Carter reminisces nostalgically about young love via fond recollections of sharing an ice cream cone (“If This Is Love”), singing and dancing spontaneously (“We Danced Anyway”) and receiving a boy’s ring (“Before We Ever Heard Goodbye”). Good, clean fun. She demonstrates self-respect by questioning her suitor’s intentions on “Count Me In.” The tender “That’s How You Know It’s Love” identifies a solid relationship as one in which sacrifice and selflessness reign supreme (“If you get out in the drivin’ rain, stand in the eye of the hurricane, and never think twice . . . That’s how you know it’s meant to be”).
“Strawberry Wine” may allude to a girl losing her virginity on a hot summer night, though it could also be perceived simply as the innocent remembrance of a first kiss.
As a child in a musical home, Carter says she faced a choice at family reunions: “You either found a harmony part or washed dishes. I chose the harmony part.” Except for the ambiguity of the number-1 country single “Strawberry Wine,” her aversion to dishwashing has paid off for discerning country music fans.