Meaning of You Lie by Reba McEntire
This song was written by the trio of Charlie Black (1949-2021), Bobby Fischer and Austin Roberts and was originally dropped in 1988 by Cee Cee Chapman. Shortly thereafter, Reba McEntire took a crack at You Lie, with her version coming out on 25 August 1990, serving as the lead single to her 16th studio album, Rumor Has It. Reba’s cover, as backed by MCA Nashville, performed well in that it topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart stateside, in addition to reaching number one on RPM’s Canada Country Tracks. It was also nominated for a Grammy in 1991, in the category of Best Female Country Vocal Performance (with the award eventually going to Kathy Mattea’s Where’ve You Been). This song also contributed to the notable overall success of Rumor Has It, making it sell faster than any of Reba’s previous albums, to the point that it achieved RIAA-platinum status in just seven months’ time. And to note, McEntire co-produced this track, getting that job done alongside Tony Brown.
The Lyrics
This song is premised on the vocalist being convinced that her significant other, most simply put, is no longer in love with her, and furthermore that he will bounce sooner or later. But whereas he may not have those loving feelings for Reba any longer, it isn’t as if he doesn’t care for her. Or put otherwise, the way she sees it is that the only reason the addressee is sticking around is because he’s too sympathetic or sensitive to damage her feelings like that. So as far as the title goes, what it implies is that when asked, the addressee will assure the vocalist that everything is all good. But she knows in the back of her mind he isn’t telling the truth, again because he ‘doesn’t want to hurt her’.
So Reba’s mentality appears to be such that, even though she would prefer that her man be genuinely interested, she can endure this less-than-ideal romance into perpetuity. But again, she does not share that same confidence as far as her partner is concerned and is expecting what in her mind is the inevitable, which is him ultimately leaving.
