B-side "Wishin' Her Well" Format CD single Length 2:41 | Released January 9, 1995 Genre Country Label BNA | |
"What'll You Do About Me" is a country music song written by Dennis Linde. Originally recorded by McGuffey Lane then by Steve Earle in 1984, it has also been released as a single by The Forester Sisters and Doug Supernaw, the latter of whom took it to Top 20 on the Billboard country charts in early 1995.
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Content
"What'll You Do About Me" is an uptempo describing a stalker who is singing to his object of affection. Specifically, what initially began as a one-night stand between the narrator and the woman in question ultimately results in the narrator developing an obsessive behavior towards her that he shamelessly declares unstoppable regardless of any attempt on the woman's part to isolate herself from the narrator or to prevent his behavior from escalating.
Recording history
McGuffey Lane was the first artist or group to record the song in 1984 on their album Day by Day for Atlantic Records. Steve Earle was the second artist to record the song, doing so also in 1984, on Epic Records. Released as a single that year, Earle's rendition peaked at number 76 on the country charts. However, this version was not included on an album until 2005, when Koch Records included it on a reissue of the compilation album Early Tracks (1987). Other subsequent recordings of the song include John Schneider on his album Too Good to Stop Now (1984), Randy Travis on his album Always & Forever (1987), The Forester Sisters on their album I Got a Date (1992), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their album Not Fade Away (1992), and Doug Supernaw on his album Deep Thoughts from a Shallow Mind (1995). The Forester Sisters and Supernaw both released their versions as singles also. Supernaw's rendition was the highest-peaking of the three, peaking at number 16 on the U.S. country charts.
Reception
In his book Steve Earle: Fearless Heart, Outlaw Poet, author David McGee describes Earle's rendition as having "a hard country edge and snarling, borderline confrontational vocal." He compared it to Travis's recording, saying that his interpretation showed a "cool, maybe even slightly goofy would-be paramour[…]treating it as a humorous depiction of all-consuming love—no harm, no foul." In Richard Carlin's book Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary, the author says that since Supernaw's version was released while the O. J. Simpson trials were underway, the trials "offered a somewhat creepy parallel to the song, which seemed to be sympathetic toward the abusive man."
Doug Supernaw
"What'll You Do About Me" debuted at number 62 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of January 14, 1995.