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.
Don't Go
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Oney Wheeler)
« © '63 Glad Music »
WITH MELBA MONTGOMERY
As I sat at home with my troubles today
I was tempted to walk the wrong way
And I heard the same voice again
Don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go back to the tavern and sin
Don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go back and start drinking again
I could hear lots of laughter just over the way
My friends sounded happy and gay
I started to walk but my knees gave away
As I fell I heard the voice say
Don't go don't go don't go don't go just kneel by your bedside and pray
Don't go don't go don't go don't go God will answer your prayers today
God freed me from sin like he did once before
Now I'm happy as a man can be
God's voice sounded pleased as he spoke the next words
God must have seen a great change in me
Go on go on go on go on ask your friends there to kneel down and pray
Go on go on go on go on ask God will answer their prayers today
The lyrics to George Jones's song "Don't Go" were written by Oney Wheeler and recorded as a duet with Melba Montgomery. The song tells the story of a person tempted to return to alcohol and sin, but who is reminded of their previous salvation by a voice that tells them not to go back to that life. The lyrics are sung in a somber tone and convey a sense of struggle and repentance.
The opening lines set the stage for the internal conflict that the singer is feeling, as they are tempted to go back to their old ways. The voice that speaks to them is likely a representation of their conscience, or perhaps a spiritual guide. The repetition of the phrase "don't go" emphasizes the urgency of the situation and the importance of staying on the right path.
The second verse describes a specific situation where the singer is faced with the temptation to join their friends at a nearby tavern. Their knees give away as they try to walk toward the tavern, perhaps suggesting a physical and emotional weakness that makes it difficult to resist temptation. The voice speaks again, reminding them of the power of prayer to overcome temptation.
The third verse speaks to the singer's own experience of being freed from sin and finding happiness in a new life. The voice suggests that others can find that same freedom by turning to God, and the song ends on a hopeful note.
Overall, "Don't Go" is a powerful song about the struggle to overcome addiction and find salvation. The simple but evocative lyrics are matched by Jones's emotive vocal delivery and Montgomery's harmonies.
Line by Line Meaning
As I sat at home with my troubles today
I was feeling down and overwhelmed at home
I was tempted to walk the wrong way
I felt tempted to indulge in sinful activities
I remember the voice that once led me from sin
I remembered the guidance from God that saved me from sin in the past
And I heard the same voice again
I heard God's voice once more, urging me to resist temptation
Don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go back to the tavern and sin
God warned me not to go back to places of temptation and sin, like a tavern
Don't go don't go don't go don't go don't go back and start drinking again
God cautioned me not to start drinking again, which could lead to sin
I could hear lots of laughter just over the way
I could hear my friends having a good time nearby
My friends sounded happy and gay
My friends seemed carefree and joyous
I started to walk but my knees gave away
I tried to move but I felt weak and uncertain
As I fell I heard the voice say
I fell and heard God's voice speak to me once more
Don't go don't go don't go don't go just kneel by your bedside and pray
God instructed me to pray instead of giving in to temptation
Don't go don't go don't go don't go God will answer your prayers today
God provided me with reassurance that if I pray, he will hear and respond
God freed me from sin like he did once before
God had previously helped me overcome my sinful ways
Now I'm happy as a man can be
Since God freed me from sin, I am now full of joy and contentment
God's voice sounded pleased as he spoke the next words
God's tone of voice conveyed happiness and satisfaction
God must have seen a great change in me
God recognized the positive transformation that occurred within me
Go on go on go on go on ask your friends there to kneel down and pray
God urged me to encourage my friends to join me in prayer
Go on go on go on go on ask God will answer their prayers today
God reminded me to tell my friends that their prayers will be heard and answered
Lyrics © GLAD MUSIC CO.
Written by: O. WHEELER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind