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.
Take Me Back
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thumb through a scrapbook holding back the tears
I keep wishing we could do it once more
Just the way we did before
Take me back to Sycamore Park
Put the radio dial on the golden oldies
Hey lay a blanket down and hold me
By the light of the moon above
So take me back, back to love
Ever since you took me to the big city
Looking for the start
Living in the fast lane
Is tearing us apart
Sometimes don't you want to trade it all in
For a little way back when
Well I remember sneaking out the back
Mama thought I was asleep
Watching for your headlights
Creeping down the street
Trying to steal a kiss
Just anyway we can
Back where it all began
The song "Take Me Back" by Reba McEntire opens with the melancholic narrator sifting through the contents of an old trunk filled with souvenirs and looking through a scrapbook. The singer cannot contain her emotions as she reminisces about moments past and longs to relive them. She wishes she could turn back time and do things just "the way we did before," particularly one specific memory. The memory transports her back to Sycamore Park, a place where she and her love sat together, listening to the golden oldies on the radio. She dreams of laying a blanket on the ground and having him hold her all night under the light of the moon above. She wishes to turn back time and relive such a significant moment of her life with someone she loves.
The second stanza switches the tone to the conflicts that love and life bring. The idea of moving to the city was once exciting to the singer, but the fast pace and the hustle is causing a rift between her and her partner. The sentiment that living in the present is not as great as living in the past is expressed when the singer asks if her partner sometimes wishes they could go back to how things were before. She ends the verses with a memory of sneakily creeping out of the house late at night to catch a kiss from her lover, one more beautiful memory that the singer would like to relive.
Line by Line Meaning
Now and then I open up a trunk full of old souvenirs
Occasionally, I take a moment to recall old memories and reminisce about past experiences.
Thumb through a scrapbook holding back the tears
I browse through old photo albums, but can't help but feel emotional as I remember the good times.
I keep wishing we could do it once more
I often think back and long for the opportunity to relive past experiences.
Just the way we did before
I wish things could be exactly as they were in the past.
Take me back to Sycamore Park
I yearn to revisit a location from the past.
Put the radio dial on the golden oldies
I want to listen to classic music from a bygone era.
Hey lay a blanket down and hold me
I want to share a cozy moment with someone special.
We can stay all night
We can spend an endless amount of time together in this idyllic place.
By the light of the moon above
We can enjoy a romantic evening under the stars.
So take me back, back to love
I want to go back to a time when love and happiness were simpler.
Ever since you took me to the big city
Since visiting the city with you, things have changed.
Looking for the start
We used to seek out new adventures together.
Living in the fast lane
Our lives have become more hectic and less enjoyable.
Is tearing us apart
The fast-paced lifestyle is straining our relationship.
Sometimes don't you want to trade it all in
Don't you ever feel like giving up everything to go back to the past?
For a little way back when
To experience a spark of happiness and simplicity from our past.
Well, I remember sneaking out the back
I recall a time when we used to be rebels and do things we shouldn't have.
Mama thought I was asleep
We used to deceive our parents to spend time together.
Watching for your headlights
I waited eagerly for you to arrive.
Creeping down the street
You would sneakily drive to our meeting spot.
Trying to steal a kiss
We would sneak a romantic moment together whenever we could.
Just anyway we can
We made sure to share a moment of intimacy no matter the risk.
Back where it all began
We want to go back to the place where our love story first started.
Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JERRY FULLER, JOHN HOBBS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind