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.
Walk Through This World with Me
George Jones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Go where I go
Share all my dreams with me
I need you so
In life we search
And some of us find
I've looked for you
And now that I've found you
New horizons I see
Come take my hand
And walk through this world with me
Walk through this world with me
Go where I go
Share all my dreams with me
I've searched for you so
And now that I've found you
New horizons I see
Come take my hand
And walk through this world with me
Come take my hand
And walk through this world with me
The lyrics of George Jones's song "Walk Through This World with Me" speak of a deep longing for companionship and a need for someone to share life with. The singer is inviting his loved one to join him on a journey through life, to be by his side, and to share in his joys and sorrows. He expresses the importance of having someone who understands him, and the comfort of having someone who is always there. The lyrics paint a picture of two people walking through life together, facing it head-on, and finding joy in each other's company.
The first verse expresses the search for love and companionship, and how it takes time to find the right person. However, when that person is found, life becomes brighter, and new horizons are revealed. The second verse reinforces the idea that it takes time to find a soulmate and that once found, it's important to cherish and hold on to them. The chorus repeats the invitation, asking his loved one to join him in his journey, to hold his hand, and to walk through life together.
Overall, "Walk Through This World with Me" is a deeply romantic and heartfelt song that speaks of the joys and comforts of having a life partner to walk with. Its simple yet poetic lyrics capture the essence of love and companionship in a way that is timeless and universal.
Line by Line Meaning
Walk through this world with me
Join me on this journey of life, be my companion
Go where I go
Travel with me wherever I may go, experience the world by my side
Share all my dreams with me
Open up, share your aspirations with me, let's build a future together
I need you so
My desire for your presence in my life is strong and unwavering
In life we search
All of us seek something to make us feel complete
And some of us find
A fortunate few discover what they have been looking for
I've looked for you
I've searched for someone like you
A long, long time
For an extended period of time
And now that I've found you
My search is now over, you are the one I've been looking for
New horizons I see
You bring new experiences and possibilities into my life
Come take my hand
Let me lead you towards a promising future
And walk through this world with me
Be my partner in navigating the ups and downs of life
Lyrics © GLAD MUSIC CO.
Written by: Kay Jeanne Savage, Sandra Noreen Seamons
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@kkiilljjooy
Walk Through This World With Me (single) - George Jones
MP3 download: https://amzn.to/2ZKjzE5
@ellislee2957
I am tired my friends I'm ready to go you see it's time for me to hang up all my memories and I'll walk through this world again holding you hand in hand so Walk through this world with me do it by my friends God bless
@aprilkicinski2132
❤❤❤
@oggamebred1866
Absolute gold
@silentweaponsquietwars1703
One of the best songs ever written in my opinion!
@richardopp4237
This version of this song brings back a bittersweet memory from about 1967, I was deeply in love, and she played this song for me. During the height of the Viet Nam Conflict, I was drafted. I'd hear from her now and then, but the distance to Fredrick, Maryland and her home in Iowa was just too much. It still brings tears to my eyes!!!
@anandavirmed578
Howdy neighbor :) (Loudoun VA)
@imisskatelyn9517
Thank you for your service and sacrifices.
@Burwell-fz3pu
This is classic! There's never going to be another George Jones. Perfect 👌
@terryely7341
No one can put so much heart and soul in a song as George..