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.
Strangers
Lynn Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would be mine forever
I would have bet my bottom dollar on
Well, it sure turned out to
Be a short forever
Just once I turned my back and you were gone
From now on all my friends
I'm all through ever trusting anyone
The only thing I can count
On now is my fingers
I was a fool believing you
And now you are gone
It amazes me not knowing any better than
To think I had a love that could be true
Why I should be taken
Out tarred and feathered
To have let myself be taken in by you
From now on all my friends
Are gonna be strangers
I’m all through ever trusting anyone
The only thing I can count
On now is my fingers
I was a fool believing you
And now you are gone
The lyrics to Lynn Anderson's song "Strangers" convey a sense of heartbreak and betrayal. The singer expresses her disappointment and regret for trusting someone who promised eternal love but turned out to leave her abruptly. She had believed in the love they shared, even betting everything on it, but it proved to be fleeting. The sudden disappearance of her partner has left her feeling abandoned and questioning her own judgment.
The chorus of the song highlights the singer's decision to distance herself from future relationships and to be wary of trusting anyone again. She resolves to rely only on herself and begins to view her acquaintances as strangers. The lyrics suggest a loss of innocence, as the singer reflects on her naivety in believing in a love that was not genuine.
The lyrics also express a sense of embarrassment and self-blame for falling for the deception. The singer feels foolish for not knowing any better, criticizing herself for being so easily taken in by someone who didn't deserve her trust. The song ends with a bitter realization that the person she once loved is now gone, leaving her feeling hurt and disillusioned.
Overall, "Strangers" portrays the experience of a person who trusted someone deeply, only to be let down and left feeling betrayed. It explores themes of heartbreak, loss, and the need to protect oneself from future pain.
Line by Line Meaning
All the love you promised
The affection and devotion that you assured me of
Would be mine forever
Would remain with me eternally
I would have bet my bottom dollar on
I would have confidently wagered all my money on
Well, it sure turned out to
However, it definitely became
Be a short forever
A brief and fleeting everlasting
Just once I turned my back and you were gone
Merely at one instance when I looked away, you disappeared
From now on all my friends
Henceforth, all the individuals I considered friends
Are gonna be strangers
Shall gradually become unfamiliar individuals
I'm all through ever trusting anyone
I am entirely finished with putting my faith in anyone
The only thing I can count
The sole aspect I can rely on
On now is my fingers
Is merely the fingers on my hand
I was a fool believing you
I displayed foolishness by believing in you
And now you are gone
And now you have departed
It amazes me not knowing any better than
It astounds me, lacking the understanding that
To think I had a love that could be true
To believe that I possessed a genuine love
Why I should be taken
How I could be fooled
Out tarred and feathered
Publicly humiliated and ridiculed
To have let myself be taken in by you
For allowing myself to be deceived by you
From now on all my friends
Henceforth, all the individuals I considered friends
Are gonna be strangers
Shall gradually become unfamiliar individuals
I’m all through ever trusting anyone
I am entirely finished with putting my faith in anyone
The only thing I can count
The sole aspect I can rely on
On now is my fingers
Is merely the fingers on my hand
I was a fool believing you
I displayed foolishness by believing in you
And now you are gone
And now you have departed
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Beresford Romeo, Charlotte Kelly, Ross Anderson, Simon Alban Law, Will Mowatt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jim Ervin
That's country. That's good, danceable music like we don't hear anymore. So glad to have that record in my collection.
john sandiford
Nice song by Lynn,thanks for sharing Armadillo
Milton Moore
Nice version,
second only to
the one by Roy
Drusky!!!
2packs4sure
Recorded March 1968 RCA Victor Studio, 800 17th Ave. South, Nashville, TN - Lynn Anderson (Producer: Slim Williamson)
I wonder if it's CLIFF of SLIM Williamson? SAME GUY? Nickname?
David Rebib
Thanks to you