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.

How Does It Feel To Be Free
Reba McEntire Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

How did it happen
When did we lose it
The love we looked for so long
I'm sorry I called you
But it's the first night you see
How does it feel to be free

How does it feel now

To reach out for someone
And find there's nobody there
Is it weighing on you
Cause it's sure killing me
Tell me how does it feel to be free

Funny how love is so hard to find
And yet so easy to lose
Maybe in time this old heart of mine
Can learn to be free without you

How did it happen
When did we lose it
The love we looked for so long
I'm sorry I called you
But I just have to see
How does it feel to be free

I'm sorry I called you

But it's the first night you see
Now how does it feel to be free

Overall Meaning

In Reba McEntire's song "How Does It Feel To Be Free," the singer seems to be struggling with the end of a relationship. She ponders over how the love they had for each other could have been lost, and how it feels to be alone and "free" from the relationship. The singer expresses regret over calling the other person, but couldn't help asking how it feels to be free. She wonders if the other person feels the same sense of loneliness and despair that she is feeling now that they are no longer together. While admitting that love can be difficult to find, she hopes that in time, she can learn to be "free" without her former partner.

The lyrics of this song capture the heartbreak and confusion that can come with the end of a relationship. The singer is questioning everything, from how they could have lost the love they once had, to how it feels to be alone. The repetition of the phrase "how does it feel to be free" emphasizes the feeling of liberation that can come with the end of a relationship, but also implies a sense of longing and regret.

Overall, "How Does It Feel To Be Free" is a bittersweet and poignant song that captures the emotions of heartbreak and the struggle to move on.

Line by Line Meaning

How did it happen
When did our love fall apart?

When did we lose it
When did our love end?

The love we looked for so long
The love we have been seeking for so long

I'm sorry I called you
I apologize for contacting you

But it's the first night you see
Tonight is my first time being alone

How does it feel to be free
What does it feel like to be independent?

How does it feel now
What are the emotions you experience now?

To reach out for someone
To seek companionship

And find there's nobody there
And realize you are alone

Is it weighing on you
Is it burdening you?