James Wesley puts those core values into his music with a whiskey-smooth voice and a timelessly winning way with a great country song. Wesley sings directly to real people about real things that profoundly affect real lives—and from his small-town upbringing to his blue-collar work ethic, he has a deep understanding of what those folks are longing to hear.
"I know there's more people out there than just me who want to hear something that grabs you and makes you go, 'Wow, that's me—that's how I feel, that's my day, that's my family,'" he says. "When you swing a hammer every day, when you're out there doing what you have to do, you learn a lot of compassion for the people that do it day in and day out."
Wesley grew up in tiny Mound Valley, a community of about 200 people in Southeastern Kansas. He first discovered country music via his grandmother's record collection, which included heaping helpings of classic crooners like Marty Robbins, George Jones and Ray Price. "We'd go over there on the weekends," he recalls. "She'd have the console set up and the records stacked up and we'd listen to them as they dropped. Those guys back then, they could sing. I thought, 'That's what I want to do.'"
His mother was the first to notice Wesley's own talent for singing when she overheard him belting out his favorite songs behind his bedroom door. "I thought if I shut my door I blocked everybody out, but evidently I didn't block Mom out," he says with a chuckle. "She heard me and said, 'I'd love to have you sing in church.' So that's what I did." Soon he taught himself to play guitar on an old Stella practice model. "I've got it to this day," he says. "You can still see where I wore down the D, C and G chords on the fretboard."
By his late teens he was singing in local nightclubs and beginning to think about making music his life. "I'd sit in my bedroom and stare out of the window and dream of being out there, getting to see the world," he remembers. His first move in that direction was to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where he performed in a nightly music and variety show.
There he met his wife, Mindee, with whom he now has two young children—and finally set his sights on Nashville. "I could have stayed in Eureka Springs for the rest of my life, but I just had to chase the dream," he says. "I had to follow my gut." He and Mindee sold their house and almost everything in it, rented a moving truck and headed for Music City. Once there, Wesley took a construction job to make ends meet and began learning the ropes of the Nashville music business. He met hit songwriter Rodney Clawson and producer Dan Frizsell, and the three began recording together.
Their work caught the attention of Broken Bow Records, which signed Wesley in December and quickly released the very first song on his original demo, "Jackson Hole," as his debut single. The tune (penned by Clawson and Monty Criswell) immediately began racing up the charts, driven by listeners who loved its vivid story of fleeting love in a snowy setting. "Jackson Hole" offered fans an upfront introduction to the more vulnerable aspects of Wesley's personality. "Growing up with three sisters, I've got a sensitive side too," he says with a smile. "But I'm proud that I have that side, that I'm not callous. The only thing calloused about me is my hands."
The breakout success of "Jackson Hole" instantly validated the enormous risk Wesley took in uprooting his family from Eureka Springs for an uncertain future in Nashville was worth it. "My family has seen all the ups and downs," he says. "There's been a lot of hard work. There's been times it wasn't easy, and they've been there the whole time. They're great." It also meant that Wesley's days of construction work were over. "Thank God I get to put the hammer down, at least for a while," he says with a laugh. "It's nice to be able to do what I love to do."
James Wesley hopes to do what he loves to do for a long time to come. "I want to be in it for the long haul," he says. "I want to do those songs that everybody wants to hear, and that everybody can feel. I want to be the guy who tells the stories, and tells it like it is."
Didn't I
James Wesley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There'd be a river running through this house
If our love was like a circus
I'd be the sad-faced clown
Walking with my head down
Wondering where you are now
[Chorus]
Stare in your eyes and swear I loved you
Didn't I, baby didn't I
Give you everything you ever wanted
Love you like crazy let's be honest
Didn't I, baby didn't I
Didn't I
I thought we were like a stone wall
Solid all the way around
I never knew you'd be the wrecking ball
To bring us tumbling down
Till I woke up that Friday morning
To find you gone, you were gone
[Chorus]
Didn't I wrap my arms around you
Stare in your eyes and swear I loved you
Oh baby didn't I
Give you everything you ever wanted
Love you like crazy, let's be honest
Didn't I, baby didn't I
Didn't I, baby didn't I
Oh baby didn't I
The lyrics of the song "Didn't I" by James Wesley describe the feeling of regret and sorrow that a man experiences after his lover leaves him. In the beginning, the lyrics describe the intensity of the regret (represented by raindrops) that the man feels after his lover leaves him. The river that runs through the house represents the enormity of this regret, the depth of the emotions that the man is feeling. The following line about "love being like a circus" portrays his emotional state, a sad clown, walking with his head looking down, searching for answers, and wondering where his lover disappeared.
The chorus of the song highlights the promises that the man made to his lover of giving her everything she wanted and loving her like crazy. He questions himself asking, "Didn't I wrap my arms around you, stare in your eyes and swear I loved you? Didn't I, baby, didn't I?" He is reminding himself of the promises he made to his lover, and contemplating if he could have done more. He is trying to understand why she left—since he thought that their relationship was like a stone wall that stood solid and authentic all way around.
The lyrics then describe the pain of waking up one morning, and his lover was gone, "you were gone." This line implies that the lady left abruptly without any explanation or a hint of warning. The phrase "you were gone" is repeated after the chorus, emphasizing the sudden and painful departure of his beloved.
In summary, the song's lyrics describe the man's regret and sorrow after his girlfriend leaves him without any explanation, and he questions himself whether he did enough to keep their relationship alive.
Line by Line Meaning
If regrets were like raindrops
There'd be a river running through this house
If all the regrets we have were counted like raindrops, we would have a river flowing through this house.
If our love was like a circus
I'd be the sad-faced clown
Walking with my head down
Wondering where you are now
If our love was a circus, I would be the clown who always had a sad look on my face, constantly walking with my head down, wondering where you could have gone.
Didn't I wrap my arms around you
Stare in your eyes and swear I loved you
Didn't I, baby didn't I
Give you everything you ever wanted
Love you like crazy let's be honest
Didn't I, baby didn't I
Didn't I
Didn't I hold you close, look deep into your eyes, and promise you my love? Didn't I give you all that you could ever want, and love you like you deserved? Didn't I, baby? Didn't I?
I thought we were like a stone wall
Solid all the way around
I never knew you'd be the wrecking ball
To bring us tumbling down
Till I woke up that Friday morning
To find you gone, you were gone
I believed we were solid, like a stone wall, all the way around. I never knew that you would be the one to bring us down, like a wrecking ball. It wasn't until that Friday morning, when I woke up to find you gone, that I realized what had happened.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RANDY MONTANA, KYLE JACOBS, BEN GLOVER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jscountrygirl85_326
Great song! This should've been a much bigger hit. I remember this being one of my favorite songs when it came out, but unfortunately it was when the bro-country trend was just getting started, and songs like this were being played less. I've enjoyed this guy's music ever since he released "Life Goes On" in 1999 under the name James Prosser.
@JLillard5
How does this song only have so little of views? This song is amazing.
@kaylalynnallen1
I've been in love with this song since the 1st time I heard it. How could someone not love this song? This song makes you think a little. <3
@miked7212
I agree !
@professionalfitnessmodelac8426
Heard this while going thru Divorce CRANKED IT UP!!! Now I cover this song 😊 Funny how things turn out
@foofighterfan90
song is perfect, anyone whos ever been given up on or had a love slip away...this is the song that fits
@RWWRENTAL
how does he only have 3k subs i mean this is real true music
@brandialps
He hung up his guitar and isn’t singing anymore 😢
@mohottie30
I hope this song goes big because it's great lyrically and musically and James sings it perfectly. I hope he goes far. Too bad it doesn't get much radio play.
@kraiger84
This song is ringing a little too true for me. Going through a divorce and I did everything i could. This awesome song has a lot of meaning!