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.
Never Had A Reason To
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Got a husband house and kids
That's what everybody did after school
If I'd a had a steady boyfriend
I mighta stuck around like them but
Back then I never had a reason to
L.A.'s like another planet
Had to live there to understand it
Till I saw good girls gettin' outta control
Endin' up sellin' their souls
Oh no I never had a reason to
I never had a reason to stay
To not walk away
Nobody's heart was gonna break over me
I never had somethin' worth keepin'
Or somebody I needed
Like I'm needin' you
Baby don't you see it's true
I never had a reason to believe in love
To some love comes as a vision
To some it's a sweet baptism
Me and love had a head-on collision
When I ran into you
Got some feelings I'm figurin' out
No I don't know exactly how
Until now I never had a reason to
The song Never Had A Reason To by Reba McEntire is a reflection on the singer's life choices and how they differ from those of her peers. She opens with lines that describe how the girls she grew up with pursued a traditional path of finding a husband, buying a house, and starting a family. However, the singer did not follow this same path because she never had a compelling reason to. She then reflects on her move to Los Angeles, which she initially found exciting and glamorous, but soon discovered the darker side of the city where good girls end up selling their souls. Again, she notes that she never had a reason to stay until she found someone she needed.
The singer's main message is that she never had something worth keeping or somebody she needed until she found the person she sings to in the final verse. She admits that love had a rough start in her life and that it was only with this person that she found something worth holding on to. The other person gave her a reason to believe in love, something she never thought possible before.
Overall, the song evokes a sense of sadness and regret that the singer did not follow the traditional path in life but ultimately comes around to finding completeness with another person.
Line by Line Meaning
All the girls I grew up with
Referring to the singer's childhood acquaintances
Got a husband house and kids
Referring to the typical life trajectory of her childhood acquaintances
That's what everybody did after school
Explaining the social norm of settling down after completing education
If I'd a had a steady boyfriend
If the artist had a long-term significant other during her youth
I mighta stuck around like them but
Could have led the artist to settle down like her acquaintances
Back then I never had a reason to
The singer explains that she never had a compelling reason to stay in one place or settle down
L.A.'s like another planet
Describing Los Angeles as a very different environment
Had to live there to understand it
Emphasizing the difficulty in understanding the culture and lifestyle of Los Angeles
And I thought when I first landed that California's cool
The artist initially believed the culture of California was intriguing
Till I saw good girls gettin' outta control
Observing young woman engaging in risky behavior
Endin' up sellin' their souls
The singer comments on the negative impact of fame and fortune in Hollywood
Oh no I never had a reason to
The artist repeats that she had no compelling reason to stay in California
I never had a reason to stay
Repeating the sentiment that the singer lacked sufficient reason to remain in one location
To not walk away
The singer never had any significant attachments to prevent her from leaving Los Angeles
Nobody's heart was gonna break over me
This line reveals the singer's lack of emotional connection to the people around her
I never had somethin' worth keepin'
The artist didn't find anything of value in her surroundings
Or somebody I needed
The artist didn't have a significant individual in her life at the time
Like I'm needin' you
This line reveals the importance and value of the individual the singer is currently in a relationship with
Baby don't you see it's true
The singer references the truth of her current feelings and desires
I never had a reason to believe in love
The artist didn't understand the value or motivations of romantic love prior to her current relationship
To some love comes as a vision
Acknowledging the different ways that people experience romantic love
To some it's a sweet baptism
Further expanding the difference in experience and perception of love
Me and love had a head-on collision
The singer's previous experiences with love were tumultuous or negative
When I ran into you
Meeting the current individual caused a dramatic shift in the artist's perception of love
Got some feelings I'm figurin' out
The singer is working through and processing her emotions
No I don't know exactly how
The singer is unsure of how to navigate her emotions and newfound understanding of love
Until now I never had a reason to
Reiterating the sentiment that the singer's previous experiences didn't provide a significant reason to understand love
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARK DANIEL SANDERS, TIM NICHOLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind