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.
As Long As I Live
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was easy said the night we parted
That we'd forget we'd ever met
I haven't forgotten, I wonder if you have
Or if your heart is full of regret.
As long as I live if it be one hour
I'll keep remembering forever and ever
I'll love you dear, as long as I live.
Oh, I never thought that night we parted
That life alone would be oh, so bad
I know it sounds funny but I can't forget you
You're the only joy that I've ever had.
As long as I live if it be one hour
Or if it be one hundred years
I'll keep remembering forever and ever
I'll love you dear, as long as I live.
I'll love you dear, as long as I live
The lyrics of George Jones's "As Long as I Live" are a poetic representation of the endless love and devotion that the singer feels towards his past lover, despite their separation. The opening lines, "I'll love you dear, as long as I live," serve as an affirmation of his commitment to love her for eternity. The song then delves into the specifics of their past, mentioning how they had promised to forget each other but he had failed to do so.
The lyrics represent the singer's internal conflict as he questions whether or not his former lover feels the same way. The line "Or if your heart is full of regret" highlights his insecurities and doubts regarding the intensity of her feelings towards him.
Furthermore, the lyrics act as a reflection of the heart-wrenching experience of ending a relationship and moving on. As the singer states, "Oh, I never thought that night we parted, That life alone would be oh, so bad," we see the emotional turmoil and loneliness that comes with a separation. The singer's inability to forget her serves as an acknowledgement that sometimes, love can be all-consuming and immortal.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll love you dear, as long as I live.
This line serves as the chorus of the song, reiterating the singer's commitment to loving their partner unconditionally, for their entire life.
It was easy said the night we parted
When the two lovers parted ways, they made light of the fact that they would forget what happened between them. However, this line suggests that forgetting about each other was not as simple as they thought it would be.
That we'd forget we'd ever met
The lovers thought they could easily move on from each other and forget that they ever met, but as the song progresses, it becomes clear that this is impossible.
I haven't forgotten, I wonder if you have
The singer acknowledges that they have not forgotten about their former lover and wonders if their ex-partner feels the same way. They question whether they were equally invested in the relationship.
Or if your heart is full of regret.
The singer wonders if their former lover has regrets about their previous relationship or if they have moved on completely.
Oh, I never thought that night we parted
The singer reflects on the night they parted and how they never thought they would be so unhappy being apart from their former lover.
That life alone would be oh, so bad
The singer realizes how difficult life can be without the love and companionship of their former partner. They never thought they would be so unhappy being alone.
I know it sounds funny but I can't forget you
The singer acknowledges that they may sound foolish for still holding on to their feelings for their former partner, but they cannot help but love them and cannot forget them.
You're the only joy that I've ever had.
The singer reveals that their former partner was the only source of happiness and joy they have ever had. They believe they will never find a love like that again.
As long as I live if it be one hour
The singer reiterates their commitment to loving their former partner for eternity, regardless of how much time has passed.
Or if it be one hundred years
The singer emphasizes that their love will never fade or lessen, even if they live to be one hundred years old.
I'll keep remembering forever and ever
The singer reveals that they will always remember their love for their former partner and never forget the impact they had on their life.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, S.A. MUSIC
Written by: HAROLD ARLEN, TED KOEHLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gwen Weaver
Great song! Love George Jones!! He's the greatest!!!
Huguette17
I love this beautiful song by George Jones is my favorite, he's the best for me .Thanks
R.I.P. George, you'll always be the best for me.
Karen Lindsay
Brilliant song🎤🎸🎵👍🏻
girlbamberg
REST IN PEACE - I will always love your music.
tom kozic
Gets to me every time.
Shelbie Baumann
Sorry I think some day George's greatness will be fully recognized
Michael Hawkins
I'm 58years old and I still tear up hearing this man sing call what you want but the feelings are there he's the man with the voice of an a hel R.I.P oh great news we all miss you .
At four O thirty three
How this song didn't make it to number one I will never know.
Lena Andersson
My LOVELY GEORGE JONES ♥️♥️♥️🎤🎸I NEVER FORGET you 🎸
Shelbie Baumann
As long as I live fantastic love u George