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.
Is There Life Out There
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She thought she was ready
Now she's not so sure
She thought she'd done some living
But now she's just wonderin'
What she's living for
Now she's feeling that there's something more
Is there life out there
So much she hasn't done
Is there life beyond
Her family and her home
She's done what she should
Should she do what she dares
She doesn't want to leave
She's just wonderin
Is there life out there
She's always lived for tomorrow
She's never learned how
To live for today
She's dyin' to try something foolish
Do something crazy
Or just get away
Something for herself for a change
Is there life out there
So much she hasn't done
Is there life beyond
Her family and her home
She's done what she should
Should she do what she dares
She doesn't want to leave
She's just wonderinIs there life out there
There's a place in the sun that she's never been
Where life is fair and time is a friend
Would she do it the same as she did back then
She looks out the window and wonders again
Is there life out there
So much she hasn't done
Is there life beyond
Her family and her home
She's done what she should
Should she do what she dares
She doesn't want to leave
She's just wonderin
Is there life out there
Is there life out there
So much she hasn't done
Is there life beyond
Her family and her home
She's done what she should
Should she do what she dares
She doesn't want to leave
She's just wonderin
Is there life out there
The lyrics of Reba McEntire's song "Is There Life Out There" explore the internal conflict of a woman who has been married for a while and is starting to feel like she is missing out on something. She married young and thought she was ready for the life of being a wife and mom, but now she realizes that she hasn't really lived her life for herself, and feels like there may be something more out there for her. The song is about her pondering whether or not there is something more to life than just being a wife and mother. The woman in the song is looking for inspiration and is yearning to do something remarkable with her life.
The first verse hints at the possibility of the woman feeling disillusioned with her life as a housewife and mother, the lyrics talk about how she got married at a young age thinking she was ready for it but now she is not so sure. She thought that living life as a wife and mother was enough but she’s realizing that there might be more to it. The second verse talks about how she has always lived for tomorrow, and has never learned how to live for today. She wants to try something foolish, do something crazy, or just get away. She wants something for herself for a change. The chorus of the song repeats the main question on the mind of the woman - is there life out there? She wonders whether there could be something else for her, beyond being a wife and mother.
Overall, the song’s meaning is not just for married women but for anyone who feels like they are stuck in a rut and wants to break free from the monotony of their daily lives. It encourages women to seek out opportunities and make the most of every day, even if it means stepping out of their comfort zone and trying something new. The lyrics also recognize that it is never too late to follow your dreams or pursue your passions.
Line by Line Meaning
She married when she was twenty
At twenty, she got married
She thought she was ready
She believed that she was prepared for marriage
Now she's not so sure
She is unsure of her decision
She thought she'd done some living
She had experienced some life before getting married
But now she's just wonderin'
She is currently questioning
What she's living for
She is pondering her purpose
Now she's feeling that there's something more
She is sensing that there is more to life than she has experienced so far
Is there life out there
She is questioning if there is more to life than what she has seen
So much she hasn't done
She has not experienced many things
Is there life beyond
She is wondering if there is more to life beyond her current circumstances
Her family and her home
Her family and home life are all she has known
She's done what she should
She did what was expected of her
Should she do what she dares
She is questioning if she should take risks
She doesn't want to leave
She isn't interested in completely abandoning her current life
She's just wonderin'
She is simply questioning
She's always lived for tomorrow
She has never lived in the present
She's never learned how
She still hasn't figured out how to live for today
To live for today
To take advantage of the present moment
She's dyin' to try something foolish
She wants to experience something silly or unwise
Do something crazy
She is itching to do something wild
Or just get away
She wants to get some space
Something for herself for a change
She wants to do something exclusively for herself
There's a place in the sun that she's never been
There is a sunny location she has never visited
Where life is fair and time is a friend
A place where life is simple and time is not scarce
Would she do it the same as she did back then
She is questioning if she would approach things the same way
She looks out the window and wonders again
She gazes out the window and repeats her pondering
Is there life out there
She is still questioning if there is more to life
So much she hasn't done
There are still many things she hasn't experienced
Is there life beyond
She is still wondering if there is more to life than what she already knows
Her family and her home
Her family and home life are all she knows
She's done what she should
She did what was expected of her
Should she do what she dares
She is wondering if she should take risks
She doesn't want to leave
She isn't interested in completely abandoning her current life
She's just wonderin'
She is simply questioning
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SUSAN LONGACRE, RICHARD GILES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marcokolioulis4980
This video always makes me cry
@SharonPhillips-f3i
Reba rocks!!! Keep up the good work Reba. You sure know how to sing.
@TerryShawn
Hello
Sorry for intruding.Are you a fan too
@kristintheartist
I cried too watching this. I went to university with a baby, and even had to bring him to class with me a few times when the daycare was closed but school in session. It was the hardest 7 years of my life, but I graduated with a masters in engineering and was able to give my son a good childhood. Thanks for writing this, Reba!
@sooner1028
kristintheartist atta girl.
@shelliemason2648
Shes a special women I can relate to this song but I wouldnt change my life and children for anything love Reba🤩
@alexandramn6734
@Randy Boone some ppl have to leave the bullshittin, lazyn cheating no good husband anyway.
@FrauIndian
@Randy Boone You are a HORRIBLE person! The lady you are attacking is not Mary! It takes 2 to make a Human baby. You do not know the circumstances of her getting pregnant. You must not kniow any ladies who married servicemen and were widowed with children.
@mauriceguarin2479
Steven Allen CONGRATS
@angelellis3560
This video makes my momma heart cry! When she tells her professor she learned more from the stain than the paper, I cried