Meaning of Reba McEntire’s Seven Minutes in Heaven
Reba McEntire dropped an album, through MCA Nashville, titled Not that Fancy on 6 October 2023, which primarily consists of “stripped down/acoustic versions of some of her biggest hits”. There is however one new song on its playlist, which is Seven Minutes in Heaven. As with the rest of the project, the producer of this track is Dave Cobb. And it was written by a couple of other behind-the-scenes’ musicians, Olivia Rudeen and Matt Wynn.
The Lyrics
Although Reba did not have a hand in writing Seven Minutes in Heaven, the way she has described this song and more specifically the imagery featured in its video gives the impression that it has some type of genuine, deep meaning to her. She has noted that the addressee, in her mind, would be her late mom, Jacqueline McEntire, who recently passed away in 2020. And visually, the video also implies that Reba is singing to her mother.
That said, the lyrics themselves aren’t specific in that regard, as in who exactly the addressee is. In other words, the title centers on an afterlife-oriented fantasy, if you will, whereas the vocalist, who is still alive on Earth, is granted “seven minutes in Heaven” but is not given any direct instruction as to what to do with that brief visitation.
As indicated in the first verse, there are certain things Reba has in mind, such visiting Johnny Cash, Elvis or finding out “why Kennedy”, as in JFK, “died”. She’s also tempted to use the opportunity to chat with Saint Peter or even further her own case in terms of eventually being allowed full-time into the pearly gates. But instead, McEntire uses those “seven minutes” to hit up a certain deceased loved one, someone you can tell she was really close to, like a family member. In doing so, she’ll ask this person about their experience in the hereafter and assure him/her that the fam back on Earth is doing okay. And after Reba’s time is up and she must return to the mortal realm, she “won’t say goodbye”, she’s confident they will meet again, i.e. once she too passes away and makes it into Heaven.
So this is yet another of a multitude of songs whereas the vocalist is presuming that a loved one has been received favorably into the afterlife. And that is an optimistic way of grieving, one which McEntire recommends that we, the listeners, also adopt when listening to this song and thinking of such a person in our own respective lives.
