Mark Chesnutt’s stature is easily gauged. He has 14 #1 hits, 23 Top 10 singles, four platinum albums and five gold records to his credit; he maintains a front-and-center presence with a hefty tour schedule year after year. Country music critics and fans alike need look no further when it comes to Country music basics. If you ask Chesnutt, he’ll tell you, “It’s the music and the fans that have kept me around this long.” In a creative forum that sometimes confuses style with substance, Mark Chesnutt possesses both.
Remaining true to himself as a traditional country artist, while keeping the pace with the ever-changing country recording landscape, Mark Chesnutt has a knack for picking great songs, delivering them with world-class style and a heart-felt emotion that’s lived-in. With a trademarked voice, Chesnutt has set the bar for his generation and those that follow in his footsteps shaping the music of today’s country music newcomers and the new country music format. Mark Chesnutt’s personal integrity combined with his principal to record a genuine country song has made him a fixture on radio and in honky tonks across the globe.
Chesnutt got his start in the honky-tonks of Beaumont, Texas, learning from his father, Bob Chesnutt, a singer, record collector and major fan of classic country music. Playing alongside his dad, Mark embraced his father’s influence one set at a time and to begin making a name for himself. Mark sang covers by Lefty, Merle, George and Waylon to develop his unmatched crowd-pleasing rapport and his authentic country style.
Bob Chesnutt often traveled to Nashville to record and to broaden his exposure. He began taking Mark along to record when he was just 17. After nearly a decade of recording on regional labels, word got out about this young country vocalist. Music Row executives came to hear Mark on his own Texas turf and recognized the depth of Mark Chesnutt’s raw talent.
In 1989, he was signed to MCA Nashville and his list of accolades tells the rest of his story. With the release of his first single“ Too Cold At Home,” Mark established himself as one of country’s most authentic and talented vocalists. He won the CMA Horizon Award attracting the attention of country legend [and Mark’s greatest mentor] George Jones who introduced him as “A boy from Beaumont, Texas who is the real deal.” That recognition and initial success opened the door to offer Mark his chance of a lifetime, to do what he loved most—sing country music for country fans; this time, on a national level. “The first couple years it was non-stop.” Mark says.
“I can remember one time during a tour, I didn’t step foot on the front porch for ten months, with exception of a day or a day-and-a- half, then, it was right back out again.” Mark’s dedication paid off. He developed a true blue fan base. Fans, he confides, “are the reason for my success.”
His fans helped his records to climb the charts one right after the other making him one of Billboard’s Ten Most-Played Radio Artists of the ‘90’s. Mark’s singles were some the decade’s most memorable; from the fun tempo “Bubba Shot The Jukebox” to emotional ballad “I’ll Think Of Something.” Mark is easily identified for his string of hits including “Brother Jukebox,” “Blame It On Texas,” “Old Flames Have New Names,” “Old Country,” “It Sure Is Monday,” “Almost Goodbye,” “I Just Wanted You To Know,” “Going Through The Big D,” “It’s A Little Too Late,” “Gonna Get A Life,” and one of his biggest, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing;” a song that held its position at the top of the charts for four consecutive weeks.
Of all the recorded highlights Chesnutt has enjoyed, they take a back seat to his first love; Mark Chesnutt lives to perform on stage. “I just make records because want people to come see my show,” he says with a grin. “Recording music for folks to just listen to music is great,” he says, “but I’ve got to be out there on stage making it.” Fans who have seen him perform agree. Known as one of the industry’s hardest-working concert performers, maintaining a hefty tour schedule and steady presence in front of his fans, Mark’s dedication to deliver live music is unsurpassed. Mark has been on the road since 1990. Whether you hear Mark Chesnutt with a new release on the radio, or see his face on the cover of a new CD, folks can always find Mark doing what he was born to do playing. “The clubs and honky tonks are home for me; it’s comfortable and I’m always with friends,” says Chesnutt.
Married since 1992, Mark and Tracie Chesnutt are the loving parents of three boys, Waylon, Casey & Cameron.
I'm Gone
Mark Chesnutt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She get's the best of me
My mind drifts away and I'm instantly
Off into another world
Wishin' she was my girl
And nothin' else matters at all
I'm gone like yesterday
To another time and place
She gives me just enough to dream on
And I'm gone
Sittin' at a table, conversation
Me and my buddies, I follow what they're sayin'
One hundred percent, of the daily events
But the minute she walks in my direction
Well there goes my span of attention
One look in her eyes and I'm goin' for a ride
I've been comin' in here for quite some time
I got it all figured out in my mind
What I wanna say and today's the day
Oh here she comes, heart be steady
Play it cool, I got the words ready
She says hello, and here I go
I'm gone, I'm history
She get's the best of me
My mind drifts away and I'm instantly
Off into another world
Wishin' she was my girl
And nothin' else matters at all
I'm gone like yesterday
To another time and place
One sweet smile and I get swept away
She gives me just enough to dream on
And I'm gone
In Mark Cheesnutt's "I'm Gone," the singer is entranced by a woman who has the power to make him forget everything. He describes how his mind drifts away and he's off to another world as he wishes she was his girl. The woman gives him just enough to dream on, and he's gone like yesterday to another time and place. The lyrics describe how he's sitting with his buddies, and although he's aware of what's happening around him, the minute she walks in, he can't concentrate on anything else. The woman has him under her spell, and all he wants is to be with her.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm gone, I'm history
When I'm around her, I get completely lost in my thoughts and feelings, forgetting everything else around me.
She gets the best of me
She has a power over me that I cannot resist, and she brings out the best in me.
My mind drifts away and I'm instantly off into another world
I get lost in my imagination, dreaming of how it would be if she was mine.
Wishin' she was my girl
I long for her company, her affection, and her love to be mine.
And nothin' else matters at all
All of my other thoughts and concerns fade away in the face of her beauty and charm.
I'm gone like yesterday
My mind goes back in time, and all I can think of is what might have been if I had asked her out sooner.
To another time and place
In my mind, I am transported to a different place where she and I are together, and nothing else matters.
One sweet smile and I get swept away
Just one kind smile from her is enough to make me forget everything else and get lost in my emotions.
She gives me just enough to dream on
She gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, one day we could be together, even if it's just a dream.
And I'm gone
And once again, I'm lost in my thoughts and feelings, unable to focus on anything else but her.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARVIN W GREEN, RICK OROZCO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind