What You're Doin' to Me

Album: Dig In Deep (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Bonnie Raitt sings here about the excitement of unexpected, late-life love. "'What You're Doin' To Me' is about having kinda given up on love and then when you least expect it, somebody comes in and blows the lid off it," she explained to TeamRock. "And that's very real, especially at this time of my life, and this age, with relationships that get stale."
  • The song's rollicking gospel groove is one of several penned by Raitt with her live audience in mind for Dig In Deep. "I was really wanting to play certain grooves that I wasn't playing live," she explained, "so I custom-wrote the songs so I could add them to the set."

    "One is that gospel song [What You're Doin' To Me]. I love playing piano – I don't do it that often – and I wanted to write a song that would really let the band kick it," Raitt continued "That was very deliberate. So I worked really hard. Y'know, I hadn't written in a long time and each one of those grooves and topics are things I wanted to cover."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.