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.
Red Roses
Reba McEntire Lyrics
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Here we go us again
You've been gone and here you stand
With a dozen I'm sorry's in your hand
Victim of your potent charms
I took you back with open arms
But along with the roses came the thorns
[Chorus]
And that's why red roses just won't work now
Cause you've done too much
To talk things out
You could tell me you love me
But that's the one thing I'll always doubt
Red roses just won't work now
Gone for good's the trust I had
You let me done the garden path
Just too many times to take you back
So faith is why don't you
Save the roses for you know who
I already know how long they'll last
[Chorus]
In Reba McEntire's song "Red Roses," the singer portrays a woman who has had enough of her partner's apologies after repeatedly breaking her trust. The song starts with the titular red roses being presented as an inadequate gesture to make up for the hurt that has been caused. The love interest offers a dozen "I'm sorry's" with the roses in hand, but the singer knows that this empty gesture won't heal the wounds that have been made. She acknowledges that she has been a victim of the man's potent charms and has taken him back time and time again. However, the roses now come with thorns, symbolic of the pain and damage that has been done.
The chorus is a poignant reminder of how deep the hurt runs: "Red roses just won't work now / Cause you've done too much / To talk things out / You could tell me you love me / But that's the one thing I'll always doubt / Red roses just won't work now." The singer points out that the trust she once had is now gone, and her partner has let her down too many times to take him back. Despite the man's pleading, the singer tells him to save the roses for someone else who might believe in the sincerity of the gesture. The song closes with the refrain of the chorus, emphasizing the finality of the situation and the pain that has been caused.
Overall, "Red Roses" is a song about the devastation of broken trust in a relationship. While the love interest may believe that a bouquet of flowers and a few words will fix things, the singer knows that the damage runs too deep for such shallow gestures. The thorns on the roses serve as a stark reminder of the pain that has been caused, and the singer isn't willing to take her partner back just because of a pretty bouquet.
Line by Line Meaning
Red roses just won't work now
Apologies don't work anymore
Here we go us again
We are back to where we started
You've been gone and here you stand
You left but you came back
With a dozen I'm sorry's in your hand
You have twelve apologies with you
Victim of your potent charms
I am easily swayed by you
I took you back with open arms
I welcomed you back with open feelings
But along with the roses came the thorns
But your apologies came with negative consequences
And that's why red roses just won't work now
That is why apologies don't work anymore
Cause you've done too much
You have done a lot of damage
To talk things out
To resolve our issues through communication
You could tell me you love me
You can express your love for me
But that's the one thing I'll always doubt
But I will always doubt that
Gone for good's the trust I had
The trust I had is permanently gone
You let me done the garden path
You betrayed my trust
Just too many times to take you back
I gave you too many chances
So faith is why don't you
So why don't you have faith
Save the roses for you know who
Give the roses to someone else
I already know how long they'll last
I already know how temporary they are
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JIMMY HINSON, DAVID LEE MURPHY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind