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.
Tender Years
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I believe that it's true
And it just doesn't matter
How much I love you
But in time you'll understand, dear
When you shed a tear
Then you'll know you were living
In your eyes there's a love light
That's shining for him
But how long will it stay there?
Will that love light grow dim?
You can just see the happiness
You can't see the tears
It's true, 'cause you're living
In your tender years (tender years)
So if I can't be your first love
I'll wait and be your last
I'll be somewhere in your future
To help you forget the past
And you'll know that I love you
With a love that's sincere
'Cause I'll wait till you're through living
In your tender years (tender years)
Yes, you'll know that I love you
With a love that's sincere
Yes, I'll wait till you're through living
In your tender years (tender years)
The song "Tender Years" by George Jones, is a ballad about unrequited love. The singer sings to his beloved, telling her he understands that she loves someone else, and that he'll be there for her when that relationship ends. He laments the fact that he can't be her first love, but he promises to be her last. He tells her that she's living in her "tender years," a time when she's still learning about love and making mistakes. He suggests that she'll come to realize the truth about their relationship when she sheds a tear, and sees that the love she thought would last forever, was just a passing fancy.
The song is a poignant message about the nature of love and how it evolves over time. The singer is wise enough to recognize that his beloved is still learning about love, and that he's willing to wait for her to grow and mature. He shows his love by being patient and understanding, and by being there for her when she needs him. The song is both melancholy and hopeful, as it acknowledges the pain of unrequited love, but also the power of persistence and enduring love.
Line by Line Meaning
You keep saying you love him
You repeatedly affirm your love for him
I believe that it's true
I trust that what you say is true
And it just doesn't matter
However much I care for you, it is insignificant
How much I love you
No matter how much I love you
But in time you'll understand, dear
Eventually, you will comprehend
When you shed a tear
At the point in which you cry
Then you'll know you were living
At that moment, you'll realize you lived
In your tender years (tender years)
During the youthful stage of your life
In your eyes there's a love light
Your eyes reveal affection
That's shining for him
Devotion that's directed towards him
But how long will it stay there?
However, how long will that love persist?
Will that love light grow dim?
Will the brightness of that love diminish?
You can just see the happiness
The joy is evident
You can't see the tears
But the sorrow that comes with it is invisible
It's true, 'cause you're living
Indeed, because you're going through
In your tender years (tender years)
During the youthful stage of your life
So if I can't be your first love
If I can't occupy the first place in your heart
I'll wait and be your last
Then I'll wait and stay until the end
I'll be somewhere in your future
I'll remain a part of your future
To help you forget the past
And assist you in letting go of the past
And you'll know that I love you
And you'll understand the depth of my affection
With a love that's sincere
A genuine and true form of love
'Cause I'll wait till you're through living
Because I'll hold on until you're done experiencing life
In your tender years (tender years)
Whether in your happy or sad moments during your youthful stage of life
Yes, you'll know that I love you
You'll undoubtedly acknowledge that you are loved by me
With a love that's sincere
Because my love is truthful and heartfelt
Yes, I'll wait till you're through living
I'll wait for you till you've lived your life to the fullest
In your tender years (tender years)
Throughout your youthful stage of life
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: DARRELL EDWARDS, GEORGE JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
William Nimbach
This is such a great song!! No one beats the possum!! It doesn't matter how many times you hear his songs eventually you find a way back to him!!
Lenny Buttz
Incredible piano by Floyd Cramer. I love how Floyd has such a distinct style that even if he's not given credit you still know when it's him playing.
George Lustrea
Simply the best. Enough said!!
Raymond Malcuit
GEORGE JONES VERSION OF THIS SONG WENT TO NUMBER 76 ON THE BILLBOARD HOT-100 CHART IN 1961.
The Cowboy
I heard this song when I was a little boy, thanks to my dad, and I have to say that honestly I loved it then, I love it now, and I am so thankful as somebody took the time to upload the song onto YouTube, so I have a chance to hear it again.
Devil City
Love Brook Benton version.
Håkan Ekelund
1961 års bästa County låt
Lonnie Beavers
Oh those tender years . If only she knew !!
Theo someca
Je serais ton avenir ... tendrement .. l Amour le vrai reste toujours au plus profond de nos âmes.. dire sincèrement nos sentiments s'ouvrir l'un à l'autre mon vieil ami 💕❤
Sylvia Godwin
No one will ever be George Jones!!