About The Song
“Busy Being Fabulous” is a country-rock song written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, recorded by the Eagles for their seventh studio album, Long Road Out of Eden, released on October 30, 2007, by Lost Highway Records. It was released as the album’s second single on January 21, 2008, following “How Long.” The song peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and No. 12 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 2008. The double album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Top Country Albums, and Top Rock Albums charts, selling 3.5 million copies in the US and earning 7x platinum certification from the RIAA.
Recorded in 2006–2007 at The Doghouse in Los Angeles and Samhain Sound in Malibu, the track was produced by Bill Szymczyk, with the Eagles as co-producers. It features Don Henley on lead vocals and drums, Glenn Frey on guitar and backing vocals, Joe Walsh on guitar, Timothy B. Schmit on bass and backing vocals, and Steuart Smith on guitar. Additional musicians include Richard Davis on keyboards and Greg Leisz on pedal steel. The lyrics, penned by Henley and Frey, satirize a self-absorbed partner obsessed with superficial glamour, neglecting their relationship, inspired by Henley’s observations of LA’s celebrity culture, as he told Billboard in 2007. The song’s upbeat, twangy arrangement nods to the Eagles’ 1970s sound, per Rhino’s session notes.
The Eagles, formed in Los Angeles in 1971, reunited in 1994 after a 1980 breakup. Long Road Out of Eden, their first studio album since The Long Run (1979), took six years to produce, delayed by touring and Henley’s solo projects, per Rolling Stone. “Busy Being Fabulous” was written late in the sessions, with Henley aiming for a light, humorous critique, as noted in Songfacts. Recorded over several weeks, the track required multiple vocal takes to capture Henley’s sardonic tone, per American Songwriter. The music video, directed by Stephen Surjik, features the band performing in a retro TV studio, interspersed with a 1960s-style narrative of a neglectful starlet, premiered on CMT in February 2008.
The song was performed live during the 2008–2011 Long Road Out of Eden Tour, including a June 2008 show at Dublin’s Croke Park, captured in fan recordings on YouTube. No notable covers exist, likely due to its specific lyrical tone. The track appeared in a 2008 CMT special alongside “How Long” and was included in the album’s deluxe edition with bonus tracks like “Hole in the World.” Its chart performance, detailed in Taste of Country, benefited from the album’s strong promotion, though it was overshadowed by “How Long,” which won a Grammy. The song’s studio process, per Stereogum, involved layering Walsh’s guitar riffs to enhance its country feel, and it remains a fan favorite for its catchy hook, per Genius annotations.
Video
Lyric
I came home to an empty house
And I found your little note
“Don’t wait up for me tonight”
And that was all she wroteDo you think I don’t know that you’re out on the town
With all of your high-rollin’ friends?
What do you do when you come up empty?
Where do you go when the party ends?And you were just too busy being fabulous
Too busy to think about us
I don’t know what you’re doin’
And I don’t know where you been
Just too busy being fabulous
To fit me inIt’s funny how you can’t recall
Where you were late last night
You say you’ve been workin’, baby
But I’ve got my doubts in sightYou’re out makin’ all the rounds
With all of your high-class friends
And you’ve got places to go
When the party endsAnd you were just too busy being fabulous
Too busy to think about us
I don’t know what you’re doin’
And I don’t know where you been
Just too busy being fabulous
To fit me inOh, you’re too busy being fabulous
Too busy to think about us
To think about the little things
That love is all about
You’re too busy being fabulous, fabulous
Too busy, yeah
You’re too busy being fabulous
Too busy to think about us