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.
Try
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And most folks seem to be satisfied to get by
Why you can do better when you just let her
Prove to the world you're a real go-getter
But you'll never know just what you can do till you try
Until a bird tries it's wings
It doesn't even know it can fly
You can be great or you can be small
Some things take no talent at all
But you'll never know just what you can do till you try
[ fiddle - steel ]
So pay no attention to the bad things others may say
Just keep looking and searching
And you'll find success on your way
I write songs and I write music
My critics say that don't excuse it
But you'll never know just what you can do till you try
Well you never know just what you can do till you try...
In George Jones's song, "Try," he sings about the importance of taking a chance and trying something new. He opens the song with the lines, "Well you never know just what you can do till you try, And most folks seem to be satisfied to get by." He implores listeners to not settle for mediocrity and instead strive for greatness, stating that "you can do better when you just let her" (referring to yourself).
The chorus of the song uses the metaphor of a bird trying its wings for the first time before soaring into the sky. Jones suggests that everyone has the potential for greatness, but it can only be discovered by taking risks and trying new things. He acknowledges that some things may require more talent than others, but ultimately you will never know what you can achieve until you try.
The final verse of the song is particularly powerful, as Jones talks about his own experiences. He writes songs and music, and though he has faced criticism, he says that "you'll never know just what you can do till you try." He encourages listeners to ignore any negative comments or doubts from others and to keep pushing forward towards their goals.
In summary, George Jones's "Try" is a motivational song about taking chances and striving for greatness. It serves as a reminder that we all have the potential to achieve great things, but it can only be realized by taking risks and trying new things.
Line by Line Meaning
Well you never know just what you can do till you try
It is impossible to gauge your abilities unless you take a chance
And most folks seem to be satisfied to get by
Many people have a disposition to settle for mediocrity
Why you can do better when you just let her
When you have let go of inhibitions, you are capable of excelling
Prove to the world you're a real go-getter
Demonstrate to the world that you have a proactive attitude towards life
But you'll never know just what you can do till you try
You cannot be certain of your own potential until you attempt something
Until a bird tries it's wings
Until birds attempt to take flight
It doesn't even know it can fly
They are not even aware of their ability to soar
But soon it goes soaring way off into the sky
But once they figure out their ability, they can fly off into the sky
You can be great or you can be small
You can either be successful or be forgotten
Some things take no talent at all
Some things just require common sense and little talent
So pay no attention to the bad things others may say
Ignore the negative comments of others
Just keep looking and searching
Keep exploring different possibilities and options
And you'll find success on your way
Success will come to you in one of the paths you take
I write songs and I write music
I am a songwriter and musician
My critics say that don't excuse it
Nevertheless, my critics opine that does not absolve me
But you'll never know just what you can do till you try
You can never know what you are capable of without making an effort
Contributed by Owen K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ida Fillmore
The very best , Tom. His music will live on with alot of us!
Youragie Belgrove
This is so true, you never know what you can do till you try, thanks Mr. Jones for this beautiful song, your music will live on
Mary E Frazier
Love this song Love the Possum , Thank you Tom 💝💐💝💐
Maria Linton
Love this one never heard it before thx well done
Jrpiecat
Paul Vandergriff wrote this song. He lives in Dallas. A real talented songwriter.
Tom Roberts
Paul Vandergriff
Thank you so much for writing a wonderful song for George Jones. On the album good year for the roses. I remember you and I talking about this several years ago. And I remember us meeting George at Granny’s playhouse in Dallas.
Lena Andersson
Hello Tom & thank you for George Jones song 🎤🎸🌟🌟🌟
beiseii pautu
So true, nice song
Mary Thompson
Thanks Tom For A Great George Jones Song He Is Miss
Micky Bowser
OH OH TO MUCH SWEET TO DARN MUCH TRUE JUST YES YES 🌹 VELVET🌈