"Only in My Mind" is a song written and recorded by American country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 music artist, Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire

Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...

. The song was produced by Jimmy Bowen

Jimmy Bowen

Jimmy Bowen is an American record producer and former pop music performer.Bowen was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico. He began as a teenage recording star in 1957 with "I'm Stickin' With You," originally the flip side of the hit record "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox, but ultimately a Top 20 recording...

 and McEntire for her 1985 entitled, Have I Got a Deal for You

Have I Got a Deal for You

Have I Got a Deal for You is the ninth album of Reba McEntire, a continuation of the same style of music that made her previous album My Kind of Country a big seller...

. It was the second single released from the album, peaking within the Top 5 on the Billboard Magazine country music chart after its release. It is still the only single ever released that was solely written by McEntire.

Background and content

"Only in My Mind" was recorded at the MCA studio located in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

. The song was the only track on McEntire's, Have I Got a Deal for You that was singlehandedly written by McEntire. From the viewpoint of a female narrator, the song's storyline explains the conversation between a woman and man. The woman's husband asks if she has ever cheated on him, and she answers, "only in my mind," knowing that truthfully, she has cheated on him.

Critical reception

Unlike her previous releases, "Only in My Mind" received mixed reviews from many music critics. William Ruhlmann of Allmusic called it "Another mistake was that she dared to do some writing herself, although her "Only in My Mind," which actually got to number five in the country charts, demonstrated that she had absorbed the lesson of "Somebody Should Leave

Somebody Should Leave

"Somebody Should Leave" is a song written by Harlan Howard and Chick Rains, and was recorded by American country music artist, Reba McEntire. The song was produced by Harold Shedd for her second MCA studio album, My Kind of Country...

" in trying to come up with songs that addressed the viewpoint of contemporary women." Rolling Stone Magazines David Gates gave the song a favorable review, after reviewing her 1985 album. Gates stated, "McEntire is at her best on these songs and on "Only in My Mind," her first noncollaborative songwriting effort on record. It's a noncheater's cheating song, a tense dialogue between husband and wife ("He said, 'Have you ever cheated on me?'/And I said, 'Only in my mind' "), as told to the man with whom she refrains from cheating."

Release and chart performance

"Only in My Mind" was officially released as a single to radio in September 1985, her last single released during the year. The song peaked one position higher than her last single, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

 chart in late 1985, while also reaching #6 on the Canadian RPM

RPM (magazine)

RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...

 Country Tracks chart. The song helped McEntire to become a member of country music's Grand Ole Opry

Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...

 program, where she has been a member since.

Charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...	5
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	6