Meanwhile (song)

"Meanwhile"
Single by George Strait
from the album Always Never the Same
Released	January 4, 1999
Recorded	November 1998
Genre	Country
Length	3:36
Label	MCA
Writer(s)	Wayland Holyfield, Fred Knoblock
Producer	Tony Brown
George Strait singles chronology
"We Really Shouldn't Be Doing This" (1998) "Meanwhile" (1999) "Write This Down" (1999)

"Meanwhile" is the title of a song written by Wayland Holyfield and Fred Knoblock, and recorded by country music artist George Strait. It was released in January 1999 as the lead-off single to his 1999 album Always Never the Same. It peaked at #4 on the United States Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, while it was a number-one hit on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. It also peaked at number 38 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making it a minor crossover hit.

Content

While enjoying a new relationship, the man can't help but flashing back to his former lover. The use of the word "meanwhile" to signal the shifts in his emotional focus makes the song almost feel like an episodic TV romance with an unresolved lovers' triangle.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, calling it a "lilting ballad." She goes on to say that "Straits voice sounds like he's lived every word-the pleasure, the nostalgia, the wistful longing." ^[1]

Chart positions

"Meanwhile" debuted at number 57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of January 9, 1999.

Chart (1999)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	38
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Preceded by "How Forever Feels" by Kenny Chesney

RPM Country Tracks number-one single April 12, 1999

Succeeded by "I'll Think of a Reason Later" by Lee Ann Womack

References

1. ^ Billboard, January 16, 1999