my record, Don’t Call Me Baby explores a lot of these nuanced feelings and various relationships.