Writers Rick Bowles and Will Robinson originally wrote the song to be sung from a male’s point of view, calling it “I Know How She Feels.” The song as originally composed contained basically the same lyrics, although there were some different lines in the chorus and the second verse.
Two representatives from the song’s publishing company, Kevin Lamb and Cliff Williamson, played a demo of “I Know How She Feels” for Terry Skinner and J. L. Wallace, who were producing the Forrester Sisters at the time. They liked the song and asked if Robinson and Bowles could fashion a new set of lyrics for a female to sing.
The writers set about doing this, and once completed, they realized that it was a better female song. It just seemed to work better. Changing the title to “I Know How He Feels” and adjusting the lyrics for the gender change, the song was placed on hold for the Forrester Sisters, but for some reason they never got around to recording it. Then the song became earmarked for Judy Rodman, but that never materialized either. Finally, “I Know How He Feels” came to the attention of Reba McEntire.
