Ingram was born in Houston, Texas. He started writing songs and performing while studying psychology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he was member of Alpha Tau Omega.
Jack Ingram began his music career singing at a privately owned bar near the TCU campus of Fort Worth, Texas, which was owned by his friend John Clay Wolfe. Later, during the early 1990s, Jack toured the state of Texas opening for Mark Chesnutt and other acts. His first release was his self-titled album in 1995 via the Rhythmic label, followed by 1995's Lonesome Questions. Warner Bros. Records eventually signed him and released a live album entitled Live at Adair's, and re-issued his first two indie albums.
In 1997 he had his first and only time on the 22nd season of Austin City Limits. That same year, he released Livin' or Dyin' via Rising Tide Records, which produced his first chart single in the No. 51-peaking "Flutter". Two years later came Hey You via Lucky Dog, a division of Epic Records, which accounted for a No. 64 country single in "How Many Days". In 2000, he collaborated with Charlie Robison and Bruce Robison for the live album Unleashed Live.
Electric, his second album for Lucky Dog, was also his first album to enter Top Country Albums, despite not producing a chart single. This album was supplemented a year later by an EP entitled Electric: Extra Volts before he left Lucky Dog. Two more live albums followed before he signed to Columbia Records for the release of Young Man in 2004, which accounted for no singles. Another live album, Acoustic Motel, was issued in 2005.
On Sunday, February 3, 2013, H-E-B premiered their 'Texas Myths' Super Bowl commercial featuring Jack Ingram.
In 2005, Ingram signed to the independent record label Big Machine Records. Under the Big Machine banner, Ingram released a predominantly live album entitled Live: Wherever You Are. His first single release on that record label, "Wherever You Are", became Ingram's first top 40, and later his first Number One single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, as well as the first Number One for the Big Machine label. "Love You", the only other studio track on Live: Wherever You Are, was also released as a single, peaking at No. 12 on the charts. This song was also recorded by Trent Summar & the New Row Mob (whose frontman, Trent Summar, co-wrote it) on their 2005 album Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. This is also where he met famous country music artist Taylor Swift. Jack stated they were developing a relationship though she wasn't interested.
In late 2006, Ingram released a cover of Hinder's song "Lips of an Angel". Ingram's cover peaked at No. 16 on the country charts "Lips of an Angel" was the lead-off single to This Is It, his second album for Big Machine. This album also produced the No. 18 "Measure of a Man" (a Radney Foster co-write) and the No. 24 "Maybe She'll Get Lonely".
In 2008, Ingram appeared at the Argyle Education Foundation Black Diamond Affiar.
He won the Academy of Country Music award for top new male vocalist on May 19, 2008. Ingram also filled in for radio host Bob Kingsley on the countdown show "Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40" for the week of September 20–21, 2008.
According to CMT, Ingram's Big Dreams & High Hopes album has "more guts" and Ellis Paul's "The World Ain't Slowing Down" may be the song that takes Ingram to the "next level". Ingram says "It'll be fun for me to expose people to a fantastic song from an artist who's had a 20-year career of being a very successful folk artist." The song was cut from the album. Its lead-off single "That's a Man" charted in the Top 20, followed by "Barefoot and Crazy," which became his second Top 10 hit. The album's next three singles all failed to enter the Top 40: "Seeing Stars" (a duet with Patty Griffin), "Free" and a re-recording of "Barbie Doll" with guest vocals from Dierks Bentley.
On August 26, 2009, Ingram set a Guinness record for the most radio interviews in one day, when he was interviewed 215 times.
Ingram and Big Machine amicably parted ways in late 2011.
As a sideline, Ingram does voice imaging for a number of country stations, including KRYS-FM Corpus Christi; WSIX-FM Nashville; WMIL-FM Milwaukee; KWJJ-FM Portland, Ore.; and KSCS Dallas.
In 2013, Jack teamed up with actor Matthew McConaughey and University of Texas at Austin football coach Mack Brown to create a fundraiser for their favorite children's charities. Dubbed Mack, Jack & McConaughey, the affair was held April 11–12 at Austin's ACL Live at the Moody Theater and featured a gala, golf tournament, fashion show and two nights of music. Mack, Jack & McConaughey returned in 2014.
Fool
Jack Ingram Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody's living way to loud
Workin' hard to act like everything's alright
Anything to keep from coming down
[Chorus]
Oh fool, you're fooling yourself
Don't you know that closing time will tell
Oh fool, you're fooling yourself
Telling anyone who'll listen that it won't be long
Any day now she'll come back to you
And you'll forgive her everything that she's done wrong
You figure it's the least that you can do
[Chorus]
There ain't no problem you can't solve with one more beer
But there's nothing you can do about last call
You don't have to go home but you can't stay here
It's too bad you ain't got no place to fall
[Chorus: x2]
Fool, you're fooling yourself.
In Jack Ingram's song Fool, the lyrics describe a person who is deceiving themselves by living a life of excess and denial. The first verse paints a scene of a reckless night out, with the neon lights burning on both ends and everyone living too loudly. The people in this situation are trying desperately to convince themselves that everything is alright, even though they know it's not. They drink and party to avoid facing their problems and coming down from the high of the night, but they know that eventually, closing time will come and they'll have to face reality once again.
The chorus emphasizes the fact that this person is fooling themselves, thinking that they're hiding their pain and struggles from others. However, reality will catch up with them eventually, and they'll have to face the consequences of their actions. The second verse goes on to describe how this person is holding onto false hope that someone they've lost will come back to them, and they'll forgive them for everything they've done wrong. They believe this is the least they can do, and they are willing to deceive themselves and others to maintain that hope.
The final verse gives a glimpse into the coping mechanisms used by this person. They believe that one more beer will solve any problem, but they know that there's nothing they can do about last call. They're left with no place to go and no one to turn to, and even though they're fooling themselves into thinking they can handle it all, the truth is that they're just fooling themselves.
Overall, the lyrics of Fool are a poignant commentary on denial and self-deception, and the ways in which people try to cope with their pain and struggles. The song encourages listeners to face reality and not try to deceive themselves or others, as it will eventually catch up with them.
Line by Line Meaning
The neon's burning both ends of another night
The bright lights from the nightlife are exhausting another night.
Everybody's living way to loud
Everyone is living in a loud and excessive manner.
Workin' hard to act like everything's alright
Putting in effort to pretend like everything is okay even though it's not.
Anything to keep from coming down
Doing whatever it takes to avoid feeling low or depressed.
Oh fool, you're fooling yourself
The artist is being foolish and lying to himself.
Don't you know that closing time will tell
The closing time of the bar is a clear signal that the night is over.
And if you think think you're fooling anybody else
If the singer believes he is fooling others, he is mistaken.
Telling anyone who'll listen that it won't be long
The artist is insisting that his ex-girlfriend is coming back soon.
Any day now she'll come back to you
The artist is expecting his ex-girlfriend to return at any moment.
And you'll forgive her everything that she's done wrong
He plans to forgive her despite her transgressions.
You figure it's the least that you can do
The singer thinks forgiving his ex-girlfriend is the least he can do to gain her back.
There ain't no problem you can't solve with one more beer
The artist believes drinking more beer can solve any problem he faces.
But there's nothing you can do about last call
The singer can't do anything about the bar closing and the night ending.
You don't have to go home but you can't stay here
He can't stay at the bar and has no specific home to go to.
It's too bad you ain't got no place to fall
It's unfortunate that the singer has nowhere to turn to when things fall apart.
Oh fool, you're fooling yourself
The artist is still being foolish and lying to himself.
Don't you know that closing time will tell
The closing time of the bar is still a clear signal that the night is over.
And if you think think you're fooling anybody else
The singer is still mistaken if he thinks he's fooling anyone else.
Oh fool, you're fooling yourself
The singer is being foolish and lying to himself, again.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JACK OWEN INGRAM, THOMAS LITTLEFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind