MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT

Female Country Vocal | Sassy Honky-Tonk | Upbeat, Flirtatious

Performed by Debbie “Hayride” Harper & The Prairie Songbirds

Verse 1

You used to take the wrong road,
Come home at the wrong time.
Say all the wrong things,
Then swear that you were right.
But last night you brought me roses,
And you turned down the TV.
Said, “Honey, I was wrong,”
I said, “Who are you, and where’s he?”

Chorus

You must be doing something right,
‘Cause I ain’t mad at you tonight.
You said the right words, held me tight,
And kissed me till the morning light.

I thought I’d found another Mr. Wrong,
But you proved me wrong last night.
I don’t know what got into you,
But you must be doing something right.

Verse 2

You got up on the right side,
Of the bed you almost lost.
Finally learned that saying sorry
Doesn’t cost a thing, boss.
You put your boots where they belong,
And your arms around my waist.
You’ve got your heart in the right place,
And your hands in the right place.

Chorus

You must be doing something right,
‘Cause I ain’t mad at you tonight.
You said the right words, held me tight,
And kissed me till the morning light.

I thought I’d found another Mr. Wrong,
But you proved me wrong last night.
I don’t know what got into you,
But you must be doing something right.

Bridge

They say two wrongs don’t make a right,
And Lord, you’ve made a few.
But every wrong turn down that road
Still brought me home to you.
You finally learned the secret,
And it didn’t take all night.
Sometimes all a woman wants
Is to hear, “Honey, you’re right.”

Final Chorus

You must be doing something right,
‘Cause I’m still smiling here tonight.
You’ve got your arms around me tight,
And everything is feeling right.

I thought I’d found another Mr. Wrong,
But you proved me wrong last night.
Whatever it is you’re doing, boy,
Keep doing something right!

Spoken Outro

[Band stops.]

“You know, honey, there’s something I’ve always wanted to hear you say.”

[He says: “You’re right.”]

[She laughs.]

“See? You’re getting better already.”

[Fiddle flourish. Pedal steel finish.]

Music and Lyrics by Alan Nafzger

MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT

A Cowgirl’s Tale of a Stubborn Cowboy Who Finally Learned the Difference Between Right and Wrong

Texas Cowboy Poetry | Romance, Western Humor, Marriage, and a Little Honky-Tonk Wisdom

Alan Nafzger (1979)

I married me a cowboy,
With a Stetson and a smile,
Who could rope a steer in seconds,
But could argue for a mile.

He knew the price of cattle,
Knew the weather and the rain,
But when it came to understanding women,
That boy was short a brain.

He always took the wrong road,
Came home at the wrong time,
Said everything a man shouldn’t say,
Then swore that he was fine.

He’d leave his boots beneath the table,
Throw his hat upon my chair,
Then wonder why his loving wife
Was giving him a stare.

Now, I ain’t some fragile flower,
I was raised beneath these skies.
I can ride a horse and shoot a snake,
And recognize a lie.

I’ve mended fences in the winter,
I’ve hauled the summer hay,
And I’ve learned a man can talk all night
With nothing much to say.

That cowboy had opinions
About everything on earth.
And the more he didn’t know about,
The more those thoughts were worth.

He could tell you how to run the ranch,
How to fix the government, too.
But ask him where his dirty socks belonged,
He didn’t have a clue.

He’d say, “Now, honey, listen,”
Whenever we disagreed.
And then he’d give a lecture
On the things he thought I’d need.

He’d explain the way a tractor works,
Or how the cattle feed,
And I’d remind him I’d been doing both
Since nineteen ninety-three.

But love is mighty stubborn,
And sometimes so are wives.
We put up with a lot of foolishness
To keep a dream alive.

I’d seen him through the drought years,
Through broken gates and snow,
Through every promise that he’d made
And every debt we’d owed.

And though I loved that cowboy,
With his laughter and his charm,
I sometimes thought his greatest gift
Was leaning on the barn.

Then something strange occurred one night,
About a week ago.
A thing so rare in married life,
I thought the world might blow.

He came home before supper,
With a dozen roses red.
He took his boots off at the door,
And here’s the thing he said:

“Honey, I’ve been thinking,
And I reckon I was wrong.”
Well, I nearly dropped the skillet
I’d been holding all along.

I looked him up and down real slow,
From his collar to his boots.
I wondered if he’d caught a fever,
Or been eating funny roots.

“Who are you?” I finally asked,
“And where’s the man I wed?
Did somebody hit you with a shovel,
Or did a mule kick you in the head?”

He just grinned and kissed my cheek,
Then pulled me to his side.
Said, “I’ve been acting like a fool,
And I’m ashamed of all my pride.”

Well, mercy, what a moment!
What a sight beneath the sun!
A cowboy had admitted he was wrong,
And nobody had pulled a gun.

He turned off that old television,
Set his coffee on the shelf.
And for the first time in our marriage,
He talked about somebody besides himself.

He asked me how my day had gone,
And listened while I spoke.
He didn’t offer one solution,
Didn’t interrupt or joke.

He even washed the supper dishes,
Put the plates where they belong.
And I stood there at the kitchen door
Wondering what else might be wrong.

He folded up his dirty clothes,
He swept the kitchen floor.
He kissed me underneath the porch light,
And then he kissed me more.

Now, kisses ain’t a new invention,
And romance ain’t a crime.
But after twenty years of marriage,
A girl appreciates the time.

He held me close beneath the stars,
While the crickets sang their tune.
And the way that cowboy looked at me
Put a little magic in the moon.

He said my hair was beautiful,
My eyes were shining bright.
I said, “You’re laying it on pretty thick,
But I ain’t complaining tonight.”

He said he loved my laughter,
Loved my stubborn Texas ways.
And he wished he’d spent more evenings
Giving me the kind of praise.

I told him I’d been waiting
For those words a year or two.
He said, “I know, and I’m sorry.”
I said, “Well, look at you!”

He didn’t try to argue,
Didn’t blame the rain or heat.
Didn’t say that I misunderstood,
Or shuffle to his feet.

He simply put his arms around me,
And held me good and tight.
And I thought, for once in twenty years,
That man is doing something right.

Now, ladies, I can tell you,
There’s a secret men should know.
It doesn’t take a fortune
To make a woman’s loving grow.

It ain’t a diamond bracelet,
Or a brand-new Cadillac.
It ain’t a fancy vacation,
Or a saddle on a rack.

It’s knowing when to listen,
And knowing when to speak.
It’s noticing your woman
More than twice a blessed week.

It’s taking out the garbage
Without announcing what you’ve done.
It’s admitting when you’re foolish,
And remembering love is fun.

It’s showing up when needed,
It’s keeping promises you’ve made.
It’s bringing home some flowers
Without asking to be paid.

And sometimes it’s a quiet kiss
Beneath a Texas sky,
A hand around a woman’s waist,
And a twinkle in your eye.

Now, I don’t expect perfection,
And I ain’t perfect, too.
I’ve had my share of stubborn days,
And a temper that can brew.

I’ve been wrong about the weather,
Wrong about a horse or two.
Wrong about the price of hay,
And wrong about what folks might do.

But the biggest wrong I ever made
Was thinking he’d never change.
That the man I loved would always be
A fool upon the range.

For all those years I’d called him wrong,
And every time we’d fight,
I’d say, “That man’s a hopeless case,
He’ll never get it right.”

But something in him softened,
Something finally came around.
And a better kind of cowboy
Was the fellow that I’d found.

Now, last Sunday after church,
Some girlfriends gathered near.
They asked me why I looked so pleased,
And what had happened here.

I told them about the roses,
About the dishes and the floor,
About the cowboy who’d discovered
What a woman’s heart is for.

One lady said, “That’s wonderful!”
Another said, “Beware!
A man don’t change without a reason,
You’d better check his share.”

One suggested he’d gone crazy,
One suspected he’d been drinking.
One said, “Maybe he’s been reading books,
Or finally started thinking.”

I told them, “Girls, I don’t know why,
And I ain’t about to pry.
But when a cowboy starts behaving right,
I don’t need to ask him why.”

Of course, I ain’t completely foolish,
And I wasn’t born last spring.
One night of doing everything right
Don’t guarantee a thing.

A man can bring you roses,
Then forget you by next week.
A man can make a promise
That he never means to keep.

So I watched that cowboy carefully,
As the days went rolling by.
Waiting for the old excuses,
Or another little lie.

But Monday he was thoughtful,
And Tuesday he was kind.
By Wednesday I was wondering
If he’d completely lost his mind.

On Thursday he cooked supper,
And Friday swept the hall.
By Saturday I was certain
He’d become another man altogether.

He still forgot his reading glasses,
Still misplaced the truck’s spare key.
Still told those awful cowboy jokes
That weren’t that funny to me.

He still complained about the weather,
Still argued with the dog.
Still claimed he saw a mountain lion
When it turned out to be a log.

But he learned that love ain’t winning,
Or keeping some old score.
It’s knowing when your woman needs
A little something more.

And I learned something in return,
As we traveled down life’s track:
When a man makes an honest effort,
You ought to give some loving back.

So now when evening settles,
And the cattle have been fed,
That cowboy comes and finds me
Instead of wandering off to bed.

He’ll pull me close and kiss me,
And he’ll ask about my day.
And sometimes we sit together
With nothing much to say.

Because silence can be peaceful,
When two hearts understand.
And love can feel brand-new again
With just a gentle hand.

Now, folks may call it foolish,
Or say I’m easily pleased.
But after years of married life,
A little kindness is a breeze.

And when that cowboy holds me,
Beneath the stars so bright,
I forget the times he got it wrong
And remember what feels right.

I used to think I’d married
The wrong man for the job.
A fellow who could ride all day
But couldn’t turn a knob.

But lately I’ve been smiling
At the things that man can do.
And every time he proves me wrong,
I’m glad my judgment wasn’t true.

He may not be a perfect man,
He may still make me mad.
But there’s a whole lot more to loving
Than remembering the bad.

So here’s to all the cowboys
Who finally understand:
A woman’s love is something earned,
Not something you demand.

And here’s to all the cowgirls
Who’ve been patient through the years.
Who’ve learned that love takes laughter,
And occasionally a few tears.

Now, yesterday he asked me,
As we watched the evening light,
“Honey, tell me something.
Am I finally doing right?”

I looked at that old cowboy,
With his weather-beaten face,
And remembered all the years we’d shared,
The hardships and the grace.

I said, “You used to do things backward,
And get everything confused.
You used to win the arguments,
But leave us both bruised.

“You took the wrong road home at night,
And said the wrong things, too.
And every time I needed help,
There was something else to do.

“But lately you’ve been different,
And I’m not inclined to fight.
I don’t know what has gotten into you,
But you must be doing something right.”

He smiled and pulled me closer,
Then whispered in my ear,
“There’s something that I’ve learned, my love,
After all these married years.”

I asked him what he’d learned at last,
What wisdom he’d acquired.
He said, “When I tell you that you’re right,
I get everything I desire.”

I laughed and shook my head at him,
Then kissed that foolish man.
For a cowboy who had been so wrong,
He finally had a plan.

And here’s the strangest thing of all,
Beneath that Texas blue:
I thought I’d married Mr. Wrong,
But Mr. Wrong came through.

He learned to say, “I’m sorry,”
He learned to hold me tight.
And though he spent a lifetime wrong,
He’s looking mighty right tonight.

For once, I hope I’m wrong about him,
And that suits me just fine.
‘Cause if that cowboy keeps on proving me wrong,
He’s gonna be right for a mighty long time.

Last Updated on October 24, 2026 by Alan Nafzger