What Do You Say
Encyclopedia
"What Do You Say" is a single by American country music artist Reba McEntire
. Released in August 1999, it was the first single from her album, So Good Together
. The song reached number 3 on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
chart in January 2000 and number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming her first crossover hit and top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100
. It is her highest peaking single on that chart.
A video was produced of the song, and has aired on CMT
, CMT Pure Country
and Great American Country
.
The first verse sees the father and young son driving around town. While stopped at a red light, the boy sees an adult bookstore and, spotting the marquee, asks "What are those X's for?" The father decides he doesn't want his son to know the type of business taking place inside the store and quickly changes the subject to football.
In the next verse, the teen-aged daughter is at a friend's party, where she quickly becomes very drunk. After becoming ill, she becomes frightened and calls her mother to come get her. The mother does just that, upholding a promise to not ask any questions.
As shown in the video, the mother is suffering from the final stages of cancer; this is revealed when she removes her wig and sees that she has lost her hair due to chemotherapy. In the song's final verse, the woman's family is at her bedside saying their final goodbyes. Although she has been trying to maintain her strength, she knows that her life is about to end. Her final apparent words to her family are a whispered "I want to go home." As the video ends, a photo collage of the woman and her family in happier times (presumably on display at the woman's visitation and funeral) is shown, before the three surviving members of the family — the father, daughter and son — leave the hospital in tears. They walk by McEntire and two children, who are in the waiting room for an unexplained reason. This is the only time Reba is seen in the whole video, making it her second video to not feature her singing, after 1991's "Is There Life Out There."
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...
. Released in August 1999, it was the first single from her album, So Good Together
So Good Together
So Good Together is the twenty-sixth album from Reba McEntire. It was released in 1999 and was preceded by the single What Do You Say. What Do You Say peaked at #3 on the country chart and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Short Form Video. It also became her highest charting single on the...
. The song reached number 3 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles & Tracks
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 January 2000 and number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming her first crossover hit and top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It is her highest peaking single on that chart.
A video was produced of the song, and has aired on CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
, CMT Pure Country
CMT Pure Country
CMT Pure Country is a digital cable and satellite television channel, it is the sister network to CMT. It showcases country music videos all day from the 1980s to the current day, using the same 8-hour programming wheel schedule repeated three times daily as sister networks MTV Hits and MTV Jams...
and Great American Country
Great American Country
Great American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....
.
Storyline and music video
The song's main premise explores a protagonist's struggle to appropriately explain or respond to different situations. The story — as depicted in the song's video, directed by Deaton-Flanigen, is told through the eyes of a typical American family.The first verse sees the father and young son driving around town. While stopped at a red light, the boy sees an adult bookstore and, spotting the marquee, asks "What are those X's for?" The father decides he doesn't want his son to know the type of business taking place inside the store and quickly changes the subject to football.
In the next verse, the teen-aged daughter is at a friend's party, where she quickly becomes very drunk. After becoming ill, she becomes frightened and calls her mother to come get her. The mother does just that, upholding a promise to not ask any questions.
As shown in the video, the mother is suffering from the final stages of cancer; this is revealed when she removes her wig and sees that she has lost her hair due to chemotherapy. In the song's final verse, the woman's family is at her bedside saying their final goodbyes. Although she has been trying to maintain her strength, she knows that her life is about to end. Her final apparent words to her family are a whispered "I want to go home." As the video ends, a photo collage of the woman and her family in happier times (presumably on display at the woman's visitation and funeral) is shown, before the three surviving members of the family — the father, daughter and son — leave the hospital in tears. They walk by McEntire and two children, who are in the waiting room for an unexplained reason. This is the only time Reba is seen in the whole video, making it her second video to not feature her singing, after 1991's "Is There Life Out There."
Chart performance
| Chart (1999–2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks 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,... |
5 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
31 |
| US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks 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... |
3 |