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She Thinks His Name Was John
Songs Ahead of their Time
In 1994, Reba Mcentire Released She Thinks His Name Was John, the song tackled a subject that wasn’t to often dealt with especially in the space of a three to four minute song. The song was written by Sandy Knox and Steven Roxen and was released on Reba’s Album Read My Mind.
The song was told in the perspective of a woman dying of Aids.
The year the song released an estimated 41,930 people died from the HIV/AIDS infection a nine percent increase from the 38,500 that died in 1993.
Songs like She Thinks His Name Was John, broached a subject that often felt taboo at the time and in many ways still does. It was a lesson on action and consequences. Now, that’s not to say AIDS, should be looked at as a punishment nor does it mean that everyone who got aids was on drugs or was practicing unsafe sex, the fact was during that time many got AIDS from blood transfusions, and other medical procedures.
