Skip to main content

Explain that song, Mr. Jones!

A few weeks ago, I read about the passing of country legend, George Jones. I remembered the first time I completely misunderstood one of his greatest hits.
The song I heard when I was a pre-teen was his classic He Stopped Loving Her Today.   I thought this may be different from the Country Western songs I was used to hearing. His voice was low and melodious, not a twang to be heard. Also, there were strong violins instead of brassy fiddles throughout the song. Country Westerns songs were not my favorite, but this one seemed different, so I gave it a listen. However, I was puzzled by the lyrics: why was the main character “all dressed up to go away”? Where was he going? I recalled in the beginning of the song, the man “went half crazy now and then” so I assumed he was going to a mental hospital. This notion was further validated with the lyrics “soon they will be carrying him away” –I figured he was in a straight jacket and had no way of leaving on his own.  I thought that was an odd subject for a song, even for Country and Western, but I went with it. The one thing I couldn't figure out was the line “they placed a wreath upon his door”—was it during Christmastime??
The next time I heard in on the car radio, I asked my mother, what was up with the wreath mentioned in the song. She informed me that the subject of the song had died of a broken heart and it was customary to hang a black wreath on the door of the deceased. I should have known-- the first line of the song was a major clue: “He said I’ll love you ‘til I die.” It proved to be just as depressing as all of the rest of the Country Western songs! Thus, I gave up listening to any of George Jones’ songs and for that matter, Country music for a while.
Fast forward to when I married my husband, who believes there is only two types of music—Country and Western. And who happened to be one of his favorite singers—you guessed it, George Jones! One day on a road trip, that infamous song came on the radio.
I figured I must be in the minority not liking this song. After all, it has been considered the most romantic Country song ever. What was I missing?

Then the deciding factor kicked in that would change my mind about this song. My husband announced he could completely relate to the man in the song--he would love truly me until he died.  This thought was all mushy and sentimental, what every girl wants from her new husband!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Negative energy in pages

Have you read a book that affected you? I remember a few years back a co-worker had this glossy book at her desk. I looked at its cover, which I found curious. It depicted a calming beach scene with a shark fin prominently in the ocean distance. The novelty of this book was it contained sayings that at first appear positive, for instance “If at first you don’t succeed…” and end it with negative words “…don’t waste your energy trying again.” As I flipped through the pages, I found the sayings amusing, clever and stinging. She let me borrow it so I could read it cover to cover. When I took it home and read a few pages, I began to feel an emotionally heaviness fall upon me. Generally speaking, I see myself as an optimist—I try not to let too many things get me down. However,  after reading a few pages of this book, a dark cloud of depression loomed over me. I decided to quit reading the book—it wasn’t like I was under any obligation to finish it! The very next day, I gla...

A touch of Minx

A few months ago, I, along with everyone else, fell in love with the movie Inside Out .  I also appreciated that one of the main story points was it is  okay to feel sad, sometimes it’s an emotion that cannot be avoided. It was nice to see a movie not sugar-coat tough emotions and show that memories can be shaded with a blend of feelings. I thought the writers were so clever to materialize emotions into characters that kids could understand. Again, I was overwhelmed by their inventiveness that there are little beings living in the main character’s brain. As I watched these colorful characters on the screen, I had a nagging reminder of a comic strip I had read growing up. It was in the British  comic book called The Beano .  Not to be confused with the natural remedy .  The Beano comic book has been going strong for over 60 years in Great Britain. When I arrived home, I looked up these characters. The cast that started me doing comparisons was The Numskulls ...

Lessons from Teachers

Many times when people talk about the teachers they have encountered in their schools, usually the lessons have been of the traditional sort.   A teacher has done or said something inspiring that has changed their lives for the better.   Actually, I have had a teacher show a negative trait that was a positive life lesson to me.   She was my seventh grade teacher.   She was a very large woman—she had to make her own clothes to fit her.   Not only was her physique large, but also her personality.   She was a very aggressive and no-nonsense woman.     “You can’t get away with anything in Miss C class!”   was the comment we heard from previous teachers and older students.   When she hosted detention, she made a sign to put on the clock that read: “Time passes—will you?”             Being in her class, she made it very clear that she was the boss.   Now, most of the time, she wa...