Reba McEntire – The Fear of Being Alone

About the song

Background

  • Released in 1996 as a single from the album “What If It’s You”.
  • Not a major hit for McEntire, but gained a following and became a fan favorite [refer to search results for critical reception].
  • Music video filmed at Starstruck Studios and features McEntire singing in a recording studio [refer to search results for music video].

Themes

  • The song explores the vulnerability and anxieties that come with being alone.
  • The lyrics depict a character who longs for companionship and fears the emptiness of being single.
  • Lines like “Sometimes I walk through these rooms and I swear I can hear your voice” and “The silence is deafening, it’s tearing me in two” illustrate the character’s struggle with loneliness.
  • Despite the fear, there’s a flicker of hope. The title itself, “The Fear of Being Alone,” suggests an awareness of the possibility of finding love and overcoming loneliness.

Video

Lyrics

We ordered up one more bottle of wineYou told me your story and I thought about mineYou said when you lost her, you lost everythingIt all started having a familiar ring
So I asked you to take me some place quietWe wound up at the river for the rest of the nightSomewhere around the break of dayI could hear it coming from a mile away
So don’t say that wordNot the one we both heard too muchYou may think you do but you don’tIt’s just the fear of being alone
‘Cause reckless hearts can clear a pathWider than a hurricane’s aftermathWe’ve both traveled down that roadWhere in the name of love anything goes
So don’t say that wordNot the one we both heard too muchYou may think you do but you don’tIt’s just the fear of being alone
Like a child in the nightWith no one to hold youAnd tell you everything’s gonna be all rightI must admit, it’s been funBut that’s no reason to jump the gunIf this is real, time will tellSo let me bite my tongue and remind myself
Don’t say that wordNot the one we both heard too muchYou may think you do but you don’tIt’s just the fear of being alone