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 Your Love Away
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thank you for the offer but I can't let you stay
Every time that love is given
I've been the one to pay
So save my heart take your love away
Do my heart a favor take your love and run
Lets go our separate way before there's damage done
Save my heart take your heart and run
Take your love and hide away
Take my word that nothing but heartaches will follow if you stay
Take your love away
Every time love was given I've been the one to pay
Save my heart take your love away
Take your love and hide away
Take my word that nothing but heartaches will follow if you stay
Take your love and leave me now
Take a look there's nothing to keep you from breaking me down
Take your love away
In the song "Take Your Love Away" by Reba McEntire, the singer is telling her lover that it’s better for her heart if they end their relationship. She acknowledges the offer of love that has been given, but she doesn’t want it anymore because every time she’s given her heart, she ends up hurt. She pleads with him to take his love and leave because she’s in no condition to fall for anyone. She insists that it's not his fault, but something inside of her that has caused her past pain.
This song is a powerful reflection on the pain of heartbreak and the struggle to move on from past relationships. It's a plea for closure and an end to the suffering that comes from loving someone who cannot reciprocate love or who has caused significant emotional damage. In the end, the singer recognizes that it's time to let go and find a healthier love elsewhere.
Line by Line Meaning
Do my heart a favor take your love away
Please remove your love from my heart, it is causing me pain.
Thank you for the offer but I can't let you stay
I appreciate your love, but I cannot continue to accept it.
Every time that love is given
Whenever someone has loved me,
I've been the one to pay
I have suffered the consequences of that love.
So save my heart take your love away
Please protect my heart from further harm, and remove your love from it.
Lets go our separate way before there's damage done
We should end our relationship now, before it causes any more damage.
Oh 'cause I'm in no condition to fall for anyone
I cannot allow myself to fall in love with anyone right now.
Take your love and hide away
Please take your love and hide it from me, as I do not want it anymore.
Take my word that nothing but heartaches will follow if you stay
I promise you that if you continue to love me, it will only cause me more pain.
Take your love and leave me now
Please take your love and go away.
Take a look there's nothing to keep you from breaking me down
You can see for yourself that there is nothing holding you here that would prevent you from hurting me.
Save my heart take your love away
Please remove your love from my heart to protect it.
Take your love away
Remove your love from me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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