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.
If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's four in the morning
I must have shut 'em all down
By the shape that I'm in
I lay my head on the wheel
And the horn begins honking
The whole neighborhood knows
If drinking don't kill me
Her memory will
I can't hold out much longer
The way that I feel
With the blood from my body
I could start my own still
But if drinking don't kill me
Her memory will
These old bones, they move slow
But so sure of their footsteps
As I trip on the floor
And I lightly touch down
Lord, it's been ten bottles
Since I tried to forget her
But the memory still lingers
Lying here on the ground
And if drinking don't kill me
Her memory will
I can't hold out much longer
The way that I feel
With the blood from my body
I could start my own still
But if drinking don't kill me
Her memory will
The lyrics of George Jones’s “If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me” are about a man who is trying to drown his sorrows with alcohol after a breakup. The bars have all closed, indicating that he has been drinking alone all night, and it is now four in the morning. The singer is in such bad shape that he appears to have closed all the bars himself. He lays his head on the wheel, and the horn honks, indicating that he has passed out in his car. He is in such a terrible state that the whole neighborhood knows he is drunk.
The singer of the song acknowledges that drinking is making him feel worse. He knows it's not healthy, but he can't stop it. He admits that if drinking doesn't kill him, the memory of his lost love will. Even though he cannot hold on to his sanity, he keeps drinking. His memory of his lost love haunts him, and he is in so much pain that he feels as though he could start his own still with the blood flowing from his body.
The song's vivid imagery effectively expresses the singer's pain and hopelessness, which becomes even more tragic when we learn that he acknowledges his problem but is powerless to resolve it. The song reflects the turmoil and difficulties that arise from addiction, and how it can take someone's life bit by bit. It shows the feelings of someone trying to cope but losing to their emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
The bars are all closed
All the bars in town have closed for the night
It's four in the morning
It is currently four in the morning
I must have shut 'em all down
The singer believes he must have been the last person to leave the bars as they all shut down
By the shape that I'm in
The artist is in a bad state due to his excessive drinking
I lay my head on the wheel
The artist is so intoxicated that he is lying across the steering wheel of his car
And the horn begins honking
The horn of the car has started to sound due to the pressure from the singer's body
The whole neighborhood knows
The singer's drunken state has woken up the entire neighborhood
That I'm home drunk again
The artist has arrived home in a drunken state, which is not a new occurrence
If drinking don't kill me
The artist is aware that his excessive drinking may lead to his death
Her memory will
The artist believes that memories of a lost love will be what ultimately destroys him
I can't hold out much longer
The singer feels that he cannot continue to drink so heavily without suffering serious consequences
The way that I feel
The artist is in a very low emotional state due to his excessive drinking
With the blood from my body
The singer is so intoxicated that he feels he could begin to produce his own moonshine
I could start my own still
The singer is making a humorous comment about how intoxicated he is
But if drinking don't kill me
The singer is again acknowledging the potential harm his excessive drinking could cause
Her memory will
The artist remains convinced that memories of his lost love will ultimately be his downfall
These old bones, they move slow
The artist is an older man who is not moving as quickly due to his excessive drinking
But so sure of their footsteps
Despite his drunken state, the singer is confident in his ability to walk
As I trip on the floor
The singer's confidence is misplaced, as he stumbles and trips on the floor
And I lightly touch down
Despite his fall, the artist manages to land without causing himself harm
Lord, it's been ten bottles
The artist has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol, evidenced by the fact that he has gone through ten bottles
Since I tried to forget her
The artist has been drinking heavily in an attempt to forget his lost love
But the memory still lingers
Despite his efforts, the memory of his lost love still haunts him
Lying here on the ground
The artist has fallen to the ground due to his excessive drinking
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harlan Sanders, Richard Beresford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@4.8sierra59
The bars are all closed
It's four in the morning
I must have shut 'em all down
By the shape that I'm in
I lay my head on the wheel
And the horn begins honking
The whole neighborhood knows
That I'm home drunk again
If drinking don't kill me
Her memory will
I can't hold out much longer
The way that I feel
With the blood from my body
I could start my own still
But if drinking don't kill me
Her memory will
These old bones, they move slow
But so sure of their footsteps
As I trip on the floor
And I lightly touch down
Lord it's been ten bottles
Since I tried to forget her
But the memory still lingers
Lying here on the ground
And if drinking don't kill me
Her memory will
I can't hold out much longer
The way that I feel
With the blood from my body
I could start my own still
But if drinking don't kill me
Her memory will
@darrenhacker6772
My wife left me after 5 years and 2 kids monday . Its going to kill me not having them around and George Jones helps me with the depression.
@firechild7497
have faith... never lose hope in yourself. you as a person have more self importance than you might give yourself. my mom passed away this summer and left me with an abusive father who separated me from my little brother who is my best friend.. but what's meant to be will happen and God has a beautiful plan for all of us. stay strong. I'm just a passerby who wanted to help someone
@darrenhacker6772
Thanks brother I really needed to here that I am sorry for your loss keep your head up
@firechild7497
Never worry just love yourself and strive forward
@connorbobzien9318
sorry to hear it man, but keep the drinking under control (aka dont get caught with a PI or DUI) and try not to off yourself
@aaronronnebaum5469
Sorry to hear that man never give up you have to keep going try not to drink a lot my papaw always told me never to start heavenly drinking when your life turns to shit that is what the devil wants you to do just be one with God ask him to come into your heart and to guide you through hard times
@fin1shingtouch1212
I love my George Jones
@davidholton9667
Hello So sorry for the infringe on your privacy. Beautiful song.
@ericsmith1786
I love this song so fantastic George is my favorite country music singer. How are you Carol ?
@oscarlandrum-ll4xl
I always enjoy what you share here on YouTube but we're not friends yet, I will love to be friends with you.. how are you feeling today.💋💋💝