White began performing when she was a child, singing in a gospel group with her parents and brother. The group, called the White Family Singers, sang at local church and community gathering. After a while, the children began working pop music into the act, most notably Elvis Presley. As a teenager, Lari sang show tunes at talent contests and sang with a local rock & roll band. She earned a scholarship to the University of Miami, where she studied vocals and music engineering. After a while, she began writing her own songs, singing in local clubs at night and taking professional singing jobs. Upon graduating from college, she travelled around the United States, looking at various local music scenes. In 1988, she decided to move to Nashville and try to become a professional.
Later in 1988, she appeared on the Nashville Network's You Can Be a Star and won the first prize. The award led to a record contract with Capitol. Before the end of the year, she had released a single on Capitol, "Flying Above the Rain," which became a regional hit in the South but failed to break into the big time. Later that same year, she joined Ronnie Milsap's publishing house and began taking acting lessons. For the next few years, White continued in this vein, choosing to hone her talent, sing in local dinner theaters and wait for another break. That break arrived in 1991, after an ASCAP showcase revived interest in her talents. Following the showcase, Rodney Crowell asked her to sing backup vocals in his live band. In 1992, White signed a record contract with RCA and Crowell produced her debut album, Lead Me Not, which was released the following year.
Lead Me Not received strong reviews and produced three minor hit singles: "What a Woman Wants," "Lead Me Not," and "Lay Around and Love You." Wishes, White's second album, became her breakthrough release, producing the Top Ten singles "That's My Baby," "Now I Know," and "That's How You Know (When You're in Love)." Don't Fence Me In, White's third album, wasn't quite as successful as its predecessor, but it continued her success. Stepping Stone followed in 1998. In 2004, after a lenghty hiatus that found the artist building her own home studio, White released the self-produced Green Eyed Soul on the UK based Mesmerizing Records.
If You Only Knew
Lari White Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you only knew the way I love you
Don't I wonder what you'd do
Would you look at me and say you love me too
If you only knew
If you only knew I'm dreaming of you
Would you make my wildest dream of you come true
If you only knew
I pretend I'm just a friend
But now and then I wonder what you'd do
Would you love me too
If you only knew
I pretend I'm just a friend
Oh but now and then I wonder what you'd do
Would you love me too
If you only knew
Wonder what you'd do
Would you love me to
If you only knew
The song "If You Only Knew" is a country ballad written by Lari White and Chuck Cannon. The lyrics express the sentiments of someone who is in love with someone else but has not expressed it. The singer wonders what would happen if the object of their affection knew how much they loved them. The song is filled with hope and longing and beautifully captures the emotions of the singer.
The first verse talks about how the singer wonders what would happen if the person they loved only knew the way they loved them. The singer wonders if the person would reciprocate their love if they knew how deeply the singer felt about them. The second verse talks about how the singer dreams of this person every night but doesn't know if these dreams will ever come true. The singer wonders if the person they love would ever make their wildest dreams of them come true if they only knew how the singer really felt.
The chorus is particularly poignant as the singer admits that they pretend to be just a friend but secretly wonders if the person they love would love them back if they only knew. The singer's longing for this person is palpable, and the song beautifully captures the turmoil of someone in love but afraid to express their feelings. The final line of the chorus, "Would you love me too, if you only knew," is especially heartbreaking as it sums up the singer's hopes and fears in one simple question.
Line by Line Meaning
If you only knew the way I love you
If you understood the depth of my love for you
Don't I wonder what you'd do
I often daydream about what your reaction would be
Would you look at me and say you love me too
Would you reciprocate my love if you knew how I felt
If you only knew
My love for you is undisclosed and unknown to you
If you only knew I'm dreaming of you
My dreams are filled with thoughts of you
Every night the whole night through
My dreams are persistent and uninterrupted
Would you make my wildest dream of you come true
I wonder if you could make my biggest fantasy a reality
I pretend I'm just a friend
I mask my true feelings for you and pretend to be just a friend
But now and then I wonder what you'd do
Despite my efforts to hide my feelings, I still imagine what would happen if I revealed them
Would you love me too
I yearn for you to feel the same way I do
Wonder what you'd do
I am constantly curious about your reaction if you knew my true feelings
If you only knew
My love for you remains a secret, unknown to you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Kostas Lazarides, Raul Malo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sue Lopez
<3 this -- song and vocals are simply gorgeous
Galtee Drohan
Beautiful!
Zdenka Kargerova
DĚKUJI ZA KRÁSNOU PÍSNIČKU
Bobby B.
Very underrated artist!
DONNA O
And the world lost her way too soon😢
Ingebjorg Mosberg
Beautiful song :)
The Crushed Twinkie
Never heard of her before, but this is a very nice song. Unfortunately, she died of peritoneal cancer at age 52 in 2018.
Milton Moore
Jane Woods
If he could only see in my 💓. He'd know then.
Ingebjorg Mosberg
BEAUTIFUL SONG..... R.I.P..
fallsforyou
IF YOU ONLY KNEW? I WAS DREAMING OF YOU. I LOVED YOU. IF YOU ONLY KNEW? ' I`D PRETEND ,I WAS JUST A FRIEND.' IF YOU ONLY KNEW... MARY