Reba Nell McEntire (born on March 28, 1955 - Kiowa, Oklahoma, USA) is a Gra… Read Full Bio ↴Reba Nell McEntire (born on March 28, 1955 - Kiowa, Oklahoma, USA) is a Grammy Award-winning singer and one of the best-selling country music performers of all time, known for her pop-tinged ballads that include 24 #1 hits. She has issued 28 studio albums and 13 compilations, with more than 50 million records sold as of 2007.

With a contract to Mercury Records (1975), McEntire began her professional career singing heavily pop-influenced ballads, a far cry from the neotraditionalist movement she would help lead a few years later.

"I Don't Want To Be A One Night Stand" became her first charting single in 1976. Her first Top 10 hit "(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven" followed four years later, and in 1982 she scored her first #1 hit with "Can't Even Get The Blues."

Frustrated at her limited commercial success, McEntire left Mercury and signed with MCA Records in 1984. 1984's "Just A Little Love" wasn't much different form her Mercury material and was only moderately successful. However, another album followed later that same year, titled "My Kind of Country." This was a return-to-roots record, complete with fiddles and steel. It was comprised largely of covers of classic country songs, as well as original songs such as "How Blue" and the Harlan Howard-penned "Somebody Should Leave", both of which reached #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.

In the early 1990s McEntire expanded her audience by adopting a softer, more pop-oriented sound. She became one of the best-selling country artists of all time, releasing three volumes of greatest hits collections.

Since that first #1 hit in 1982, she's forked out 21 more chartbusters, which are all recapped on "Reba #1s" released on November 22nd, 2005. The 2-disc compilation features all 22 number one singles (according to Billboard magazine) in chronological order, including two new tracks "You're Gonna Be" and "Love Needs A Holiday." "Reba #1s" also contains 11 singles that reached the #1 spot in publications other than Billboard.

She won the Female Vocalist of the Year award from the Country Music Association four times in a row (a record she holds with Martina McBride), and had dozens of Top Ten hits during the 80s. For her contribution to the recording industry, Reba McEntire has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd. In 1995, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

She is one of only six solo women (others include Shania Twain, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and Taylor Swift), to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, "Entertainer Of The Year". McEntire continued to hit the charts through the 2000s, as well as appearing in television and film, most notably Tremors, a cult horror movie series, Forever Love, and One Night at McCool's. She also starred as Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun on Broadway, receiving critical acclaim.

From 2001 to 2007, Reba starred in the hit WB television show, Reba (with Texan actor Christopher Rich as her philandering ex-husband), even getting a visit from fellow country star Dolly Parton who played Reba's character's supervisor at a real estate firm.

A Poor Man's Roses
Reba McEntire Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I must make up my mind today
What to have what to hold
A poor man's roses
Or a rich man's gold

One's as wealthy as a king in a palace
Though he's calice and cold
He may learn to give his heart for love

Instead of buying it with gold

Then the poor man's roses
And the thrill when we kiss
Will be memories of paradise
That I'll never miss

And yet the hand that brings a rose tonight
Is the hand that I will hold
For the rose of love means more to me
More than any rich man's gold

Repeat Verses #3 and #4

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Reba McEntire's song, A Poor Man's Roses, depict the dilemma of a woman who must decide whether to pursue the lavish lifestyle that comes with having a rich man's gold or to opt for the simplicity and beauty of a poor man's roses. She must choose between material wealth or emotional wealth. The first and second lines of the song reveal that the decision must be made immediately. She looks at the choices before her and struggles to decide.
The third and fourth lines compare the wealth of a rich man and the emotional richness of a poor man. The rich man may own many possessions, but he can be cold-hearted and selfish. However, when he meets someone who teaches him about love, he may give his heart instead of his gold. The fifth and sixth lines describe the joy of kissing a person who is poor but genuine. The memories of these moments will never leave her. The seventh and eighth lines express her concern for the future. The hand that brings her the rose tonight is what matters most to her, not the gold that may be promised. The rose symbolizes love, while the word gold represents money and status.
In conclusion, the lyrics of A Poor Man's Roses teach listeners the importance of selecting authentic, genuine love over the temporary pleasures of wealth and luxury. By choosing the poor man's roses, life will be richer in love and memories, which will last a lifetime.

Line by Line Meaning

I must make up my mind today
I have to decide today

What to have what to hold
Whether I should have and keep

A poor man's roses
Love from a poor man

Or a rich man's gold
Or money from a rich man

One's as wealthy as a king in a palace
Although the rich man is wealthy like a king in a palace

Though he's calice and cold
He can be unfeeling and cold

He may learn to give his heart for love
Perhaps he will learn to offer his heart for love

Instead of buying it with gold
Instead of purchasing it with his riches

Then the poor man's roses
In comparison, the love from a poor man

And the thrill when we kiss
And the excitement when we kiss

Will be memories of paradise
Will become fond memories of heaven