Content
The song is about a married couple whose problems foreshadow the wife's decision to have an affair. The lyrics – mainly pronouns – are slightly changed, depending on whether the singer is a male or female. The song begins with a young couple standing at the altar, promising to be faithful to one another for the rest of their lives. The bride recalls that, as pure as the white in her gown, she stood by her groom's side and vowed to love him until her death. However, the couple's love life quickly sours, as the husband constantly leaves his wife alone at night; the reason – work, drinking with friends or an affair – is never specified. As the lonely nights begin to mount up, the wife, left to maintain in a three-bedroom home (or prison, as she puts it), observes that the "gold turned cold in (her) wedding band." Eventually, with the need and desire for physical intimacy still very much alive in her, she turns to a stranger to meet her sexual needs ("''The arms of a stranger was the only place left to turn''"). McEntire's version changes the pronouns to place the song in a female's perspective.Chart performance
Lee Greenwood version
Year-end charts
Reba McEntire version
References
1982 singles Lee Greenwood songs 1995 singles Reba McEntire songs Songs about infidelity Songs written by Mary Ann Kennedy (American singer) Songs written by Pam Rose Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) MCA Records singles Songs written by Don Goodman (songwriter) Song recordings produced by Jerry Crutchfield 1982 songs {{1995-country-song-stub