Born in Texas, Jones first heard country music when he was seven, and was given a guitar at the age of nine. He married his first wife, Dorothy Bonvillion, in 1950, and was divorced in 1951. He served in the United States Marine Corps and was discharged in 1953. He married Shirley Ann Corley in 1954. In 1959, Jones recorded "White Lightning", written by J. P. Richardson, which launched his career as a singer. His second marriage ended in divorce in 1968; he married fellow country music singer Tammy Wynette a year later. Years of alcoholism compromised his health and led to his missing many performances, earning him the nickname "No Show Jones". After his divorce from Wynette in 1975, Jones married his fourth wife, Nancy Sepulvado, in 1983 and became sober for good in 1999. Jones died in 2013, aged 81, from hypoxic respiratory failure.
George Jones has been called "The Rolls Royce Of Country Music" and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013. Johnny Cash once said, "When people ask me who my favorite country singer is, I say, 'You mean besides George Jones?'"
Jones tirelessly defended the integrity of country music, telling Billboard in 2006, "It's never been for love of money. I thank God for it because it makes me a living. But I sing because I love it, not because of the dollar signs." Jones also went out of his way to promote younger country singers that he felt were as passionate about the music as he was. "Everybody knows he's a great singer," Alan Jackson stated in 1995, "but what I like most about George is that when you meet him, he is like some old guy that works down at the gas station...even though he's a legend!"
Shortly after Jones' death, Andrew Mueller wrote about his influence in Uncut, "He was one of the finest interpretive singers who ever lifted a microphone...There cannot be a single country songwriter of the last 50-odd years who has not wondered what it might be like to hear their words sung by that voice." In an article for The Texas Monthly in 1994, Nick Tosches eloquently described the singer's vocal style: "While he and his idol, Hank Williams, have both affected generations with a plaintive veracity of voice that has set them apart, Jones has an additional gift—a voice of exceptional range, natural elegance, and lucent tone. Gliding toward high tenor, plunging toward deep bass, the magisterial portamento of his onward-coursing baritone emits white-hot sparks and torrents of blue, investing his poison love songs with a tragic gravity and inflaming his celebrations of the honky-tonk ethos with the hellfire of abandon." In the New Republic essay "Why George Jones ranks with Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday," David Hajdu writes:
"Jones had a handsome and strange voice. His singing was always partly about the appeal of the tones he produced, regardless of the meaning of the words. In this sense, Jones had something in common with singers of formal music and opera, though his means of vocal production were radically different from theirs. He sang from the back of his throat, rather than from deep in his diaphragm. He tightened his larynx to squeeze sound out. He clenched his jaw, instead of wriggling it free. He forced wind through his teeth, and the notes sounded weirdly beautiful."
David Cantwell recalled in 2013, "His approach to singing, he told me once, was to call up those memories and feelings of his own that most closely corresponded to those being felt by the character in whatever song he was performing. He was a kind of singing method actor, creating an illusion of the real." In the liner notes to Essential George Jones: The Spirit of Country Rich Kienzle states, "Jones sings of people and stories that are achingly human. He can turn a ballad into a catharsis by wringing every possible emotion from it, making it a primal, strangled cry of anguish". In 1994, country music historian Colin Escott pronounced, "Contemporary country music is virtually founded on reverence for George Jones. Walk through a room of country singers and conduct a quick poll, George nearly always tops it." In the wake of Jones's death, Merle Haggard pronounced in Rolling Stone, "His voice was like a Stradivarius violin: one of the greatest instruments ever made." Emmylou Harris wrote, "when you hear George Jones sing, you are hearing a man who takes a song and makes it a work of art - always," a quote that appeared on the sleeve of Jones' 1976 album The Battle. In the documentary Same Ole Me, several country music stars offer similar thoughts. Randy Travis: "It sounds like he's lived every minute of every word that he sings and there's very few people who can do that"; Tom T. Hall: "It was always Jones who got the message across just right"; and Roy Acuff: "I'd give anything if I could sing like George Jones". In the same film, producer Billy Sherrill states, "All I did was change the instrumentation around him. I don't think he's changed at all."
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed George Jones among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
A Girl I Used To Know
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One we made some time ago
If they ask who's in the picture with me,
I say just a girl, I used to know
Just a girl, I used to go around with
Just a friend, from long ago,
I don't tell them how lost I am without her
I say, she's just another girl now
Just a flame, that's lost it's glow
And I say, her name has slipped my mind now,
And she's just a girl, I used to know
Just a girl, I used to spend some time with
Just a friend, from long ago,
I don't talk about the nights I cry without her
I say she's just a girl I used to know
Just a girl I used to know
In George Jones's song A Girl I Used to Know, the singer is talking about a lost love. Even though they have a picture together, he refers to her as "just a girl" and a friend from the past. He tells people that she's just someone he used to know and downplays their relationship. However, in reality, he still cares deeply for her and misses her every day. He doesn't want to admit the truth to anyone else because it hurts too much. He talks about how he still cries at night without her, but he keeps it hidden from others, portraying himself as strong and unbothered.
The song is a poignant and honest reflection on the pain of lost love. It captures the feeling of having to let go of someone you care for deeply while pretending that it doesn't bother you. You can sense the singer's yearning for the girl he used to know, even though he tries to shut it out. Overall, the lyrics are emotional and relatable, urging the listener to think about their own past loves and the people they've said goodbye to.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a picture that I carry,
I keep a photograph in my possession,
One we made some time ago
It was taken a while back when we were together
If they ask who's in the picture with me,
If anyone inquires who I am posing with
I say just a girl, I used to know
I reply mentioning an acquaintance from my past
Just a girl, I used to go around with
I describe her as an individual I once dated
Just a friend, from long ago,
I also refer to her as a former friend
I don't tell them how lost I am without her
I avoid discussing how much I miss her
I say she's just a girl, I used to know.
Instead, I downplay our past relationship by calling her an acquaintance
I say, she's just another girl now
Currently, she's nothing special to me
Just a flame, that's lost it's glow
The flame of love has burnt out between us
And I say, her name has slipped my mind now,
I even pretend to have forgotten her name
And she's just a girl, I used to know
She's another nameless face from my past
Just a girl, I used to spend some time with
I still describe her as someone I once dated
Just a friend, from long ago,
But also as a former friend of mine
I don't talk about the nights I cry without her
I don't share how much I still long for her
I say she's just a girl I used to know
I merely mention her as a person from my past
Just a girl I used to know
She's a girl I no longer have a relationship with
Lyrics © GLAD MUSIC CO.
Written by: Jack Clement
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
fikri priyanda
There's a picture that I carry,
One we made some time ago
If they ask who's in the picture with me,
I say just a girl, I used to know
Just a girl, I used to go around with
Just a friend, from long ago,
I don't tell them how lost I am without her
I say she's just a girl, I used to know.
I say, she's just another girl now
Just a flame, that's lost it's glow
And I say, her name has slipped my mind now,
And she's just a girl, I used to know
Just a girl, I used to spend some time with
Just a friend, from long ago,
I don't talk about the nights I cry without her
I say she's just a girl I used to know
Just a girl I used to know
TheNatureboy64
Nobody can make you feel their songs like George can. A true All Time Great!
Rory Algate
Listening to a bit of George Jones in Broken Hill Australia.... And loving it.... What an amazing person and amazing singer... Thank you America for creating such a awesome person.
Angelslayer169
He was one of a kind, most Aussies don't know The Possum but he was imo the best male country singer of all time. Female for me is Tammy Wynette and I'm obviously biased but there's only a few others that can maybe come close like Carrie Underwood is the closest to Tammy's talent. That's my 2 cents worth
Bee Dubs
My friend Stephen Rowe is an Australian country artist from Broken Hill. He has a song about it. He’s great. Check him out if you haven’t already.
mike mouse
There is great country music and then there is George Jones.Simply the best.
JVegasjim
One of the few singers that can bring a grown man to tears....so heartfelt.
Bob Whobrey
listen to this song, and think of her, tears.
patsnation# 12
JVegasjim yes
Bryant Williams
Aha , I'm with you
ADELAIDE BAIRD
I love all of George's music i enjoy it .I listen to it every day.