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.
That's All She Wrote
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I heard about your misery
She took you around the bend
And now you're coming back to me
[Chorus]
That's all she wrote
Forget about her let her go
And I love to say I told you so
Think I know what happened late last night
I can tell by looking in your eyes
She spelled it out in black and white
And she left no room for compromise
[Chorus]
I could see it from a mile away
But I don't want to rub it in
All I want is just to hear you say
That you're ready, are you ready
To love me again
[Chorus]
We can put all behind us now
Let's pretend it never happened
We'll forget about the pain somehow
If you're ready, are you ready
To love me again
[Chorus]
The song "That's All She Wrote" by Reba McEntire is about a man who has just gone through a breakup and is now coming back to the singer. The man was with someone else who ultimately caused him misery, and now he is seeking comfort in the singer. The chorus, "That's all she wrote, forget about her, let her go," suggests that the singer is not interested in getting into the details of the breakup or dwelling on the past.
The singer seems to have known all along that the man would come back to her. The line "I could see it from a mile away" implies that she knew the man was not happy with his previous relationship. Now that he is single again, she is willing to take him back if he is ready to love her again.
The overall message of the song is one of forgiveness and moving on. The singer is not interested in holding a grudge or rehashing old wounds. She just wants to put the past behind them and start fresh.
Line by Line Meaning
Well it looks like you're alone again
It seems like you're single once again.
I heard about your misery
I know that you went through a difficult time recently.
She took you around the bend
She fooled you and led you astray.
And now you're coming back to me
You're returning to me now that you're single again.
That's all she wrote
That's the end of that relationship.
Forget about her let her go
Stop dwelling on her and move on.
And I love to say I told you so
I take satisfaction in being right about her.
Think I know what happened late last night
I have a pretty good idea of what happened to you recently.
I can tell by looking in your eyes
I can see the emotional toll it took on you.
She spelled it out in black and white
She was very clear about her intentions and feelings.
And she left no room for compromise
She made it clear that there was no room for negotiation or discussion.
I could see it from a mile away
I could tell that she wasn't good for you from far away.
But I don't want to rub it in
I don't want to make you feel worse about it.
All I want is just to hear you say
I just want to hear you admit that you want to be with me.
That you're ready, are you ready
That you're emotionally available to love me again.
To love me again
To be in a romantic relationship with me again.
We can put all behind us now
We can move on from the past now.
Let's pretend it never happened
Let's try to forget about the painful past.
We'll forget about the pain somehow
We'll find a way to move past the hurt.
If you're ready, are you ready
If you're emotionally available to move on and love me again.
To love me again
To be in a romantic relationship with me again.
That's all she wrote
That's the end of that relationship.
Forget about her let her go
Stop dwelling on her and move on.
That's all she wrote
That's the end of that relationship.
And I love to say I told you so
I take satisfaction in being right about her.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@michaeltriston332
Listening to Reba helps me grieve all my losses. While being busy, really didn't have time to think about death and for acceptance
@RebeccaLynn1985
Such a soothing song and I love it! I've always like this song as well!
@debfan74
I think this should have been a single! It's so catchy and I bet it would have gone big if it had been
@ruthhayes2475
Reba never disappoints me
@jodyburke8328
No one sings and tells a story like Reba #1 true country.
@rondanorthrup3895
Love this song
@tammiefields5934
Wow! This is a great song, love the tempo
@bryanhall731
Another awesome performance, love the QUEEN
@lindaburns5817
Wow soooooo good!!! Love you Reba, 🌹♥️🎵💐⚘🎼🎶👍🙏🙂💜🌷🎤🦋
@eliyahsromans9547
Underrated song