“Swinging Doors” was written by Merle Haggard, who recorded it with his band the Strangers and released it in 1966 as the title track of one of his early albums. It became one of the recordings that established his place in country music.
It is a honky-tonk song of heartbreak turned defiant. Cast aside by a woman, the singer announces that he has found everything he needs in the barroom — swinging doors, a jukebox, and a barstool — and that she can find him there whenever she likes. The bravado barely covers the hurt underneath.
The song crossed into bluegrass, where honky-tonk material has often been welcomed. The version heard here is by Lost and Found.
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