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 Love Someone Like That
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I guess I did something wrong
I tried too hard
Wanted too much
I guess that's why it's gone
I lost my pride, I fought and cried
I felt like a little kid
Still can't believe
I did the things I did
I couldn't change him
He was gonna break my heart
I saw it coming
Yeah I knew it from the start
When you love (when you love)
When you love someone like that, when you give what you can't take back
When you love (when you love)
With all your heart and soul, it's so hard to let it go
When you love someone like that, when you love someone like that
Girl it ain't right, it just ain't right
Don't tell yourself that it was you
You followed your heart,you gave it your best
There's nothing more you can do
Guys like him are like the wind
And you know it's just too bad
They blow in and out again and never know what they had
Girl I can tell ya
He'll do the same to someone else it ain't about you
So don't be so hard on yourself
When you love (when you love)
When you love someone like that, when you give what you can't take back
When you love (when you love)
With all your heart and soul, it's so hard to let it go
When you love someone like that, when you love someone like that
Oh we've all loved and lost
It's happened to us all
I hear what you're saying but I feel like the only one
You might feel right but you're not
You're alright (I'm alright)
You're OK (I'm OK)
You're gonna make it anyway (both)
When you love (when you love)
With all your heart and soul, it's so hard to let it go
When you love (when you love)
When you love someone like that, when you give what you can't take back
When you love (when you love)
With all your heart and soul, it's so hard to let it go
When you love someone like that, when you love someone like that
You're alright (I'm alright)
You're OK (I'm OK)
When you love someone like that... When you love
The lyrics to Reba McEntire's song "When You Love Someone Like That" touch on the emotional struggles of loving someone deeply, even when it doesn't work out. The first verse speaks to the feeling of regret that often comes after a relationship has ended. The singer wonders if it was something they did that caused the breakup and laments the fact that they lost their pride and fought and cried. The chorus then speaks to the powerful nature of love, how it can be all-consuming and difficult to let go even when you know you should.
The second verse provides a bit of comfort for the singer as they realize that it wasn't entirely their fault that the relationship failed. They gave it their all and followed their heart, but in the end, the guy they were with just wasn't capable of a lasting relationship. The bridge offers some universal wisdom, acknowledging that everyone has loved and lost and reassuring the singer that they will be okay.
Overall, "When You Love Someone Like That" is a song that speaks to the pain and complexity of relationships, particularly those that end badly. It offers both commiseration and comfort for those who have experienced the pain of a failed relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I think it was me it must have been me
I blame myself for the end of the relationship
I guess I did something wrong
I realize that my actions may have contributed to the break-up
I tried too hard
I put in too much effort to please him
Wanted too much
I had high expectations for the relationship
I guess that's why it's gone
My behavior caused the relationship to end
I lost my pride, I fought and cried
I became emotionally vulnerable and fought to keep the relationship alive
I felt like a little kid
I felt helpless in my attempts to save the relationship
What's wrong with me?
I question what I did wrong
Still can't believe
I'm in disbelief that the relationship is over
I did the things I did
I can't change the past and my actions that led to the break-up
I couldn't change him
I realize that it was not my responsibility to change him
He was gonna break my heart
I saw the signs that he was not fully committed to the relationship and it would end in heartbreak
I saw it coming
I was aware of the eventual end of the relationship
Yeah I knew it from the start
I sensed that the relationship would not last
Girl it ain't right, it just ain't right
It's not fair that I have to bear the emotional burden of the end of the relationship
Don't tell yourself that it was you
I shouldn't solely blame myself for the end of the relationship
You followed your heart,you gave it your best
I did everything I could to make the relationship work, and I followed my heart in doing so
There's nothing more you can do
I have done all that I can and need to accept the outcome of the relationship
Guys like him are like the wind
Men like him are fickle and unreliable, like the wind
And you know it's just too bad
It's unfortunate that I invested so much time and effort into someone who was not fully committed
They blow in and out again and never know what they had
Men like him come and go without realizing the true value of what they had
Girl I can tell ya
I can reassure you
He'll do the same to someone else
He will continue to repeat his pattern of behavior in future relationships
It ain't about you
The end of the relationship is not solely my responsibility, and I am not at fault
So don't be so hard on yourself
I need to show myself compassion and not blame myself for the end of the relationship
Oh we've all loved and lost
Experiencing heartbreak is a universal human experience
It's happened to us all
We have all gone through it at some point in our lives
I hear what you're saying but I feel like the only one
I understand that others have gone through this, but I feel alone in my heartbreak
You might feel right but you're not
My feelings of being alone in my heartbreak are not true, as others have gone through it as well
You're alright (I'm alright)
Despite the heartbreak, I will be okay
You're OK (I'm OK)
I am okay despite the end of the relationship
You're gonna make it anyway (both)
I will get through this heartbreak and come out stronger in the end
When you love (when you love)
When you truly love someone
When you love someone like that, when you give what you can't take back
When you love someone wholeheartedly and give your all to the relationship
With all your heart and soul, it's so hard to let it go
It's especially difficult to let go of a relationship when you have invested so much emotionally
When you love someone like that, when you love someone like that
When you love someone deeply and are willing to put everything on the line for them
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KARYN ROCHELLE, ED HILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind