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.
The Battle
George Jones Lyrics
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While the mornin' mist lays heavy on the ground
And the silence is like thunder
As the enemy prepares another round
And her soft satin armor
Lying on the far side of the bed
Wounded and heart broken
I have no rules in battle
So I fire the guns of anger once again
Oh, she's such a little thing
And there's no doubt about it I can win
But with teardrops as her weapon
She easily destroys my battle plan
And in shamefully retreatin', I smile at her
And then she takes command
Oh, what a sweet surrender
I'm captured by two lips so warm and tender
She completely surrounds me with her lovin' arms again
It was love that brought the battle to an end
Now the enemies are lovers once again
The Battle by George Jones is a song that speaks of the complex dynamics in a relationship where anger and misunderstandings seem to prevail. The song begins with a vivid description of a battlefield at dawn, where the mist creates an atmosphere of silence that is almost tangible. This imagery serves as a metaphor for a couple's relationship, which has become a battleground. The enemy in this case is likely the emotions that both parties are struggling with, such as anger, hurt, and resentment.
As the song continues, the focus shifts to the singer's partner, who is portrayed as being wounded and heartbroken, lying on the other side of the bed. The singer reveals that he has been using anger as a weapon to try to win the battle, but his partner's tears and softness ultimately bring him to his knees. He admits to having no rules in this battle, implying that he has been harsh and uncompromising in his approach. However, his partner's "teardrops as her weapon" serve as a reminder to him of the real cost of their fighting. In the end, it is love that brings the battle to an end, as they are reunited in each other's arms.
Line by Line Meaning
Dawn breaks on the battlefield
The day begins with the couple in a conflict
While the mornin' mist lays heavy on the ground
The gloominess of the battlefield sets the tone for the day
And the silence is like thunder
The silence between them is filled with tension and anxiety
As the enemy prepares another round
Both partners are ready for another argument
And her soft satin armor
Her delicate exterior is no match for his harsh words
Lying on the far side of the bed
She has distanced herself from him
Wounded and heart broken
His words have caused her emotional pain
And scared by the killin' words I said
She is afraid of his hurtful words
I have no rules in battle
He will do whatever it takes to win the argument
So I fire the guns of anger once again
He responds with more anger and hurtful words
Oh, she's such a little thing
He underestimates her strength and resolve
And there's no doubt about it I can win
He believes he is capable of winning any argument
But with teardrops as her weapon
Her vulnerability and tears disarm him
She easily destroys my battle plan
Her tears catch him off guard and force him to surrender
And in shamefully retreatin', I smile at her
He feels remorseful and ashamed of his hurtful words
And then she takes command
She takes the reins of the argument and shows him love
Oh, what a sweet surrender
He realizes that he would rather surrender to her love than continue fighting
I'm captured by two lips so warm and tender
Her loving kiss captivates him
She completely surrounds me with her lovin' arms again
She shows him love and affection, and they reconnect
It was love that brought the battle to an end
Their love was the only thing that could resolve the conflict
Now the enemies are lovers once again
They have reconciled and returned to their loving relationship
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GEORGE RICHEY, LINDA KIMBALL, NORRIS D WILSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind