Martina McBride released her honky tonk-flavored debut album The Time Has Come in 1992. Her first big hit was the single "My Baby Loves Me" from her more pop-oriented second album, 1993's The Way That I Am. She became even more visible in 1994 with the crossover success of her anti-domestic violence anthem "Independence Day", also from this album.
In 1995 McBride released the album Wild Angels; "Safe in the Arms of Love" and the title track were country hits, later being her first #1 hit. Her 1997 album Evolution sold over two million units, and included an adult contemporary crossover hit in "Valentine" as well as four number one or number two country hits. The album Emotion came out in 1999; "I Love You" was a big hit in both country and adult contemporary circles. So was the socially conscious "Love's the Only House", a trend that would continue with 2003's "This One's for the Girls", which would become the theme song for the 2005 NCAA Women's Basketball championship tournament. [1] This was followed by the hit singles "How Far" (written by fellow country singer Jamie O'Neal) and "God's Will".
The Long Distance Lullaby Songfacts states that Eleven was Martina's first album for Republic Nashville, ending a 20 year association with RCA. Label head Scott Borchetta encouraged her to write more songs for the record than she had on any of her previous 10 albums, and she ended up co-writing six of the 11 tracks. Eleven was released October 11, 2011.
As of 2005 McBride is generally recognized as one of the top female singers in popular music; with her strong and pure soprano voice she has been labelled "the Céline Dion of country music." Also in 2005 she released a 18-track CD of classic country music standards, which landed at #1 on the Billboard Country Album Chart in its opening week and received much critical acclaim for its authenticity towards traditional country.
She is a four-time Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year winner (a record she holds with Reba McEntire), three-time Academy of Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year winner and a Grammy Award winner. This left-hander performed The Star-Spangled Banner at Game 3 of the 2004 World Series.
"Independence Day" is used as the introductory music for Sean Hannity's popular talk radio show. McBride has appeared at benefit events organized by Hannity, but has declined to take an active political stance. [2] McBride has performed free for fans, such as in a July 3, 2004 show in Owensboro, Kentucky to celebrate the grand opening of the new Independence Bank headquarters.
Recently she helped out contestants on the Canadian version of "American Idol". The winner worked on a song with McBride as well as went on tour with her across Canada.
Martina has sold over 13 million albums in USA alone.
It's My Time
Martina McBride Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A hundred miles out of her hometown
Drops a quarter in a beat up pay phone
Listens to it rattle on down
Voices cold as the phone she's holding
The connects way too clear
He's yelling where's my inner
She's too far gone to care
There's a time to stand and the time is now or never
A time to fly, time to let go forever
A time to grow, and a time to discover
Life is precious, every second
You've wasted mine and it's my time
She puts a few more miles between them
He pours a distance of his own
Starts talking to the bottle
It's all that left now she's gone
He rages on till the National Anthem
Come on his TV
Then he looks straight at the bottle
And says you did this to me
And then he screams
There's a time to stand and the time is now or never
A time to fly, time to let go forever
A time to grow, and a time to discover
Life is precious, every second
You've wasted mine and it's my time
It's my time, it's my time, it's my time
And the time is what you make it
It's my time, it's my time, it's my time
There's a time to stand and the time is now or never
A time to fly, time to let go forever
A time to grow, and a time to discover
Life is precious, every second
You've wasted mine and it's my time
In Martina McBride's song "It's My Time," the singer is a woman who has left her hometown and is driving down the road with a red sun setting behind her. She stops at a beat-up pay phone and listens to the voice on the other end screaming at her about his inner problems, but she's too far gone to care. Instead, she tells him that there's a time to stand up for yourself and the time is now or never. She's realized that life is precious and that every second counts, and she's not going to let anyone waste her time anymore.
As the song progresses, the focus shifts to the man on the other end of the phone. He's talking to a bottle and raging about how she's left him. He watches the National Anthem on TV, and then screams that it's his time. These two characters represent two completely different viewpoints on life. One believes that it's important to take control of your own life and make the most of it, while the other is stuck in his own self-pity and unable to move forward.
The repeated chorus of "It's my time" reinforces the message that life is short and valuable, and that we shouldn't waste it on people who don't appreciate us. The song encourages listeners to stand up for themselves and take charge of their own destinies. It's a powerful reminder that we are all capable of creating the life we want, and that we don't have to settle for anything less.
Line by Line Meaning
Red sun sitting on the road behind her
As she drives away from her past, the sun sets, symbolizing the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
A hundred miles out of her hometown
Putting distance between herself and her old life, she embarks on a new journey.
Drops a quarter in a beat up pay phone
She's making a connection to let someone know she's gone and won't be coming back.
Listens to it rattle on down
She's leaving behind her old life, and can hear the sound of it slowly disappearing behind her.
Voices cold as the phone she's holding
The person on the other end of the line is indifferent to her leaving; their coldness echoes through the phone.
The connects way too clear
She hears every word clearly, which makes the realization that she's walked away even more clear.
He's yelling where's my inner
The person on the other end of the line is lashing out, unable to understand why she's gone.
She's too far gone to care
Despite the other person's outburst, she's already made up her mind and is too far down the road to turn back now.
She says listen here
With determination, she asserts herself and prepares to take control of her life.
There's a time to stand and the time is now or never
Life is short, and the moment to take a stand and make a change is right now or it might not come again.
A time to fly, time to let go forever
There comes a point when it's necessary to let go of the past and embrace new opportunities.
A time to grow, and a time to discover
Life is full of chances for personal development and new experiences.
Life is precious, every second
Every moment is valuable and shouldn't be wasted.
You've wasted mine and it's my time
The singer is done with someone in her past who didn't appreciate her time or her presence, and is now determined to take control of her own life and make the most of it.
She puts a few more miles between them
She continues to distance herself from her past.
He pours a distance of his own
The person from her past is actively creating distance, either through drinking or emotionally shutting down.
Starts talking to the bottle
The person in question is turning to alcohol to cope with their emotions.
It's all that left now she's gone
With the singer gone, alcohol is the only thing the other person has left for comfort.
He rages on till the National Anthem
The other person spirals out of control with emotion until the national anthem plays on TV, perhaps meaning to remind us all to pause and reflect on the country we live in.
Then he looks straight at the bottle
He confronts the source of comfort that he's turned to and perhaps realizes that it does more harm than good.
And says you did this to me
Blaming the bottle for his problems, the artist takes full responsibility off of himself.
It's my time, it's my time, it's my time
The artist is now the one in control, and takes ownership of every moment going forward.
And the time is what you make it
The past is gone and the future is wide open; it's up to the singer to make it what she wants.
There's a time to stand and the time is now or never
The artist doubles down on the importance of seizing every moment and taking control of her own life.
A time to fly, time to let go forever
Still urging listeners to move beyond their pasts and embrace new experiences, the song stresses the importance of looking forward to the future.
A time to grow, and a time to discover
Again emphasizing the possibility for self-growth and exploration in every moment.
Life is precious, every second
A reminder that every moment is valuable, and we should all strive to make the most of our time here.
You've wasted mine and it's my time
The song concludes with the assertion that the artist is taking control of her own life and making the most of every moment going forward.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Anthem Entertainment, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: BILLY CRAIN, TAMMY HYLER, KIM TRIBBLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind