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.
Just Out Of Reach
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dreams that just won't let me be
Blues that keep on bothering me
Change that just won't set me free
To far away from you and all you're charms
Just out of reach of my two empty arms.
Each night in dreams I see your face
Then I awake and find you gone
I'm so blue and all alone
So far away from lips so sweet and warm
Just out of reach of my two empty arms.
Ah honey, you know that old lonesome feeling that I have all the time
It's just knowing that I know you'll never be mine
And the dreams that always keeps on hurting in my mind
I know we're only bound that she and I could never be.
To far away from lips so sweet and warm
Just out of reach of my two empty arms.
Just out of reach of my two empty arms
The song 'Just Out Of Reach' by George Jones is a classic country ballad about a man who is reminiscing about a lost love. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of his inner turmoil, the desperation in his voice palpable. He laments that love runs away from him, and that he is haunted by dreams and memories of the one he loves. The blues in his life seem to never go away, and he is unable to find solace from the change that is taking place. He is just out of reach of the one he desires most, and all he has are his two empty arms.
The heartrending lyrics are relatable to anyone who has lost someone they loved deeply. The song tackles themes of unrequited love, regret, and the constant yearning for something that may never be attainable. The melancholic melody complements the lyrics perfectly, and George Jones' emotive vocals bring a rawness to the song that makes it all the more poignant.
Overall, 'Just Out Of Reach' is an enduring classic that speaks to the heart of anyone who has experienced the pain of a love that is out of reach.
Line by Line Meaning
Love that runs away from me
The love I desire keeps eluding me
Dreams that just won't let me be
I constantly dream of being with you, but reality is different
Blues that keep on bothering me
The sadness and loneliness keep affecting me
Change that just won't set me free
I hope for change, but it never comes and it makes me feel trapped
Too far away from you and all your charms
You are physically distant from me, and I miss everything about you
Just out of reach of my two empty arms.
I want to hold you so bad, but I can't because you're not here
Each night in dreams I see your face
My dreams are the only place where I can be with you
Memories time can not erase
The memories we shared are still vivid and strong
Then I awake and find you gone
When I wake up, I realize that you're not really there
I'm so blue and all alone
I feel sad and lonely without you
So far away from lips so sweet and warm
You are physically distant from me, and I miss your affection
Just out of reach of my two empty arms.
I want to hold you close, but I can't because you're not here with me
Ah honey, you know that old lonesome feeling that I have all the time
I feel lonely and sad all the time, and you know it
It's just knowing that I know you'll never be mine
I know that we can't be together, and it hurts me
And the dreams that always keeps on hurting in my mind
My dreams of being with you only cause me pain
I know we're only bound that she and I could never be.
We can't be together, and that's a reality I can't change
Too far away from lips so sweet and warm
You are physically distant from me, and I miss your tenderness
Just out of reach of my two empty arms.
I want to hold you tightly, but you're not here and it makes me feel alone
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Virgil Stewart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MrMusicguyma
George manages to invest most songs with more feeling than most singers can muster.
Wayne Starkey
Great country song by George Jones!
Orbie Olsson
Love the Possum!!! Just saw his daughter,Georgette. She's fantastic too!
Trey Stewart
Runs in the blood George and tammy for parents lol Natural born song bird!
ElvisFanForever19561
George is awesome. I love every song he ever sang! Thank you for posting. This is the first time I have heard him sing this one.
WarryWally Ferdinandus
Thanks ! George is one of my favourite Country artists and this is really perfect !
Trey Stewart
pure country goodness from old George Jones!
Jack Kane
FANTASTIC .
jeff werner
It's a classic and The Possum knows just how to treat it.....mmmmmmm ty for uploading it tpage6
George jones Fan
George can sing other country singers songs and make them his own.