After more than three decades away from mainland UK stages, Garth Brooks is finally returning. On Saturday 27th June, the country music icon will headline Hyde Park in London, bringing one of the most celebrated live shows in music to an audience of 80,000 fans.
For British country fans, it’s a moment that has been a long time coming. While Brooks returned to Ireland for a series of hugely successful Dublin shows in recent years, English fans have spent decades watching from afar as one of the genre’s greatest performers toured the United States, selling out stadiums and breaking attendance records almost everywhere he went.
The setlist will undoubtedly be packed with classics. ‘Friends in Low Places,' ‘The Dance,' ‘The Thunder Rolls” and ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge' all feel like certainties. But Garth’s catalogue runs far deeper than the hits, and there are countless album tracks and fan favourites that deserve a moment in the spotlight.
Here are five songs we’d love to hear in Hyde Park, even if the chances are slim.
1. That Ol’ Wind (Fresh Horses, 1995)
If there is one song that perfectly encapsulates everything that makes country music special, it’s ‘That Ol’ Wind'.
A masterclass in storytelling, the song follows a washed-up touring musician who unexpectedly reconnects with a woman he spent one unforgettable night with a decade earlier. Ten years before, he had asked her to stay. She didn’t. Now fate has brought them together again.
As the story unfolds, he makes a different choice. This time, he stays behind and watches his tour bus disappear into the distance. Both characters are carrying secrets that suggest their future together could be richer and more meaningful than either imagined.
The song’s sweeping instrumentation and cinematic narrative showcase Brooks at his storytelling best. It’s the kind of song country music was built on: emotionally complex, deeply human and utterly captivating. While it has never been one of his live staples, hearing it performed beneath a London summer sky would be unforgettable.
2. If Tomorrow Never Comes (Garth Brooks, 1989)
It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes' in Garth Brooks’ career.
His first No. 1 hit remains one of the greatest country ballads ever recorded. The premise is deceptively simple: a man lies awake beside the person he loves and wonders whether she would truly know how much she means to him if tomorrow never arrived.
From there, the song becomes a meditation on mortality, regret and the importance of expressing love while we still have the chance. Brooks reminds listeners that tomorrow is never guaranteed and that the people we love should never be left guessing how we feel. The song takes on an even deeper meaning when viewed through Brooks’ own lens. While many hear it as a romantic love song, Brooks has often spoken about it as a reflection on his love for his daughter.
Although it remains one of his signature songs, it appears far less frequently in modern setlists than many of his arena-sized anthems. If Hyde Park receives a stripped-back acoustic moment, this would be the perfect choice.
3. What’s She’s Doing Now (Ropin’ The Wind, 1991)
Heartbreak songs don’t come much better than ‘What She’s Doing Now.' The brilliance of the song lies in its central question. The narrator wonders what became of a former love. Is she married? Does she have children? Is she happy? Has she forgotten him completely?
But the title hides a devastating twist.
He’s not only wondering what she is doing with her life. He’s wondering what she is doing to him emotionally. Years after the relationship ended, she continues to haunt his thoughts and tear him apart. It’s one of Brooks’ finest vocal performances, full of longing and quiet desperation. While many artists write break-up songs about wanting someone back, ‘What She’s Doing Now' captures something far more universal: the inability to stop wondering about the roads not taken.
It was a major hit in its day, but has largely disappeared from modern setlists. Hyde Park would be the perfect place to bring it back.
4. I Don’t Have to Wonder (Sevens, 1997)
One of the most powerful songs in the entire Garth Brooks catalogue is also one of its darkest. ‘I Don’t Have to Wonder' begins as a familiar heartbreak story. The narrator watches the woman he loves marry somebody else and accepts that their future together is over.
But as the song progresses, the story takes a shocking turn.
The title gradually reveals its double meaning. Initially, he no longer has to wonder whether they would end up together. By the end, he doesn’t have to wonder about anything at all. The song’s haunting conclusion, heavily implying the narrator takes his own life after throwing away the engagement ring he had planned to give her, remains one of the most devastating endings Brooks has ever recorded.
Its cinematic storytelling places it alongside masterpieces like ‘The Thunder Rolls' and ‘The Beaches of Cheyenne,' yet it remains a hidden gem known primarily by devoted fans. Given its sombre subject matter, it’s unlikely to make the Hyde Park setlist, but few songs demonstrate Brooks’ storytelling genius more effectively.
5. The Night I Called the Old Man Out (In Pieces, 1993)
Perhaps the most underrated story song Brooks ever recorded, ‘The Night I Called the Old Man Out' tells a tale almost every son can understand.
Frustrated and angry, the narrator finally challenges his father after a heated argument at the dinner table. Determined to prove himself, he follows the old man outside and picks a fight.
What follows isn’t the triumph he imagined.
The fight is over quickly, but the emotional impact lasts forever. Bloodied and humbled, the son notices something unexpected: his father is crying. In that moment, he realises that the man he had spent years rebelling against wasn’t weak, unfair or controlling. He was simply trying to be a father. The song’s closing reflection, that he hopes one day to be half the man his father is, transforms it from a tale of teenage rebellion into a profound lesson about maturity, respect and family.
It may never generate the crowd reaction of ‘Friends in Low Places,' but few songs in Brooks’ catalogue hit harder emotionally.
The Songs That Define Garth Brooks
The reality is that Hyde Park’s 80,000 fans will likely hear the biggest hits and crowd favourites. That’s exactly as it should be.
But one of the reasons Garth Brooks remains such a towering figure in country music is that his catalogue extends far beyond the singles everyone knows. Buried within his albums are stories of love, loss, redemption, family and second chances that continue to resonate decades after they were recorded.
If even one of these deep cuts finds its way into the Hyde Park setlist, the lucky fans in attendance could witness something truly special.
