Singled Out: Salim Nourallah's Damage

By Editorial Staff | Published: Feb 09, 2026 10:38 AM EST

Award winning Texas based veteran musician Salim Nourallah recently released his new album "Nourallah" and to celebrate we asked him to tell us about the song "Damage". Here is the story:

It was my birthday, May 3, 2018. My father and I were on the way to our weekly lunch date at the Middle Eastern restaurant we frequented. My good friend, Dave Little, randomly texted, "Let's write a song! Send me a title." We pulled into Sababa, I texted Dave back, "Damage is fun!" then loaded my plate up with tabouli, falafel, hummus - you know, the standard Middle Eastern fare. My father chewed his food in what felt to me like super slow motion. Between bites he dryly declared in his heavily accented, baritone voice, "If I were to rate the worst buffet in Dallas, it would be Sababa." He was just resentful that I wouldn't go anywhere else with him.

We had a 20-minute drive back to dad's place. While en route, Dave messaged me. He had already written the "Damage is Fun" song and sent me a voice memo of his new creation. I listened in the car. Dad was almost completely deaf at this point, so he didn't even notice. I thought Dave's song was pretty good, but it wasn't quite what I envisioned when I threw out the title.

Now I found myself in a conundrum. I'd planned to visit my mother next, before needing to get to North Dallas to pick my daughter up from school. Mom had been in a memory care facility for several months. She still knew who we were, but she was in really bad shape. It was mega-depressing seeing her in the state she was in. Alzheimer's is the most brutal way to go. It's horrific. It didn't seem right or fair that a woman who spent her entire life in service to others was dealt this kind of hand. I could either suck it up and go see her, or head home and try to work on bringing another song to life. I chose the latter that day, maybe only giving myself permission because it was my birthday.

I raced home and ran upstairs to sit down with my guitar. I only had about 30 minutes. "Damage is you, damage is me, damage is fun, damage is cheap," were the first words I sang. It was as if I was tuning in to some distant radio station. With every minute, the song morphed more clearly into focus. In about 15 minutes, most of "Damage" was there. The last bit of the song I jotted down before I bolted out the door to go pick Miette up was, "We're all dancing in slow motion on a razor's edge."

My mother, Karen Nourallah, would be gone just over a week later.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here