What She's Doing Now

Album: Ropin' The Wind (1991)
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Songfacts®:

  • Originally recorded by Crystal Gayle in 1989 as "What He's Doing Now," this ballad written by Brooks and Nashville songwriter Pat Alger follows the singer's tortured thoughts about an ex-lover.

    "'What She's Doing Now' was an idea I had a long, long time about a man wondering what a woman was doing," Brooks explained in the liner notes for the compilation album The Hits. "And it was very simple. What is she doing now? Is she hanging out the clothes? Is she running a business? Is she a mother? Is she married? Who is she with? When I told the idea to Pat Alger, he looked at me with a smile and said, 'I wonder if she knows what she's doing now to me?' When I heard that, the bumps went over my arms and the back of my neck, and I knew that he had something... It is a song that has crossed all boundaries and borders around the world. This has made me extremely happy because the greatest gift a writer can ask for is to relate to someone. I can't help but think that this song might relate to a lot of people."
  • This was Brooks' eighth #1 hit on the Country chart.
  • This is the third single from Brooks' landmark third album, Ropin The Wind, which also features the hit singles "The River" and "Shameless." After the enormous popularity of his previous album, No Fences, the follow-up debuted at #1 in America, making Brooks the first country performer to achieve the feat.
  • Gayle's version wasn't released as a single but was included on her 1990 album, Ain't Gonna Worry. She landed a minor hit on that release with "Never Ending Song Of Love."

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