Sara Lynn Evans was born February 5, 1971, and raised on a farm near New Fr… Read Full Bio ↴Sara Lynn Evans was born February 5, 1971, and raised on a farm near New Franklin, Missouri as the oldest girl amongst seven children. Music has always been a part of her life and by age five was singing every weekend in her family's band. When she was sixteen, she began performing at a nightclub near Columbia, Missouri, a gig that lasted two years.

She moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1991 with the goal of becoming a country artist. Songwriter Harlan Howard heard Sara as she sung a demo of one of his songs, "Tiger By the Tail" at County Q Studios**, and decided she should sing his music. She went under contract with RCA.

In 1997 Evans released her first album Three Chords and the Truth. Critics praised the album for returning to traditional country and recognized it on many of their top ten of the year lists. Unfortunately, it did not catch on with country radio at the time and none of the three singles made the top 40.

In 1998 Evans released her sophomore album No Place That Far. Critics slammed her for choosing a more pop/country oriented album. Her first single "Cryin' Game" hardly charted. It would be her next single "No Place That Far," a duet with Vince Gill, that would be her first number one single. The album has been certified gold. She actually had been a backup singer for Vince Gill, which definitely played a role in showcasing her talents and leading her ever growing popularity and success.

Evans released her "make it or break it" album, Born To Fly in 2000. Her first single "Born To Fly" hit the number one spot and proved to be her biggest hit until "Suds in the Bucket." The hits kept coming in as her next single "I Could Not Ask For More" hit the number two spot. "Saints and Angels," Evans' favorite song on the album, hit the number sixteen spot and the last single "I Keep Looking" made it to the number five spot. Thus far, the album has been certified double platinum.

Evans led the pack as the most nominated artist at the 2001 Country Music Association awards with seven nominations, and won her first CMA award when her song “Born to Fly” won the award for Video of the Year.

In 2003 Evans released Restless. This album showed her versatility as the songs combined different genres such as country, pop, blues, and soul. The album's first single "Backseat of a Greyhound Bus" went to number sixteen. The next single, "Perfect," went to number two. The next single "Suds in the Bucket" went to number one and became her biggest hit since "Born to Fly" and quickly became a fan favorite among her songs. The next single "Tonight" failed to reach the top 40. Restless has been certified platinum.

In 2004 Evans was the most played female singer on country music radio thanks to singles such as "Suds in the Bucket" and "Perfect."

In 2005, Sara Evans struck gold with the country ballad "A Real Fine Place to Start". With help from this single her album Real Fine Place was propelled to No.1 on the top of the country charts and No. 3 on the pop charts with over 130,000 copies sold in the first week, nearly tripling the sales from her last album debut Restless. Real Fine Place was the best debuting album of her career. The single from the album stood on top of the Billboard and Radio and Record Charts for two weeks. Evans was nominated for two CMA awards, including the prestigious "Female Vocalist of the Year" and prized "Musical Event of the Year" (the latter in part due to her duet with Brad Paisley, "New Again"). However, she lost in both categories. Sara went on the road with Brad Paisley and newcomers Sugarland on Brad's "Time Well Wasted Tour". Her current single "Cheatin'" has quickly become the fastest rising single of her career. Real Fine Place has recently been certified gold.

On December 6, 2005 Sara released Feels Like Home through Cracker Barrel stores. The album consists of alternate versions of some of her most memorable songs. For example, there is an acoustic version of "No Place That Far," a live version of "Born To Fly," and several other versions of her most popular songs.

To Be Happy
Sara Evans Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If I had one wish
I would wish for two
For me and you
To be happy
With the way things are
Sometimes it gets hard
But we've come so far
To be happy

Yeah I don't think that I'm complaining
Sometimes it keeps on raining
Oh but don't be frightened by thunder and lightning
The sun comes out and the flowers grow
And you find you're already on the road
To be happy
If I had one prayer
To pull out of thin air
Everyone, everywhere,
Would be happy
We'd hand out valentines
I'd be yours, you'd be mine
There's a place, there's a time
To be happy
Oh, I don't think that I'm complaining
Sometimes it keeps on raining
Oh but don't be frightened by thunder and lightning
The sun comes out and the flowers grow
And you find you're already on the road
To be happy
Yeah we fuss and we fight
We can't see the light
We wake up and decide
We don't need to be right
To be happy
I don't think that I'm complaining
Sometimes it keeps on raining
Oh but don't be frightened by thunder and lightning
The sun comes out and the flowers grow
And you find you're already on the road

To be happy
Yeah to be happy

Overall Meaning

In this song, Sara Evans expresses a simple yet powerful sentiment: if she had one wish, it would be for her and her loved one to be happy. The lyrics convey a sense of acceptance and gratitude for the way things are, even when it gets tough. Evans encourages us to not be afraid of the storms that life throws our way because eventually, the sun will come out, and the flowers will grow. She believes that happiness is not about always being right or never arguing, but it's about finding the joy in the journey together.

The song encourages us to appreciate the little things in life and to be content with what we have. Evans suggests that happiness is not just a personal pursuit but a communal one. She wishes for everyone, everywhere, to be happy, and envisions a world where people exchange valentines as a symbol of love and kindness. The lyrics remind us that in the quest for happiness, we should not forget to show empathy and compassion for others.

Line by Line Meaning

If I had one wish
If I had one desire

I would wish for two
I would want two things

For me and you
One for me and one for you

To be happy
To feel content and joyful

With the way things are
Satisfied with the current situation

Sometimes it gets hard
At times it can be difficult

But we've come so far
We've come a long way

To be happy
To feel content and joyful

Yeah I don't think that I'm complaining
I'm not whining

Sometimes it keeps on raining
At times things don't go as planned

Oh but don't be frightened by thunder and lightning
Don't be scared by temporary setbacks