Anderson charted 12 No. 1, 18 Top 10, and more than 50 Top 40 hits. In addition to being named "Top Female Vocalist" by the Academy of Country Music (ACM) twice and "Female Vocalist of the Year" by the Country Music Association (CMA), Anderson won a Grammy Award (earning seven nominations), People's Choice Award and an American Music Award (AMA). She was named Billboard's Female Artist of the Decade (1970–1980).
Anderson was the first female country artist to win the American Music Award (in 1974), as well as the first to headline and sellout Madison Square Garden that same year.
Anderson debuted in 1966, at the age of 19, and had her first hit with Ride, Ride, Ride. After a series of Top 10 hit singles on the country charts during the late 1960s, Anderson signed with Columbia Records in 1970. Under Columbia, she had her most successful string of hits. Her signature song, "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", remains one of the biggest selling country crossover hits of all time. In addition, the song also went to No. 3 on the Billboard Pop Chart and reached the top of the charts in several countries, an unprecedented achievement at the time. CMT ranks "Rose Garden" at No. 83 on its list of the "100 Greatest Songs in Country Music History". Anderson continued to record and remained a popular concert attraction until her death, regularly headlining major casino showrooms, performing arts centers and theaters.
She grew up in Sacramento, California with her mother, acclaimed singer-songwriter Liz Anderson who wrote "The Fugitive" and "(All My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers", both Merle Haggard hits, among others. She began her solo career in 1966 with "In Person", followed by a hit with her mother's "If I Kiss You (Will You Go Away)".
In 1968 she married Glenn Sutton, a future Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, with whom she had a daughter, Lisa. (They divorced in 1977.)
Consistent hits followed, and she was a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show during the 1967-68 season. In 1969 Anderson signed to Columbia where her work veered a bit more toward a polished, pop sound. She released her signature song, "Rose Garden" in late 1970. The song, written by Joe South, won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance reached number 1 on the U.S. country charts, and also hit number 3 on the pop charts, as well as being a hit in fifteen countries. Anderson also received Grammy nominations for her recordings "Big Girls Don't Cry" (1968), "That's a No No" (1969), and "How Can I Unlove You" (1971)> Anderson's other hits during this period included "You're My Man", "Listen to a Country Song", "Top of the World" (a number 1 country record for Anderson before becoming a pop hit for The Carpenters), "Cry", "Keep Me in Mind", "What a Man My Man Is" and "Smile For Me". In 1971, she was voted Top Female Vocalist of the year by both the Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association. Anderson charted eight no.one singles, 18 Top-Tens and earned a total of 17 international Gold records. She was perhaps the most in-demand country female vocalist on network television throughout the 1970's but after 1975 her records usually peaked in the top 20 as opposed to her earlier top ten success.
Anderson married a Louisiana businessman in 1978. The second marriage produced two more children, and she was divorced in 1982.
Anderson remained one of the top female country singers into the 1980's. Her last top ten record was 1984s "You're Welcome to Tonight". During the late 1980's and early 1990s, she received much press for her disputes with her now-divorced second husband. After spending time on her ranch, raising horses and participating in equestrian events, she began recording again in 1992.
"The Bluegrass Sessions", released in 2004, earned Anderson her first Grammy nomination in over 30 years.
That same year Anderson was arrested in Denton, Texas, for drunk driving.
The American Rose Society created and named in her honor a white and raspberry hybrid tea rose.
Anderson released a new CD of original songs entitled "Cowgirl" in 2006, all of the songs penned by her mother, the acclaimed songwriter Liz Anderson.
I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart
Lynn Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna ride o'er the plains and the desert
Out west of the great divide
I wanna hear the coyotes howl
While the sun sets in the west
I wanna be a cowboy's sweetheart
The life I love the best
I wanna feel the wind in my face
A thousand miles from most city lights
Going at a cowhand's pace
I wanna pillow my head near the sleeping herd
While the moon shines down from above
I wanna strum my guitar oh yodel-layee-tee
Oh that's the the life I love
I wanna be a cowboy's sweetheartheart I wanna learn to rope and ride
I wanna ride o'er the plains and the desert
Out west of the great divide
I wanna hear the coyotes howl
While the sun sets in the west
I wanna be a cowboy's sweetheart
The life I love the best
Now I have found my cowboy sweetheart
And he tought me to rope and ride
And we've settled down in the california town
That's west of the great devide
And two little cowgirls have two kids of their own
That makes me yodelin' grandma
And that rides side by side
He is my rootie tootie coyboy grandpa
The lyrics of Lynn Anderson's song "I Want To Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart" express the desire of the singer to leave the ordinary city life and live the exciting life of a cowgirl. She wants to learn how to rope and ride so she can travel on horseback through the plains and desert of the West of the great divide. She wants to experience the simple life of a cowhand, sleeping outdoors near the herd, strumming a guitar and yodel-layee-teeing. The song ends with the singer finding her cowboy sweetheart who taught her the ways of the life she loves, and they have settled in a California town.
The lyrics resonate with the American cowboy culture where being a cowboy was considered a noble and adventurous profession. The singer's yearning for that lifestyle and her finding her cowboy sweetheart can be seen as a representation of the American dream, where ordinary people find happiness and love by chasing their passions and aspirations.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna be a cowboy's sweetheartheart
I want to be romantically involved with a cowboy
I wanna learn to rope and ride
I want to learn how to lasso things and ride horses
I wanna ride o'er the plains and the desert
I want to ride horses across the flat lands and arid regions
Out west of the great divide
Specifically, I want to ride in the Western US beyond the continental divide
I wanna hear the coyotes howl
I want to experience the sounds of coyotes in the wild howling at night
While the sun sets in the west
I want to witness the sunset in the western sky
I wanna be a cowboy's sweetheart
I find the cowboy way of life appealing and want to be part of it
The life I love the best
This lifestyle is what makes me happiest
I wanna ride old paint going on a run
I want to ride a horse named Old Paint and go on a speedy gallop
I wanna feel the wind in my face
I want to feel the rush of wind against my face as I ride a horse at a fast pace
A thousand miles from most city lights
I want to be in a remote area, far from the bright lights of urban areas
Going at a cowhand's pace
I want to ride at a speed that cowboys typically travel
I wanna pillow my head near the sleeping herd
I want to be near a group of sleeping cows or other livestock
While the moon shines down from above
I want to experience the serenity of the moon shining over the quiet pasture
I wanna strum my guitar oh yodel-layee-tee
I want to sing and play music with a western flair
Oh that's the the life I love
This is what I truly enjoy doing, and it brings me much happiness
Now I have found my cowboy sweetheart
I have met a cowboy who is now my romantic partner
And he tought me to rope and ride
He taught me how to lasso and ride horses
And we've settled down in the california town
We have made a home in a town within California
That's west of the great devide
It is a town located beyond the continental divide
And two little cowgirls have two kids of their own
Our two daughters are now grown and have children of their own
That makes me yodelin' grandma
I now go by the nickname Yodelin' Grandma
And that rides side by side
I still ride horses alongside my cowboy partner, who is now my grandpa to our grandchildren
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Patsy Montana
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lynnandersonfan
Lynn is a TRUE entertainer in every sense of the word!!!!
umpire63
Enjoyed Carin Mari & Pony Express at Elk Mountain Ranch. Excellent!