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.

I Can't Stop Now
Reba McEntire Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I can't say I didn't know what I was doin'
I can't pretend things just got outta hand
I shoulda kept my distance
While I was still strong
But I got caught up in the feelin'
Carried along and it's
Too late baby
I can't stop now

Well I walked right in with my eyes wide open (I did)
And I was blind when you told me
You'd be mine just as soon as you were free
I should have kept my distance
While I was still strong
But I got caught up in the feelin'
Carried along and it's
Too late baby
I can't stop now

Can't stop now
Crazy heart's runnin' outta control
Can't stop now
And I'll be falling apart somewhere down the road
I might be headed for a breakdown
But I can't stop now

Glen!

Overall Meaning

These lyrics capture a feeling of regret and surrender as the singer reflects on a past relationship. The first stanza acknowledges the singer's awareness of the situation and their role in it. They can't pretend they didn't know what they were getting into, and they should have maintained some distance while they still had the strength to do so. But the singer got "caught up in the feeling" and now it's too late to turn back. This admission of culpability is paired with a sense of resignation: the singer is committed to seeing the relationship through to its end, no matter the cost.

The second stanza adds more detail to the situation. The singer went into the relationship with their eyes "wide open," but they were also "blind" to the other person's true intentions. The other person promised commitment but only after they were "free" from another relationship. The singer once again acknowledges that they should have stayed stronger for longer, but they were swept up in the passion of the relationship. The repetition of "can't stop now" emphasizes the singer's lack of agency in the situation. They are powerless to change the course of events and are resigned to an eventual breakdown.

Overall, these lyrics convey a sense of helplessness and regret as the singer reflects on a relationship that went too far, too fast. They recognize their mistakes but also feel trapped in the momentum of the relationship. The repetition of "can't stop now" reinforces this feeling of being stuck and unable to break free.

Line by Line Meaning

I can't say I didn't know what I was doin'
I am aware of my actions and their consequences

I can't pretend things just got outta hand
I refuse to make excuses for my choices and their outcomes

I shoulda kept my distance
I recognize that it would have been better for me to maintain a safe distance

While I was still strong
Before I became emotionally or mentally invested

But I got caught up in the feelin'
I couldn't resist the emotions and temptation

Carried along and it's
Continued despite the potential harm

Too late baby
I acknowledge that I have passed the point of no return

Well I walked right in with my eyes wide open (I did)
I entered into the situation with full knowledge of what was happening

And I was blind when you told me
Although I knew what was happening, I was still unaware of the consequences

You'd be mine just as soon as you were free
Your intentions were clear and I should have seen them

Can't stop now
Despite my reservations, I am unable to turn back