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.
What Makes You Say
Jack Ingram Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What did I do so wrong today
Where did you learn how to cut me so deep
When did I let you get so far away from me
And I know that we stood there and promised each other forever
God knows we've tried for so long now and nothing gets better
Loving you is all that I have ever known
And I know that we stood there and promised each other forever
God knows we've tried for too long now and nothing gets better
Stand here in the silence that remains
Loving you still does not change a thing
In Jack Ingram’s song “What Makes You Say,” the singer is questioning his partner’s recent behavior towards him. He’s asking what caused his partner to say hurtful things to him and what he did wrong to deserve it. He’s also asking how his partner learned to hurt him so deeply and how he allowed her to create distance between them.
The chorus reflects the couple’s history and how they’ve tried to make it work. They promised each other forever, but no matter how much they’ve tried, nothing has improved. Despite the love he has for his partner, the singer realizes that being together is not the best option for them. They’d both be better off alone, even though the truth hurts.
Overall, the song is about the struggle of a relationship that’s run its course. It’s about the realization that love alone isn’t enough to make a relationship work, and that sometimes the best decision is to let go.
Line by Line Meaning
What makes you say the things you say
I'm confused and hurt by the things you say, and I'm desperate to understand where they're coming from.
What did I do so wrong today
I'm searching for any mistakes I might have made to deserve your harsh words, but I can't seem to find any.
Where did you learn how to cut me so deep
Your words hurt more than anything else, and I'm wondering where you learned to speak so cruelly.
When did I let you get so far away from me
I'm realizing that we've grown apart and I don't know how it happened.
And I know that we stood there and promised each other forever
We made a commitment to each other, but it feels like we're failing to keep our promise.
God knows we've tried for so long now and nothing gets better
We've been putting in effort for a long time, but things aren't improving and it's taking a toll on us both.
Loving you is all that I have ever known
I've been committed to loving you for so long that I can't imagine anything else.
But the truth hits and I know we'd be better off alone
Despite my love for you, I'm realizing that we might be better off apart.
Stand here in the silence that remains
Despite everything we've said and done, we're faced with a quiet, uncertain future.
Loving you still does not change a thing
Even though I still love you, it doesn't change the reality of our situation and the problems we're facing.
Lyrics © Bluewater Music Corp.
Written by: BRUCE ROBISON, JACK INGRAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind