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.
You Must Really Love Me
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You never take to heart the crazy things I say
Oh, I know you could walk out on me any day
There must be a darn good reason
Why you'd even want to stay
You must really love me
How can it be true?
I won't even take from you
Every time I fall apart
You always pull me through
You must really love me
As much as I love you
You must really love me
As much as I love you
I appreciate the honesty you've shown to me
And the way you tell your friends that you belong to me
And when you hold me tight it always sets me free
Oh, this must be the way
That true love was meant to be
You must really love me
How can it be true?
There are things you'll take from me
I won't even take from you
Every time I fall apart
You always pull me through
You must really love me
As much as I love you
You must really love me
And Lord I'm glad you do
The lyrics to Reba McEntire's song "You Must Really Love Me" are a testament to the enduring power of true love. The song is a reflection on the singer's own insecurities and how her partner's unwavering love and support have helped her overcome them. The opening lines of the song, "Tell me why do you put up with my foolish ways / You never take to heart the crazy things I say" show that the singer is aware of her own flaws and worries that they might be too much for her partner to handle. However, the chorus of the song assures listeners that despite all this, the love between the two is real and enduring.
The song's lyrics also touch upon the themes of reciprocity and mutual love. The lines "There are things you'll take from me / I won't even take from you / Every time I fall apart / You always pull me through" show that the singer is well aware of the sacrifices her partner has made for her, and how he has always been there for her when she needed him the most. The line "And when you hold me tight it always sets me free" shows how the simplest gestures of love, like a hug or a kiss, can have a profound and lasting impact on a person.
Overall, "You Must Really Love Me" is a song about the transformative power of love, and the importance of having someone to rely on during life's highs and lows.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me why do you put up with my foolish ways
Please explain why you tolerate my senseless behavior
You never take to heart the crazy things I say
You never allow my absurd comments to bother you emotionally
Oh, I know you could walk out on me any day
I'm aware that you could break up with me at any moment
There must be a darn good reason
There must be an excellent motive
Why you'd even want to stay
For what reason do you even desire to remain with me
You must really love me
It's evident that you genuinely love me
How can it be true?
How can love genuinely exist in this sort of circumstance
There are things you'll take from me
There are things that you tolerate and accept about me
I won't even take from you
Things that I would not tolerate or accept from you
Every time I fall apart
Whenever I have an emotional breakdown
You always pull me through
You always provide me with the necessary support to recover
As much as I love you
To the same extent that I adore you
I appreciate the honesty you've shown to me
I'm grateful for your truthful behavior towards me
And the way you tell your friends that you belong to me
I'm thankful for how you proudly declare that you're my significant other to your peers
And when you hold me tight it always sets me free
Whenever you embrace me tightly, it grants me a sense of liberation
Oh, this must be the way
This feeling that I'm experiencing must be the proper signifier
That true love was meant to be
That genuine affection is what was destined
And Lord I'm glad you do
I'm grateful that you genuinely love me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON SCHLITZ, REBA MCENTIRE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind