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.
Wish I Were Only Lonely
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then nobody ever says goodbye
You don't have to wait for someone
To make you laugh or make you cry
[Chorus:]
Wish I were only lonely
Just kind of ordinary blue
Then maybe I'd know what to do
But I'm helpless 'cause I'm lonely for you
I sleep in a bed so empty
It's an emptiness no one can fill
I may have to go on living
But life without you ain't no thrill
[Chorus:]
Well, whoever said it's better
To love and to lose
He ought to be right here in my shoes
[Chorus:]
The first two lines of Reba McEntire's song "Wish I Were Only Lonely" represent the emotional and physical repercussions of losing someone you love. The idea of being alone is not necessarily a bad thing until those you love leave you. The line "You don't have to wait for someone to make you laugh or make you cry" highlights the fact that relationships often come with a roller coaster of emotions that may not be present when one is alone. The chorus begins with an almost ironic statement, "Wish I were only lonely" as McEntire reflects on the behavioral changes that come with losing someone you love. She longs for the solace of being alone rather than having to endure love's fallout. The line "Then maybe I'd know what to do" is an acknowledgment of how difficult it is to navigate life after the loss of a loved one while admitting that the unresolved pain one feels makes a full recovery impossible. The closing line of the chorus "But I'm helpless 'cause I'm lonely for you" exposes vulnerability as she recognizes being alone does not necessarily equate to happiness.
The second verse delves deep into the pain of loneliness. McEntire sings, "I sleep in a bed so empty, It's an emptiness no one can fill, I may have to go on living But life without you ain't no thrill" emphasizing the loss of intimacy that comes with losing someone you love. The use of the word "may" in the song implies ambiguity as to whether death, the end of the relationship, or distance is the cause for the separation. This ambiguity makes it easier for listeners to relate to the song since it applies to various forms of separation. The final chorus begins with contrasting emotions, "Whoever said it's better To love and to lose, He ought to be right here in my shoes" as McEntire highlights how all listeners have experienced heartaches in their relationships. She finishes the song with a reiteration of being lonely for someone you love, further emphasizing the emotional pain in heartache.
Line by Line Meaning
When you ain't got nobody
When you have no one with you
Then nobody ever says goodbye
No one will ever leave or abandon you
You don't have to wait for someone
You don't have to depend on anyone else
To make you laugh or make you cry
To bring any kind of emotion out of you
Wish I were only lonely
I wish I only had my own company
Just kind of ordinary blue
Feeling just a little down
If I were only lonely
If I could only have myself as company
Then maybe I'd know what to do
Then maybe I could figure out how to feel better
But I'm helpless 'cause I'm lonely for you
But I can't help feeling this way because I'm missing you
I sleep in a bed so empty
I sleep in a bed with no one beside me
It's an emptiness no one can fill
It's a void that no one else can satisfy
I may have to go on living
I may have to keep going despite the pain
But life without you ain't no thrill
But life without you is dull and unsatisfying
Well, whoever said it's better
Whoever said that it's preferable
To love and to lose
To have loved and lost
He ought to be right here in my shoes
He should experience what I'm going through right now
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: RICHARD C. GILES, STEVE BOGARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind