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.
Before I Met You
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well I thought I had seen good looking men in my time
That was before I met you
And I never saw one that I wanted for mine
But that was before I met you
[Chorus]
I thought I could never be blue
I thought I'd been kissed
And I thought I'd been loved
But that was before I met you
Well I wanted to ramble and always be free
That was before I met you
And I said that nobody could ever hold me
But that was before I met you
[Chorus]
I thought I'd been kissed
And I thought I'd been loved
But that was before I met you
Darling that was before I met you
In the song "Before I Met You", Reba McEntire talks about how her life changed since meeting her lover. She sings about how she thought she had seen good looking men but her opinion changed when she met him. It is clear that his presence in her life has caused a shift in her perspective. She notes that she never saw anyone that she wanted for her own until she met him. This line seems to suggest that there was a sense of incompleteness in her life before she encountered her lover, something that is common among people who are searching for missing pieces of themselves.
The lyrics also indicate that the singer felt like she had control over her life before meeting her lover. She sings about how she wanted to ramble and always be free before he entered her life. The phrase "swinging the world by the tail" suggests that she felt invincible and on top of the world. However, she admits that those feelings of invincibility and freedom are no longer present since she met him. In other words, she had to give up her sense of independence to be with him, and she seems to have no regrets about it.
Overall, the song "Before I Met You" is a beautiful portrayal of a positive shift in perspective that can happen when someone meets the right person. It suggests that sometimes the missing piece in our lives can be found in another person.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I thought I had seen good looking men in my time
I believed that I had already encountered men that were highly attractive
That was before I met you
However, all of that changed when I met you
And I never saw one that I wanted for mine
I did not find anyone who I desired to be mine
But that was before I met you
Until you came into my life
[Chorus]
Refrain
Well I thought I was swinging the world by the tail
I believed that I was in control and on top of the world
I thought I could never be blue
I felt as though I would never feel sadness or depression
I thought I'd been kissed
I believed I had experienced love and intimacy through kissing
And I thought I'd been loved
I believed I had already felt the profound emotions that come with being loved
But that was before I met you
However, after meeting you, I realized that these experiences were not as fulfilling as they could be
Well I wanted to ramble and always be free
I desired to travel and have no limitations on my freedom
That was before I met you
But now that I have met you, my desires have begun to change
And I said that nobody could ever hold me
I claimed that no one would be able to tame me or make me settle down
But that was before I met you
Until I met you and discovered that I actually longed to be nurtured and loved in a committed relationship
[Chorus]
Refrain
Darling that was before I met you
My life before you was incomplete and unfulfilling, but now that I have you, my world has changed for the better
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHARLES LEWIS SEITZ, J. WILLIAM DENNY, JOE CANNONBALL LEWIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind