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 giftβa 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 a Closer Walk with Thee
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll be satisfied as long as I walk let me walk close to Thee
Just a closer walk with Thee grant it Jesus is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee let it be dear Lord let it be
When my feeble life is o'er time for me will be no more
Guide me gently safely o'er to Thy kingdom shore to Thy shore
Just a closer walk with Thee...
The lyrics to George Jones's song "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" convey a profound message of vulnerability and surrender to a higher power. The first verse starts with the admission of the singer's own weakness and the plea for Jesus to keep him from all wrong. It is a recognition of the human condition of falling short, but also acknowledging the power of faith to overcome it. The second verse echoes this sentiment by emphasizing the desire to walk closely with Jesus. The singer is not asking for anything grand or extraordinary, just the opportunity to walk alongside Jesus every day.
The final verse evokes the image of the end of life, where the singer is guided gently and safely to the kingdom shore. This is a powerful reminder of the ultimate destination that awaits and the hope that even in death, there is the possibility of being reunited with the divine. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, which serves as a reminder of the plea to walk closely with Jesus.
Overall, "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" is a timeless song that speaks to the human experience of vulnerability, hope, and surrender. It is a testament to the power of faith to provide comfort and guidance, even in the midst of uncertainty and struggle.
Line by Line Meaning
I am weak but Thou art strong Jesus keep me from all wrong
I acknowledge my own fallibility and ask Jesus to protect me from all temptations and wrongdoing.
I'll be satisfied as long as I walk let me walk close to Thee
I only need to be near Jesus to feel content and complete in my life journey.
Just a closer walk with Thee grant it Jesus is my plea
My only request of Jesus is to be able to walk even closer to him and strengthen my relationship with Him.
Daily walking close to Thee let it be dear Lord let it be
I make a daily commitment to keep walking towards Jesus and ask Him to guide me along the way.
When my feeble life is o'er time for me will be no more
Eventually, my mortal life will end, and there will be no more time left for me in this world.
Guide me gently safely o'er to Thy kingdom shore to Thy shore
I request that Jesus guide me gently to His kingdom and bring me through the veil into His presence.
Just a closer walk with Thee...
All I want is to draw even closer to Jesus and strengthen my relationship with Him.
Lyrics Β© BMG Rights Management
Written by: BILLY SHERRILL, CHARLIE RICH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hitch Russ
I am weak but Thou art strong
Jesus keep me from all wrong
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee
Just a closer walk with Thee
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be
When my feeble life is o'er
Time for me will be no more
Guide me gently, safely o'er
To Thy kingdom's shore, to Thy shore
Just a closer walk with Thee
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be
Todd and Angel Browning
Never has there ever been a greater voice. Glad he got his name written down in the book of life.
Mac Mac
A standing ovation?? Well deserved. Mr. Jones sang a lot of Gospel songs/hymns and he had his own special twist on all. Thank you sir.
BJ Martin
Amen, praise God from whom all blessings flow ππΏππ»ππ½
badsparkplug
Love George singing Gospel!
Cleuza Evangelista
Que dom divino , eu estou emocionada e com o meu coração cheio de alegria com louvor maravilhoso que me leva aos pés de Jesus!!!
Hitch Russ
I am weak but Thou art strong
Jesus keep me from all wrong
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee
Just a closer walk with Thee
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be
When my feeble life is o'er
Time for me will be no more
Guide me gently, safely o'er
To Thy kingdom's shore, to Thy shore
Just a closer walk with Thee
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be
Runnin onMT
Played this song at my Mother's service in Feb 19.....classic George Gospel...brings me back every time..
Stuart O'Neill
Great country voice gone but not forgotten
Cleuza Evangelista
Deus seja louvado nada calarΓ‘ um verdadeiro adorador!!!
Dis Donc!
For his age in this one and compared to other performances at that time, his voice was actually very fine!