Rebecca Carlene Smith (b. September 26, 1955 and professionally known as Ca… Read Full Bio ↴Rebecca Carlene Smith (b. September 26, 1955 and professionally known as Carlene Carter) is an American country singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter (later known as June Carter Cash) and her first husband, Carl Smith. From 1979-1990 she was married to English singer-songwriter, musician and producer Nick Lowe.

Though her recording career had begun in the late 1970s with her eponymous debut album, it was with 1990's I Fell in Love that Carter's career really took off, with the album and title song topping the US country albums and singles charts, respectively. The album, which featured straight-ahead, retro-sounding country (her prior work had combined country, rock and roll and pop sounds), was among the first successes of the 1990s "neotraditionalist" movement in country. 1993's Little Love Letters featured the hit "Every Little Thing", which was accompanied by one of the top-rated music videos of the year.

Carter's winning stream ended with 1995's Little Acts of Treason, which, while critically well received, failed to achieve the commercial success of the Carter's two previous releases.

She also found limited amounts of fame with the song "It takes one to know me", which was released on the albums "Johnny Cash the Legend" and "Johnny and June duets". Originally recorded in 1977 with a full string backing group, it was lost in a tape collection in Hendersonville and uncovered in 2003. It was then remastered by her brother John Carter Cash. In the remastered version, John added his and his wife Laura's backing vocals and a guest appearance from Carlene herself - more than 35 years after she wrote and recorded the song.

She was played by Victoria Hester in the movie Walk the Line.

The track 'Every Little Thing' is also featured in the pinball machine 'Red and Ted's Road Show' released by Williams Electronic Games in 1994. Carter also does the voice of one of the main characters in the pinball game

Every Little Thing
Carlene Carter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I hear songs on the radio
They might be fast or they might be slow
But every song they play's got me thinkin' 'bout you
I see a fella walkin' down the street
He looks at me and he smiles real sweet
But he don't matter to me
'Cause I'm thinkin' 'bout you

Every little dream I dream about you
Every little thought I think about you
Drives me crazy when you go away
I oughta keep you locked up at home
And like a wild horse I want to break you
I love you so much I hate you
Every little thing reminds me of you
Honey when you leave me here all alone

My tongue gets tied when I try to talk
My knees get weak when I start to walk
So I might as well stay home and keep thinkin' 'bout you
"the young and the restless" on my tv set
That's just like us when we first met
And when they start to kissin'
Got me thinking bout you

Every little dream I dream about you
Every little thought I think about you
Drives me crazy when you go away
I oughta keep you locked up at home
And like a wild horse I want to break you
I love you so much I hate you
Every little thing reminds me of you
Honey when you leave me here all alone

Every little dream I dream about you
Every little thought I think about you
Drives me crazy when you go away
I oughta keep you locked up at home
And like a wild horse I want to break you
I love you so much I hate you

Every little thing reminds me of you
Honey when you leave me here all alone

Overall Meaning

In Carlene Carter's song "Every Little Thing", she expresses how everything in her surroundings reminds her of the person she loves. The song is written in a straightforward way, using simple phrases of longing and devotion. The opening lines of the song explain how every song on the radio reminds her of the person she loves, no matter if the song is fast or slow. The following verse expresses how the male attention she receives doesn't matter to her because her thoughts are consumed by the person she loves.

The chorus of the song echoes the sentiments expressed in the opening lines, as she confesses that every dream she has and every thought she thinks is about the person she loves, and how his absence drives her to a state of madness. She then goes on to say that she wishes she could keep him locked up at home and break him like a wild horse. The final verse of the song describes how watching "the young and the restless" on the TV reminds her of the beginning of their relationship and how the show's kisses got her thinking about him.

Overall, "Every Little Thing" is a song that captures the feeling of infatuation and the all-consuming rush of love. It presents the idea that love can transform the way we see the world around us, as every little thing reminds us of the person we love.

Line by Line Meaning

I hear songs on the radio
The songs on the radio make me think of you.

They might be fast or they might be slow
It doesn't matter what type of song it is, they all remind me of you.

But every song they play's got me thinkin' 'bout you
All the songs on the radio make me think of you.

I see a fella walkin' down the street
I see a guy walking down the street.

He looks at me and he smiles real sweet
He smiled at me in a friendly way.

But he don't matter to me
I don't care about him because I'm thinking about you.

'Cause I'm thinkin' 'bout you
I'm constantly thinking about you.

Every little dream I dream about you
All of my dreams involve you in some way.

Every little thought I think about you
You occupy my thoughts constantly.

Drives me crazy when you go away
I miss you terribly when you're not around.

I oughta keep you locked up at home
I should keep you close to me and never let you leave.

And like a wild horse I want to break you
I want to tame and conquer you like a wild horse.

I love you so much I hate you
My love for you is so strong that it's overwhelming and sometimes feels negative.

Every little thing reminds me of you
Everything around me triggers thoughts of you.

Honey when you leave me here all alone
I feel lost and lonely when you're not with me.

My tongue gets tied when I try to talk
I get nervous and tongue-tied when I try to talk to you.

My knees get weak when I start to walk
I feel physically weak and unsteady when I'm around you.

So I might as well stay home and keep thinkin' 'bout you
I might as well stay home and daydream about you because I can't focus on anything else.

"the young and the restless" on my tv set
I'm watching "The Young and the Restless" on TV.

That's just like us when we first met
The soap opera reminds me of when we first met.

And when they start to kissin'
When the characters on the show start kissing.

Got me thinking bout you
It makes me think of you and our own relationship.