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.
So
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know it seems like I've loved you forever.
Who could be closer than you and I.
People even say we're so much alike,
But they don't know why I've been loving
You so long that I know every move you make
Every breath you take.
Lord I feel it so strong.
And where you begin.
[Chorus]
Oh you make me so happy,
Feeling like this
There's so much ahead
That I don't want to miss Oh I want
To keep it so good
So, So, So Long So fine, So
Real, So right, Oh I want to keep it so good
So, So, So, Long Eh, yeah.
Yeah mm mm oh darling don't think for a minute
Time could ever steal the thrill away.
You've still got the power to be
My man And you know you can I've been loving you so long.
[Chorus]
In Reba McEntire's song "So So So Long," she depicts a love that has lasted for what seems like an eternity. The singer emphasizes the closeness between her and her lover: "Who could be closer than you and I.” She describes them as s few who are alike but without anybody's knowledge of why they have developed this mutual liking for each other. The singer is deeply in love that she knows every move and breath of her lover. She says, "But they don't know why, I've been loving you so long that I know every move you make, every breath you take. Lord, I feel it so strong. Sometimes I don't know where I end and where you begin." These lines imply that the couple has an inseparable bond and that the singer is so invested in their relationship that she can't separate herself from her lover.
The chorus is an ode to the happiness and contentment that the singer derives from this relationship. She expresses a desire for the love to last forever without missing out on all the great and amazing things life has to offer. In the second verse, Reba encourages her man not to underestimate the power of love to keep them together despite the test of time. She reminds him that he's still got the power to be her man, and he knows he can because she’s been loving him for an extended period. Thus, the song speaks to the idea of a love that transcends time and space, where one partner knows the other partner so well that they're part of each other's DNA.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, yeah, yeah hm hm
Starting out the song, expressing a feeling of excitement and happiness.
You know it seems like I've loved you forever.
Talking about their long-standing relationship and how it feels like it's been forever.
Who could be closer than you and I.
Acknowledging the closeness between them and their strong bond.
People even say we're so much alike,
Noting how people observe their similarities.
But they don't know why I've been loving
Suggesting that there are things about their relationship that are not known by others.
You so long that I know every move you make
Describing the level of familiarity they have with each other.
Every breath you take.
Extending the idea of familiarity to the point where even the sound of each other's breathing is known.
Lord I feel it so strong.
Emphasizing the intensity of their love for one another.
Sometimes I don't know where I end,
Expressing how they feel inseparable from each other.
And where you begin.
Continuing the idea of inseparability, implying that they are basically one person.
Oh you make me so happy,
Declaring the joy that this person brings into their life.
Feeling like this
Further emphasizing the intense emotion that they feel.
There's so much ahead
Expressing the hope and optimism they feel for the future.
That I don't want to miss
Acknowledging how important it is to cherish each moment and not miss out on anything.
Oh I want
Revealing a desire to maintain the current state of happiness and fulfillment.
To keep it so good
Stating a desire to keep things going well.
So, So, So Long
Using the phrase 'So long' to symbolize the desire to keep things going for a very long time.
So fine, So Real, So right,
Using three adjectives to describe how perfect their relationship is.
Oh I want to keep it so good
Reiterating the desire to maintain the current state of happiness.
Eh, yeah.
A simple expression of affirmation to close the song.
Lyrics © THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
n00se
Yeah-yeah-yeah
Mmm-mmm-mmm
You know it seems like I've loved you forever
Who could be closer than you and I
People even say we're so much alike
But they don't know why
I've been lovin' you so long
That I know every move you make
Every breath you take,
What I feel is so strong
Sometimes I don't know where I end
And where you begin.
You make me so happy
Feeling like this
There's so much ahead that I don't wanna miss
Oh, I wanna keep it so good
So, so, so long
So fine - so real - so right
Oh, I wanna keep it so good
So, so, so long
Yeah-yeah-yeah
Oooooo-oooohh
Oh darlin', don't think for a minute
Time could ever steal the thrill away
You still got the power to be my man
And you know you can
I've been lovin' you so long
That I know every move you make
Every breath you take
What I feel is so strong
Sometimes I don't know where I end
And where you begin.
You make me so happy
Feeling like this
There's so much ahead that I don't wanna miss
Oh, I wanna keep it so good
So, so, so long
So good - so fine - so real - and so right
Oh, I wanna keep it so good
So, so, so long
So good - so fine - so real - so right
So, so, so long
So, so, so long
Chava Ayanna
I was a freshman in high school when this cassette tape came out. This was the first ever Cassette tape I owned by her. I used to put my ear buds in and BELT this song out just as loud as she did <3
Elizabeth Mchugh
Absolutely love her accent when Reba sings she always sounds amazing and she captures you're attention Avery time
Linda Burns
Fantastic and beautifully done Reba!!! 🎸❣🥁💋🌹💐👍🙏♥️⚘🦋
sandra Ferrington
Don't think know one can top her
PWRFL
RIP Eric Hooyschuur 1964-1993
Ruth Noël Marie...
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻