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.
Long Distance Lover
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When they said it was you on the line
I said don't come tomorrow
Cause I won't be here
You'd only be wasting your time
I've been your long distance lover
For far too long
Who's right or who's wrong
But I know I once loved you
But somehow it seems
That it's all a part of a dream
So don't call me again in the morning
Cause I won't be changing my mind
And the phone will be ringing in my empty room
I ain't leaving nothing behind
I've been your long distance lover
For far too long
The nights are so lonely
Can't keep holding on
And the miles are like mountains
That hide you from me
And it's all a part of a dream
I've been your long distance lover
For far too long
Can't hold on to feelings
When you're so long gone
It all keeps on a changing
And now it just means
That it's all a part of a dream
In Reba McEntire’s song “Long Distance Lover,” the singer is expressing her disbelief that her long-distance lover has called her once again from Memphis. She tells him that she won't be there when he comes to visit and he would only be wasting his time. She acknowledges that she has been his long-distance lover for far too long and the nights are very lonely. She cannot hold on to her feelings when he is so long gone. She knows that she was once in love with him, but now it seems that it was all a part of a dream.
The lyrics of this song fully capture the pain and isolation that can come from being in a long-distance relationship. The singer is seemingly confident in her decision to end the relationship, but her sense of longing and sadness is palpable throughout the song. It’s clear that the distance and the passing of time have taken a toll on their relationship and that it’s time for each of them to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Then you call me long distance from Memphis
You called me all the way from Memphis, which is far away.
When they said it was you on the line
When they told me it was you calling, I was surprised.
I said don't come tomorrow
I told you not to come tomorrow because I won't be there.
Cause I won't be here
I won't be there to see you if you do come.
You'd only be wasting your time
It would be pointless for you to come if I'm not going to be there.
I've been your long distance lover
We've had a long distance relationship for a while.
For far too long
It's been going on for too much time.
But I'm not here to tell you
I don't want to argue or place blame.
Who's right or who's wrong
I don't want to argue or place blame.
But I know I once loved you
I used to love you at some point in the past.
But somehow it seems
But now it seems like that love was just a dream.
That it's all a part of a dream
Our relationship and love feels unreal, like it's part of a dream.
So don't call me again in the morning
Don't bother calling me again tomorrow.
Cause I won't be changing my mind
I won't change my mind about not seeing you.
And the phone will be ringing in my empty room
The phone will ring but I won't be there to answer it.
I ain't leaving nothing behind
I'm not leaving anything important behind.
The nights are so lonely
The nights are very lonely without you here.
Can't keep holding on
I can't keep waiting for you.
And the miles are like mountains
The distance between us feels insurmountable.
That hide you from me
The distance makes it difficult for us to be together.
And it's all a part of a dream
Our love and relationship still feels like it's not real.
Can't hold on to feelings
I can't keep holding onto these feelings for you.
When you're so long gone
Because you've been gone for so long.
It all keeps on a changing
Everything keeps changing.
And now it just means
And now it just means that our relationship was a dream.
That it's all a part of a dream
Our love and relationship still feels like it's not real.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PAULINE LEE, ROBERT M ROSENBERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind