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.
If I Kiss You
Lynn Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're so much hurt I wish you wouldn't stay if I kiss you will you go away
My mom would come when I get hurt at play she kiss my hurt and it would go away
But now I'm grown I don't know what to do I've never known a bigger hurt than you
If I kiss you will you go away
I seen a kiss make sorrow disappear a kiss can dry away the biggest tears
A kiss can make a heartache vanish to I don't see why it wouldn't work on you
If I kiss you will you go away
The lyrics of Lynn Anderson's song "If I Kiss You" describe a situation where the singer is in emotional pain caused by someone's actions or words. The title question, "If I kiss you will you go away?" is a rhetorical question and a plea to the person to leave and take their hurtful behavior with them. The singer draws a parallel between their childhood memories of their mother's comforting kiss and the power of a kiss to heal emotional pain. However, the singer is unsure if this will work on the person causing the hurt, and is left with the desperate hope that it will.
Line by Line Meaning
If I kiss you will you go away like in the game my mother used to play
My mother would kiss my hurt when I was young and it would go away. I wonder if a kiss could make you go away like my hurt did?
You're so much hurt I wish you wouldn't stay if I kiss you will you go away
Your pain is too much to bear and I wish you would leave. I'm curious if a kiss could make you disappear like magic.
My mom would come when I get hurt at play she kiss my hurt and it would go away
When I was young and hurt, my mother would kiss my pain away and it would magically disappear.
But now I'm grown I don't know what to do I've never known a bigger hurt than you
I'm all grown up and I don't know how to make this pain go away. You're the biggest source of pain in my life.
I seen a kiss make sorrow disappear a kiss can dry away the biggest tears
I've witnessed a kiss make sadness go away and dry up even the biggest tears.
A kiss can make a heartache vanish to I don't see why it wouldn't work on you
I know a kiss can make heartache disappear, so why wouldn't it work to make you vanish too?
If I kiss you will you go away
I wonder if a kiss from me would make you disappear like magic.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ELIZABETH ANDERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bob Burnitt
This will always be my favorite Lynn song, she really knocked it out of the park with this one. Some of the BEST ones she ever did are the ones that are not known as well though IMHO. A great entertainer sh is, Bob B.
Roger McNeece
I discovered this song yesterday, must have played it over a dozen times! had it stuck in my head all day. What a great song and what a voice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cadjunk
Great song - always loved hearing Lynn Anderson. Thanks for sharing. Gwen
CountrynIrish
Wonderful Song ! Love it ! One of her best recordings ! Thanks so much for uploading ! 5*****+
poopstain565
Great song. Lynn was one of the best. To bad country singers today don't come close to compareing with music like this. CARL
musicmandon1
I heard Lynn sing this song at a concert I went to with my aunt and uncle. My uncle got to kiss her that night. Shows you how many years ago that concert was. I was a few years too young to understand why my uncle would want to kiss Lynn Anderson. My turn would come many years later, and the singer in question was Barbara Fairchild.
Wayne Curtis Jr.
What ever happened to the real country music that I grew up with. There was never any question of what a country song was. Every country station played country and not the rebranded pop/rock they are passing off as country these days. So sad.
ese.hombre
The record execs love crossover songs because they sell more records. It's all about profit. If notice today there not very many female country singers getting airplay. The male country singers dominate the country/rock/pop music. Not sure why.
Maj-Brith H
This is really good!
PrestonTheYeti
One of Lynn’s best, always loved the steel on this one. Lloyd Green?