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.
I Saw Me
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I said to myself what a fool
He placed a crown on your head
Believed the lies, each one you said
For the first time tonight I saw me.
Yes, I looked into my eyes
And saw the reason why she cried
Who should still be by her side.
For the first time tonight I saw me
And I'm ashamed for now I can see
Love she gave all in vain
I was one, her everything
For the first time tonight I saw me.
Yes, I looked into my eyes
And saw the reason why she cried
Saw a picture of a fool
Who should still be by her side.
For the first time tonight I saw me
And I'm ashamed for now I can see
Love she gave all in vain
I was one, her everything
For the first time tonight I saw me.
Yes, for the first time tonight I saw me...
In George Jones's song "I Saw Me," the singer reflects on his past behavior in a relationship and realizes his mistakes. The first verse reveals that the singer has finally recognized his own foolishness and regrets the lies he believed and told. He acknowledges the crown that he placed on his own head and how he let it get to him. In the second verse, the singer looks himself in the eyes and sees the pain he has caused his partner. He recognizes himself as the "picture of a fool" and realizes that he should still be by her side. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the shame the singer feels for not seeing his actions sooner and appreciating the love that was given to him.
The song highlights the power of introspection and the importance of holding oneself accountable for past mistakes. It is a relatable message for anyone who has experienced regret for not treating someone they cared about well. Additionally, the melody and delivery of the song evoke a sense of solemn reflection and remorse, adding to its emotional impact.
Line by Line Meaning
For the first time tonight I saw me
George Jones realizes for the first time tonight just how foolish he has been in his relationship with his partner.
And I said to myself what a fool
Upon seeing himself clearly for the first time, George Jones recognizes how foolish he has been in his treatment of his partner.
He placed a crown on your head
George Jones acknowledges that his partner has given him her all, and he recognizes her as the most important person in his life.
Believed the lies, each one you said
George Jones realizes that he has been gullible and taken his partner for granted, believing all of her lies without questioning her intentions.
Yes, I looked into my eyes
George Jones takes a good, hard look at himself and recognizes the reasons why his partner has been upset with him.
And saw the reason why she cried
George Jones understands why his partner has been crying, and is filled with a newfound sense of remorse and regret for his actions.
Saw a picture of a fool
George Jones sees himself as a fool for not recognizing the true value of his partner until now.
Who should still be by her side
George Jones acknowledges that he should have been there for his partner all along, and makes a commitment to stay by her side from now on.
And I'm ashamed for now I can see
George Jones feels shame and regret for the way he has treated his partner in the past, now that he can see what he has done wrong.
Love she gave all in vain
George Jones recognizes that his partner's love for him was given in vain, as he did not reciprocate it or treat her with the respect she deserved.
I was one, her everything
George Jones now understands that he was everything to his partner, and that he should have taken that responsibility seriously.
Yes, for the first time tonight I saw me...
George Jones concludes the song by restating the realization he had at the beginning of the song, highlighting the importance of self-reflection and recognizing one's own faults.
Contributed by Liam A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.