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.
Nothing Ever Hurt Me
George Jones Lyrics
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Arthritis, appendicitis, Bright's disease and gall stones
Bleedin' ulcers, ingrown toe nails, swollen adenoids
The Asian flu a time or two and inflamed vocal chords
I've had a toothache so severe my jawbone split in two
But nothing's ever hurt me half as bad as losing you
Well, I've had the lit end of a cigar pressed against my belly
Accidentally nailed my index finger to the wall
Cut off half my toes and soaked my foot in alcohol
Well I've had my pelvis ruptured by an angry kangaroo
But nothing's ever hurt me half as bad as losing you
Well, it's not because you measure fifty, twenty, forty-four
It's surely not because you own a chain of liquor stores
It's not because your daddy is the richest man in town
It's just that I've grown used to you and having you around
I've had my parents tell me son we don't love you at all
I've seen my sister's name written on a washroom wall
My best friend set my barn on fire and burned my horse to death
I went out with a girl who told me, "George you've got bad breath"
Last week I drew a crowd when I went to the city zoo
But nothing's ever hurt me half as bad as losing you
Well, I've had a splittin' headache from my eyebrows to my backbone
Arthritis, appendicitis, Bright's disease and gall stones
Bleedin' ulcers, ingrown toe nails, swollen adenoids
The Asian flu a time or two and inflamed vocal chords
Well I've had a toothache so severe my jawbone split in two
But nothing's ever hurt me half as bad as losing you
"Nothing Ever Hurt Me" by George Jones is a comical look at the pain and suffering the singer has experienced throughout his life, but concludes with the reality that nothing has ever hurt him half as much as losing his love. Throughout the song, the lyrics detail physical ailments such as a headache, arthritis, appendicitis, Bright's disease, gallstones, bleeding ulcers, ingrown toenails, swollen adenoids, Asian flu, inflamed vocal chords and even a toothache so severe that his jawbone split in two. Jones also comically describes the non-physical pains he has endured, such as being whipped with a crowbar until his eyeball turned jelly, accidentally nailing his finger to the wall, cutting off half his toes, and having his pelvis ruptured by an angry kangaroo. Despite all of these agonizing experiences, losing his love is the worst pain he has ever known.
The song is a tongue-in-cheek reflection of the singer's life that reveals the horrors of his past while comically noting that losing his lover is the most painful event he has experienced. While the song makes light of the singer's physical and emotional pain, it also sheds light on the reality that love and companionship can be the most essential components of a fulfilling life.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I've had a splittin' headache from my eyebrows to my backbone
I've experienced extreme pain in my head and body
Arthritis, appendicitis, Bright's disease and gall stones
I've suffered from a variety of serious health conditions
Bleedin' ulcers, ingrown toe nails, swollen adenoids
I've had painful and uncomfortable medical issues
The Asian flu a time or two and inflamed vocal chords
I've had the flu and problems with my singing voice
I've had a toothache so severe my jawbone split in two
I've endured extreme dental pain
But nothing's ever hurt me half as bad as losing you
The pain of losing you is worse than any physical pain I've ever experienced
Well, I've had the lit end of a cigar pressed against my belly
I've been burned by a cigar on my stomach
Whupped upon with a crowbar till my eyeball turned to jelly
I've been severely beaten with a crowbar, resulting in eye damage
Accidentally nailed my index finger to the wall
I've accidentally hammered a nail into my finger
Cut off half my toes and soaked my foot in alcohol
I've had a part of my toes amputated and treated with alcohol
Well I've had my pelvis ruptured by an angry kangaroo
I've suffered serious injury from a kangaroo attack
It's just that I've grown used to you and having you around
I've become accustomed to your presence in my life
It's not because your daddy is the richest man in town
Your father's wealth does not factor into my feelings for you
My best friend set my barn on fire and burned my horse to death
I've lost a beloved animal due to the actions of a close friend
I went out with a girl who told me, "George you've got bad breath"
I've been insulted and humiliated by a romantic partner
Last week I drew a crowd when I went to the city zoo
I attracted attention and curiosity from people at the zoo
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOBBY BRADDOCK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind