Reba Nell McEntire (born on March 28, 1955 - Kiowa, Oklahoma, USA) is a Gra… Read Full Bio ↴Reba Nell McEntire (born on March 28, 1955 - Kiowa, Oklahoma, USA) is a Grammy Award-winning singer and one of the best-selling country music performers of all time, known for her pop-tinged ballads that include 24 #1 hits. She has issued 28 studio albums and 13 compilations, with more than 50 million records sold as of 2007.

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.

When You're Not Trying To
Reba McEntire Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Let me try to explain
It's not the roses or champagne
That really touch my heart
How can I make you see
That you're best at lovin'
When you don't know you are

Baby, it's the way that you reach out while you're sleepin'

And gently hold my hand the whole night through
It's how you listen when I'm pouring out my feelings
Baby, when I feel the most from you
Is when you're not tryin' to

You don't need to rehearse
Some sweet romantic words
To whisper in my ear
So just forget the poetry
What comes naturally is what I long to hear

Baby, it's the way that you reach out while you're sleepin'
And gently hold my hand the whole night through
It's how you listen when I'm pouring out my feelings
Baby, when I feel the most from you
Is when you're not tryin' to

It's in your eyes
And in your smile
In the passion of your kiss
It's takin' me in your arms so easily
So effortless

It's how you listen when I'm pourin' out my feelings

Baby, when I feel the most from you
Is when you're not tryin' to

Overall Meaning

In Reba McEntire's song When You're Not Trying To, she sings about the simple moments of love that mean the most to her. The lyrics explain that it's not about the fancy gestures such as roses or champagne, but rather the small moments of affection that her partner may not even realize they are doing. McEntire wants her partner to understand that they are best at loving her when they are not even trying, and when their love comes naturally.

The song is filled with examples of the moments that touch McEntire's heart the most. She speaks of how her partner holding her hand throughout the night, without even realizing it, makes her feel loved. She also mentions how their effortless embrace and passionate kiss mean more to her than any rehearsed sweet words. McEntire emphasizes that it's in those moments when her partner is not thinking about how to impress her, but rather just being themselves, that she feels the most loved.

Overall, the song When You're Not Trying To is about the beauty in the simple, authentic moments of love. McEntire wants her partner to know that those moments mean everything to her.

Line by Line Meaning

Let me try to explain
I want to express something important to you

It's not the roses or champagne
The material things are not what touches my heart

That really touch my heart
What touches my heart is something more personal

How can I make you see
I want you to understand something that I feel

That you're best at lovin'
You are at your best when you're showing love

When you don't know you are
But you don't realize it

Baby, it's the way that you reach out while you're sleepin'
The small gestures you make when you're not even aware of it mean so much

And gently hold my hand the whole night through
Your simple act of holding my hand while you sleep makes me feel loved and secure

It's how you listen when I'm pouring out my feelings
You being attentive and listening to me when I share my emotions with you is what truly matters

Baby, when I feel the most from you
I feel the most connected to you

Is when you're not tryin' to
When you're not making a conscious effort, it comes naturally