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.
O Come
Alan Jackson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
Lo, he shuns not the Virgin's womb,
Son of the Father, begotten, not created,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze,
We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger,
We would embrace Thee, with love and awe,
Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning,
Jesus, to Thee be glory given,
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
The beloved Christmas carol “O Come All Ye Faithful” invites all believers to come to Bethlehem and behold the Christ child. It calls on us to adore Him and give glory to God above. The lyrics celebrate Jesus as the King of angels, the Son of the Father, and the Word of the Father appearing in flesh. The song is a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas and the miracle of the Incarnation.
The first stanza calls all faithful believers to come to Bethlehem, where the Christ child was born. It speaks of the joy and triumph that comes with embracing the Savior. The second stanza describes Jesus as the true God, the Light from Light Eternal, who was born of the Virgin Mary. The third stanza is a call to the choirs of angels and all citizens of heaven to give glory to God in the highest. The fourth stanza speaks of the simple shepherds who were summoned to the manger to see the baby Jesus. It encourages us to follow in their footsteps and approach Him with joy. In the fifth and final stanza, we are reminded that Jesus was born for us sinners and that we should embrace Him with love and awe.
Line by Line Meaning
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
Let all those who have faith and are happy and victorious in spirit come together
Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come, all of you, to the town of Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels,
Come and see Him who was born as the King of the angels.
O come, let us adore Him,
Let us come and show our reverence for Him.
True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
He is the true God, generated from the one true God, an eternal light that comes from light itself.
Lo, he shuns not the Virgin's womb,
He did not avoid being born through the womb of a virgin.
Son of the Father, begotten, not created,
He is the Son of the Father and was born as the Son, not created like all other things.
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
Choirs of angels can be heard singing in celebration.
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
All the inhabitants of heaven should also sing.
Glory to God, all glory in the highest,
All honor and praise to God, the highest authority.
See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,
Look how the shepherds were called to come to His stable and see Him.
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze,
They left their sheep and approached Him to get a better look.
We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps,
We also happily travel to see Christ and bend our knees in front of Him.
Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger,
This baby is our Savior, born in a manger for us sinners who are poor and unworthy.
We would embrace Thee, with love and awe,
We would like to hug and honor Him with reverence.
Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?
Who would not return love for someone who loves us so dearly?
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning,
Yes, Lord, we welcome you, who was born on this happy morning.
Jesus, to Thee be glory given,
We give glory and honor to Jesus.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
He is the Word of the Father, and he has come to us in bodily form.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Traditional
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind