"You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" is a song written and originally recorded by American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

artist

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

. It was released as a single in May 1966 via Decca Records. The song has since been regarded as one of Lynn's signature songs.

Background and reception

"You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" was recorded at the Columbia Recording Studio on November 15, 1965. Located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, the session was produced by renowned country music producer Owen Bradley. Three additional tracks were recorded during this session, including the single's B-side, "God Gave Me a Heart to Forgive" and Lynn's hit single " Dear Uncle Sam". "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" was based on a real life woman Lynn had met backstage before a concert. Lynn recounted in 2016 that the woman confided in Lynn about how another woman attempted to steal her husband from her. In response to her words, Lynn replied, "Honey, she ain't woman enough to take your man!" Following the conversation, Lynn went into her dressing room and wrote the song. "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" reached number two on the '' Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

survey in 1966. The song became her eighth top ten single on the country chart and her biggest hit up to that point. It was included on her 1966 studio album, '' You Ain't Woman Enough''.

Later versions

The song was performed by the Grateful Dead several times in 1973. Sung by female vocalist of the band,

Donna Jean Godchaux Donna Jean Thatcher Godchaux-MacKay (born August 22, 1947) is an American singer who was a member of the Grateful Dead from 1972 until 1979. Biography Donna Jean Thatcher was born in Florence, Alabama. Prior to 1970, she had worked as a sessi ...

, it was never played over its original play length and was kept from becoming one of their extended jams.

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloc ...

covered the song for her album '' Timeless''. The song has proved popular with southern soul artists with June Edwards (1968), Gloria Edwards (1978) and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

(1979) recording three well known versions. A comedic version of the song was recorded for the 2005 film ''

Be Cool ''Be Cool'' is a 2005 American crime- comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's 1999 novel of the same name and the sequel to Leonard's 1990 novel ''Get Shorty'' (itself adapted into a 1995 film of the same name) about mobster Chili Palmer's entra ...

'' by

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the develop ...

, with the full music video viewable on the DVD extras and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Hayley Williams, lead singer of rock band Paramore, has regularly performed the song while on tour; in 2010, Paramore recorded the song for the tribute album '' Coal Miner's Daughter: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn''. Also in 2010,

Lisa McHugh Lisa McHugh (born 16 August 1988) is a Scottish pop and country singer. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland to Irish parents. Her father is from Castlederg in County Tyrone and her mother is from Falcarragh, County Donegal. In June 2010 she mov ...

recorded the song for her album ''Old Fashioned Girl''. Lynn re-recorded the song as a duet with

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

for her final studio album '' Still Woman Enough'', released in 2021.

Track listings

;7" vinyl single * "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" – 2:11 * "God Gave Me a Heart to Forgive" – 2:54

Charts

Weekly charts

References

{{Loretta Lynn singles 1966 songs 1966 singles Decca Records singles Loretta Lynn songs Songs written by Loretta Lynn Song recordings produced by Owen Bradley