About The Song
“Touch Your Woman” is a country song written and recorded by Dolly Parton. It was released on February 14, 1972, by RCA Victor as the only single from her ninth solo studio album of the same name. The album was released on March 6, 1972. The track runs 2 minutes and 40 seconds in length and was produced by Bob Ferguson. It was recorded on December 14, 1971, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee.
The song is a slow-tempo ballad. Its lyrics address a disagreement between partners and the resolution through physical and emotional reconnection, with the central refrain stating that to make things right one needs only to “touch your woman.” Parton wrote the song herself. In later commentary, including her 2020 book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, she described the composition as addressing a couple’s relationship after conflict, emphasizing reconciliation and continued connection.
The single debuted at number 66 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated March 11, 1972. It peaked at number 6 on the chart dated April 29, 1972, in its eighth week on the chart. The song remained on the Hot Country Songs chart for a total of 14 weeks. It also reached number 8 on the Cash Box Country Singles chart and number 28 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada. The B-side of the original RCA Victor single (catalog number 74-0662) is listed in detailed discography sources as “Mission Chapel Memories,” co-written by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton; some secondary listings reference “Will He Be Waiting?”
In Parton’s singles chronology, “Touch Your Woman” followed “Coat of Many Colors” (1971) and preceded “When I Sing for Him” (1972). The accompanying album Touch Your Woman peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album was produced by Bob Ferguson and features additional tracks written or co-written by Parton, including material recorded across sessions spanning late 1969 to early 1972 at RCA Studio B.
Personnel on the recording of the title track included Jerry Carrigan on drums, Pete Drake on steel guitar, Bobby Dyson on bass, Hargus “Pig” Robbins on piano, Dave Kirby and Bobby Thompson on guitar, and background vocals by Joe Babcock, Dolores Edgin, and June Page. Parton provided lead vocals. Bob Ferguson produced the session.
Contemporary trade reviews noted the track’s contemporary country sound and Parton’s writing and performance. Cash Box described it as a moving ballad with a contemporary country-pop quality, highlighting piano and drums. Billboard included the single in its New Radio Action and Pick Singles coverage in the February 26, 1972, issue.
The song received a nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards in 1973. It lost in that category to Donna Fargo’s “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” Rolling Stone later ranked “Touch Your Woman” at number 27 on its list of the 50 best Dolly Parton songs, describing it as refreshing and soulful.
A number of country radio stations declined to play the single upon release, citing the lyrics as sexually suggestive. Despite limited airplay from those outlets, the song still achieved its top-ten peak on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. The track has been included on multiple Parton compilation albums, among them Best of Dolly Parton, The RCA Years, and The Essential Dolly Parton.
Cover versions include a 1972 recording by Skeeter Davis on the album Skeeter Sings Dolly, a late-1972 version by R&B artist Margie Joseph, and a 2002 recording by folk singer Kate Campbell. The B-side “Will He Be Waiting?” was later re-recorded by Parton for her 1999 bluegrass album The Grass Is Blue.
The album Touch Your Woman was released in LP and 8-track formats in 1972 and later made available as a digital download in 2014. Chart and discography records consistently document the February 14, 1972, single release date, the March 6, 1972, album release, the April 29, 1972, peak at number 6 on Billboard Hot Country Songs, the 14-week chart run, and the parallel positions on Cash Box and RPM charts. These details are corroborated across Billboard data, contemporary trade publications, Parton discography resources, and secondary reference sources.
The recording forms part of Parton’s early-1970s RCA catalog, a period in which she continued to balance solo releases with collaborative work involving Porter Wagoner. Session documentation places the title track’s recording in December 1971, with additional album tracks completed in subsequent sessions into January 1972. The single’s commercial trajectory—from a mid-chart debut to a top-ten peak—reflects the documented performance on the major country charts of the era.
Lyric
We can't always both be right We sometimes disagree But you've got the right to speak your mind An' it's the same with me When the anger's at an end And you want inside my arms again All you have to do to make it right is just Touch your woman Touch your woman Everything's gonna be alright Touch your woman Touch your woman Let me know, let me know everything's alright There are times when I should be strong When I'm awfully weak When the sudden blows of life have brought me to my knees Woman needs a helpin' hand Needs someone to understand Needs the man she loves to help her stand, so Touch your woman Touch your woman Everything's gonna be alright Touch your woman Touch your woman Let me know, let me know everything's alright And when the busy day is done And you lay by my side You know exactly what it takes to keep me satisfied You know exactly what I need and I always go to sleep in peace Thanking God that you belong to me, so Touch your woman Touch your woman Everything's gonna be alright Touch your woman Touch your woman Let me know, let me know everything's alright