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.
It Is No Secret
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another day is through.
Someone slipped and fell.
Was that someone you?
You may have longed for added strength,
Your courage to renew.
Do not be disheartened,
It is no secret what God can do.
What He's done for others, He'll do for you.
With arms wide open, He'll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do.
There is no night for in His light
You'll never walk alone.
Always feel at home,
Wherever you may roam.
There is no power can conquer you
While God is on your side.
Just take Him at His promise,
Don't run away and hide.
It is no secret what God can do.
What He's done for others, He'll do for you.
With arms wide open, He'll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do.
It is no secret what God can do
George Jones's song "It Is No Secret" is a religious song that talks about how powerful and compassionate God can be. It is an inspirational song that encourages its listeners never to be disheartened, no matter what situations they are going through. The song begins by introducing the chimes of time that have just rung out the news of the day that has come to an end, emphasizing how time waits for no one. The next line then talks about someone slipping and falling, creating a sense of uncertainty or fear that the listener might be that person. The song tries to give hope to the listener, saying that if they are down, they shouldn't give up because God has the power to lift them up as he has done for others.
The song then continues to talk about how being in God's light is equivalent to never walking alone. God's guidance and protection provide a sense of home wherever one may roam, emphasizing how being in God's presence is like a sanctuary, a safe haven. The song further goes on to assure the listener that no power can conquer them as long as God is on their side. Even though life may get tough, and challenges might come your way, one should take God's promise and not run away and hide. George Jones wants to remind people that there's nothing secret about what God can do.
Line by Line Meaning
The chimes of time ring out the news,
Time passes and the world continues to move forward.
Another day is through.
Another day has ended and can't be relived.
Someone slipped and fell.
Someone stumbled and may need help getting back up.
Was that someone you?
Are you the one who stumbled and need help getting back up?
You may have longed for added strength,
You may have felt weak and wished to be stronger.
Your courage to renew.
You want to feel brave again.
Do not be disheartened,
Don't lose hope.
For I have news for you.
I have something important to tell you.
It is no secret what God can do.
God has the power to do amazing things and it's not a secret.
What He's done for others, He'll do for you.
God has helped others and will help you too.
With arms wide open, He'll pardon you.
God will forgive you with open arms.
There is no night for in His light
Darkness can't exist when you're in God's presence.
You'll never walk alone.
You won't have to go through life alone if you have God with you.
Always feel at home,
You'll feel welcomed and comfortable with God.
Wherever you may roam.
No matter where you go, God will be with you.
There is no power can conquer you
No one and nothing can defeat you with God on your side.
While God is on your side.
God will always be there to support and help you.
Just take Him at His promise,
Believe in God and His promises.
Don't run away and hide.
Don't be afraid and ignore God's help.
It is no secret what God can do.
God is capable of amazing things and it's no secret.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Stuart Hamblen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind