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.
You Never Leave
Jack Ingram Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've said it all before
How you've sold yourself short
And you deserve more
But you never leave
You wake up in the morning
You've slept another one off
Feeling alone and out of touchâ??
But you'd never leave
You'd never leave
Now you see
That you still love me
And I'm sorry that when things get strange
You look at me to lay the blame
But I love you more than you think you know
So don't be surprised if I'm the one to go
â??Cause you'd never leave
You'd never leave
You're waiting on me
To set you free
You'd never leave
Now I dream at night I'm lying
Right there next to you
Now I dream if we keep trying
We'll pull through
But I wake up screaming
And no one's there
And I realize that you weren't so scared
To be the one walking out the door
And if I had been what you were looking for
You'd never leave
You'd never leave
If you were counting on me
To set you free
You'd never leave
You never leave
You set yourself free
I've got your memory
You never leave
In "You Never Leave," Jack Ingram sings about being in a tumultuous relationship where his partner consistently says that they deserve more but never leaves. The first verse highlights the partner's tendency to sell themselves short and how the singer has heard it all before. Despite this, the partner never leaves. The second verse shows the aftermath of one of their typical nights where the partner has slept in and apologizes for feeling out of touch. The chorus repeats several times, emphasizing the point that the partner would never leave, regardless of what happens. The bridge displays the singer's frustration, he dreams of being with his partner, but he ends up waking up screaming, and he realizes that his partner was never as scared to leave as he thought. The final chorus reveals that if the partner was waiting for him to set them free, they would never leave, and he has the memory of them always present.
The song seems to reflect a codependent relationship, with the partner consistently expressing a desire for more self-worth but never taking action to improve their situation. It's also possible that the partner is struggling with addiction since they "sleep another one off" and feel "out of touch." The singer ultimately acknowledges that he cannot be responsible for his partner's actions, and if they were waiting for him to set them free, they would never leave. The song's melancholic tone emphasizes the sadness and desperation that can come from being in such a codependent situation.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't know why you surprise me
I'm familiar with your situation and I shouldn't be surprised by your actions.
You've said it all before
You've expressed your feelings in the past.
How you've sold yourself short
You've underestimated yourself and your worth.
And you deserve more
You're worthy of better treatment and more respect.
But you never leave
You stay in this situation even though you're unhappy.
You wake up in the morning
A new day begins, but your situation hasn't changed.
You've slept another one off
You've used sleep as an escape from reality.
You say, 'I'm sorry I just got lost
Feeling alone and out of touch'
You apologize for retreating into yourself when you feel isolated and disconnected.
But you'd never leave
Despite your struggles, you remain in this situation.
Now you see
That you still love me
You realize that despite your difficulties, you still have feelings for me.
And I'm sorry that when things get strange
You look at me to lay the blame
I'm sorry that when things go wrong, you blame me.
But I love you more than you think you know
So don't be surprised if I'm the one to go
I care for you deeply, but I may have to leave this situation for my own well-being.
'Cause you'd never leave
You'd never leave
You're waiting on me
To set you free
You'd never leave
You're counting on me to make the decision to leave, because you're too afraid to do it yourself.
Now I dream at night I'm lying
Right there next to you
I dream of being close to you again.
Now I dream if we keep trying
We'll pull through
I dream that if we work together, we can overcome our difficulties.
But I wake up screaming
And no one's there
I wake up upset because the reality of our situation hits me.
And I realize that you weren't so scared
To be the one walking out the door
I realize that you weren't as afraid to leave as you claimed to be.
And if I had been what you were looking for
You'd never leave
If I had fulfilled your needs and desires, you wouldn't feel the need to stay in this situation.
You'd never leave
If you were counting on me
To set you free
You'd never leave
You're relying on me to make the decision to leave and free you from this situation.
You never leave
You set yourself free
I've got your memory
You never leave
Even though you're physically gone, the memory of you remains and affects me.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: JACK INGRAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind