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.
Back Before The War
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yours right besides it on this document
Too many lawyers, too many angry words
So much we didn't say, so much we never heard
Do you remember
When I was all that you were living for
Back before the war
Back before the broken vows
The shattered trust, this empty house
When nothing really mattered but us
Back before we climbed too high
My dreams were yours, your dreams were mine
back before we fell so out of touch
Back before the war
Children's laughter trailing down the hall
Tiny footsteps, God how I miss it all
It's not as simple as who's right and who's to blame
How could we fly so high to be shot down in flames
Do you remember
When you were all that I was living for
Back before the war
[Chorus]
Stacks of paper, I guess this is where we sign
Strange how your signature so closely matches mine
I never dreamed our love would ever come to this
Avoiding each other's eyes still craving your tenderness
Do you remember
When love was all that we were living for
Back before the war
Back before the war
The lyrics of Reba McEntire's song Back Before The War vividly depicts the painful reality of a couple going through a divorce. The opening lines describe stacks of paper with their names on it followed by lawyers and angry words indicating the legal proceedings of their divorce. The pain of not being able to say and listen to each other's thoughts and the memories of the past when they were all that they lived for, becomes clear. The chorus talks about the time when love was the only thing that mattered to them and how things have gone down the hill since then. The broken vows and shattered trust have destroyed the family and their 'empty house' is a symbol of their failed marriage. They have lost their touch and have fallen out of love, which was not the case in the beginning when they shared each other's dreams.
The second verse of the song highlights the hopelessness of their situation. The sound of children's laughter that once filled their house is now missing, and they miss the time when their little ones were around. The situation might not be a question of who is right and who is wrong, but of two individuals who have loved each other but for some reason can't be together anymore. The song ends with the irony that despite craving each other's tenderness, they avoid looking into each other's eyes.
Line by Line Meaning
Stacks of paper, my name in bold print
Papers with contractual agreements are in front of us, with my name highlighted.
Yours right besides it on this document
Your name is also present alongside mine on the document.
Too many lawyers, too many angry words
We involved too many lawyers and spoke words that were filled with anger.
So much we didn't say, so much we never heard
We left so many things unsaid and unheard.
Do you remember
When I was all that you were living for
Back before the war
Remember the time when I was the only person you wanted to live for, before the conflict emerged.
[Chorus]
Back before the broken vows
The shattered trust, this empty house
When nothing really mattered but us
Back before we climbed too high
My dreams were yours, your dreams were mine
back before we fell so out of touch
Back before the war
The chorus refers to the time before the relationship began to fall apart, where we made promises and shared dreams, before we lost touch with each other.
Children's laughter trailing down the hall
Tiny footsteps, God how I miss it all
The sound of our children's laughter and footsteps used to echo through the halls; I miss them so much.
It's not as simple as who's right and who's to blame
How could we fly so high to be shot down in flames
It's not easy to pinpoint the right and the wrong or the person to blame. How did we end up being obliterated after we rose so high?
Do you remember
When you were all that I was living for
Back before the war
Remember when you were the reason I lived, before the war began.
[Chorus]
The chorus refers to the time before the relationship began to fall apart, where we made promises and shared dreams, before we lost touch with each other.
Stacks of paper, I guess this is where we sign
Strange how your signature so closely matches mine
This is the moment where we sign the agreement, and it's strange that our signatures match so well.
I never dreamed our love would ever come to this
Avoiding each other's eyes still craving your tenderness
I never thought that our love would end up like this, and even though we are avoiding each other, I still yearn for your affection.
Do you remember
When love was all that we were living for
Back before the war
Back before the war
Recall when our love was the only reason we lived before the conflict started, once again.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Anthem Entertainment
Written by: DAN HILL, KEITH STEGALL, ROBIN WILEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind