Jackson was born to Joseph Eugene Jackson and Ruth Musick in Newnan, Georgia, and has four older siblings. As a youth, Jackson listened primarily to gospel music. Otherwise he was not a major music fan. However, a friend of his introduced him to the music of Gene Watson, John Anderson and Hank Williams Jr. Jackson attended the local Elm Street Elementary and Newnan High School, starting a band after high school. After a time, he and his wife of six years, Denise Jackson, moved from Newnan to Nashville where Jackson hoped to pursue music full-time.
Jackson sang in church as a child. He, his father, mother, and four sisters lived in a small home. At one point, his bed was in the hallway for lack of room. His mother lives in the home to this day. His first job, at 12, was in a shoe store. He wrote his first song in 1983.
In Tennessee, Jackson got a job in The Nashville Network's mailroom. Denise got him connected to Glen Campbell, who helped him jumpstart his career. Jackson eventually signed with Arista.
His first album, 1989's Here in the Real World, was a major hit, as was his second (1991) album, Don't Rock the Jukebox. His 1992 album, A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'Bout Love) was a success, spawning five major singles. Also in 1992, Randy Travis charted three singles co-written by Jackson: "Forever Together", "Better Class of Losers", and "I'd Surrender All". Conversely, Travis co-wrote Jackson's single "She's Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)".
In 1994 Jackson left his management company, Ten Ten Management, which had overseen his career up to that point, and switched to Gary Overton.
It was around this time that Jackson began also gaining fame for his song-writing skills. Other country music artists who have charted with songs co-written by Jackson, including Clay Walker ("If I Could Make a Living"), Chely Wright ("Till I Was Loved By You")[5] and Faith Hill ("I Can't Do That Anymore").
His first album, 1990's Here in the Real World, was a major hit, as was his second (1991) album, Don't Rock the Jukebox. His 1992 release, A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'Bout Love) was a smash success, spawning five major singles with "Chattahoochee" being the most enduring and successful. After a few more hit albums, Jackson again rocketed to fame with "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," a song about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which became a hit single and briefly propelled him into the mainstream spotlight; the song was even the subject of parody on the popular animated series South Park, in the episode A Ladder To Heaven.
The Long Way To Go Songfacts states that on January 20, 2011 Alan Jackson and his record label, Sony, parted ways after over 20 years. Three months later a new joint venture between Capitol's EMI Records Nashville and ACR (Alan's Country Records) was announced. His debut single from the new deal was Long Way To Go, which was shipped to Country radio on June 13, 2011.
Although Jackson has been characterized as a "hat act", his influences go deep into the roots of country music and his songs have been recorded by some of the greats like Charley Pride, who recorded "Here In The Real World". He has sung with George Jones on the award-winning "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair". His sense of humor comes through in "Gone Country" with the satirical description of the wannabes who cynically jumped on the country music bandwagon in the 1990s: "Everybody's gone country/Yeah we've gone country/The whole world's gone country."
He has been credited for popularizing a Neotraditional Country sound.
If It Ain't One Thing
Alan Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The wind blew my morning paper away
If it ain't one thing it's you
If you've heard that I'm goin crazy
It's true
The wheels seem to fall off whatever I do
If it ain't one thing
It's you
I rented that movie you hate
But that old VCR just chewed up the tape
Then I went to the freezer thought I'd cook me a steak
All I found was that old piece of our wedding cake
If it ain't one thing it's you
If you've heard that I'm goin crazy
It's true
The wheels seem to fall off whatever I do
If it ain't one thing
It's you
But I never knew that I needed you so
But now that I've lost you, I can't let you go
If it ain't one thing it's you
If you've heard that I'm goin crazy
It's true
The wheels seem to fall off whatever I do
If it ain't one thing
It's you
Oh if it ain't one thing
It's you
The song If It Ain't One Thing by Alan Jackson is a humorous yet poignant tune about a series of unfortunate events that seem to all stem from one central issue: a failed relationship. The opening verse sets the tone for the song as Jackson laments the loss of his newspaper to the wind, but quickly shifts the blame to his ex-partner, singing "if it ain't one thing it's you." This sets the pattern for the rest of the song, as he details various other mishaps in his day that he attributes to his former lover, from a broken VCR to a missing steak.
Despite the lighthearted approach to the lyrics, there is an underlying sadness and desperation present in the song. The chorus repeats the line "if you've heard that I'm goin crazy, it's true" several times, suggesting that the singer is struggling to cope with the breakup and the way it has affected his life. The final verse reveals a deeper truth about the situation, as Jackson admits that he never realized how much he needed his partner until they were gone, and now he can't let go.
Line by Line Meaning
I guess it's just not my day
Everything seems to be going wrong for me
The wind blew my morning paper away
Even the little things that should go right, like reading the morning paper, end up going wrong
If it ain't one thing it's you
No matter what goes wrong, the cause always ends up being the person he's singing about
If you've heard that I'm goin crazy, It's true
The constant issues are making him feel overwhelmed and like he's losing control of himself
The wheels seem to fall off whatever I do
No matter what he tries to do or accomplish, something always goes wrong and his plans fail
I rented that movie you hate, But that old VCR just chewed up the tape
Even when he tries to do something nice for the person he's singing about, it still doesn't work out
Then I went to the freezer thought I'd cook me a steak, All I found was that old piece of our wedding cake
He can't even enjoy a simple meal without being reminded of the past
But I never knew that I needed you so, But now that I've lost you, I can't let you go
He realizes now how much the person he's singing about means to him, and he's struggling to move on after losing them
Oh if it ain't one thing, It's you
No matter what happens, the person he's singing about is always on his mind and is the root of his problems
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JACKSON, MCBRIDE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind