George Jones, born in 1931, was an influential American country music singer known for his emotive voice and poignant performances. Rising to fame in the 1950s, he delivered hits like “He Stopped Loving Her Today” and “The Grand Tour,” earning acclaim for his storytelling prowess and heartfelt delivery. Jones’s songs often explored themes of heartache and redemption, resonating deeply with audiences. Despite battling personal struggles, including alcohol and substance abuse, he remained dedicated to his craft, garnering numerous awards and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. George Jones, affectionately known as “The Possum,” left an enduring legacy upon his death in 2013, remembered as one of the greatest voices in country music history, influencing generations of artists with his heartfelt ballads and soulful performances.

George Jones Quotes

1. “You can’t put this possum in a cage.”
— George Jones

2. “If drinking don’t kill me, her memory will.”
— George Jones

3. “God bless the boys from Memphis, blue suede shoes, and Elvis.”
— George Jones

4. “Walk through this world with me, go where I go. Share all your dreams with me, for I love you so.”
— George Jones

5. “I just thank God I’m still here and the main thing is to try to get closer and closer to Him as much as I can so that I can treat my friends and my family the way they should be treated.”
— George Jones

6. “I sing from my heart, I love country music and I love the people that respond to it. You never see yourself as others do but I’ve always beeen proud to be part of country music and I hope that the format is proud of me.”
— George Jones

7. “I took my $100,000 and bought a new Corvette, a lot of cocaine, and spent the rest on foolishness.”
— George Jones

8. “Country music to me is heartfelt music that speaks to the common man. It is about real life stories with rather simple melodies that the average person can follow. Country music should speak directly and simply about the highs and lows of life. Something that anyone can relate to.”
— George Jones

9. “Loneliness is lessened when you’re lonely by choice.”
— George Jones

10. “There are questions I’m still not wise enough to answer, just wise enough to no longer ask.”
— George Jones

11. “When you’re happy you enjoy the music. When you’re sad, you understand the lyrics.”
— George Jones

12. “I’ve had a lot of practice and wrong’s what I do best.”
— George Jones

13. “He stopped loving her today, they placed a wreath upon his door.”
— George Jones

14. “The only thing different between sinners and saints is one is forgiven and the other ain’t.”
— George Jones

15. “I lay my head on the wheel and the horn begins honking, the whole neighborhood knows that I’m home drunk again.”
— George Jones

16. “If you’re gonna drive me crazy baby, drive me to drink.”
— George Jones

17. “You can shut out the world. But you always have to stop, and the world is always waiting when you do.”
— George Jones

18. “Be real about what you do. Stay true to the voice inside you. Don’t let the ‘business’ change what it is you love because the people, the fans, respond to what is heartfelt. They can always tell when a singer is faking it.”
— George Jones

19. “Me and the bottle have always been friends, we’ve had a few old nasty fights but the bottle would always win, so when I go to answer that final curtain call, I can hear these words being whispered by all… Ol’ George stopped drinking today.”
— George Jones

20. “I’ve always said that if I could have made a living someway in gospel music, I would have loved to had that break, but it never was offered to me, a job in that field, so naturally, I got lost on that other road.”
— George Jones

21. “There, gleaming in the glow, was that ten-horsepower rotary engine under a seat. A key glistening in the ignition. I imagine the top speed for that old mower was five miles per hour. It might have taken an hour and a half or more for me to get to the liquor store, but get there I did.”
— George Jones

22. “Everybody knows in the business how I feel about country music. I’m an old traditionalist. Then they just call me an old man and stuck in my old ways, but with all the fans I’ve got out there, I can’t be all that wrong. I do love traditional country music. I love the good stuff.”
— George Jones

23. “Different people have their ways of measuring success, maybe it’s not the right way but wrong’s what I do best.”
— George Jones

24. “Today they forget you in five years. They give an artist nowadays four or five years and that’s it. Some of them don’t have that. They get a couple of releases. If you don’t sell two million copies, you’re gone, you’re out of here.”
— George Jones

25. “I just want to keep living on and enjoying food! Even though I’m gaining weight, I want to record if the Lord wants me to still record, and I just want to do my work on the road as long as I got those fans out there.”
— George Jones

26. “Anybody who loves country music loves gospel. Even they are competing with the same type of problem that I’m competing with. We older artists are competing with the new style of country, with their new modern style of gospel, with the young people.”
— George Jones

27. “A new artist today has to get their teeth fixed, has to tighten their jeans up, and they have to get ’em the right kind of hat, and if anything’s wrong with their nose, if it’s a little crooked, it’s got to be straightened up.”
— George Jones

28. “If people liked your singing well enough, if you were special to them, then you never left their minds throughout all of the years.”
— George Jones

29. “Maybe some folks are alcoholics and others are just voluntary drunks. Maybe some folks drink due to body chemistry and others due to their lazy characters. Maybe some have drinking problems, while others have problems enough to drink.”
— George Jones

30. “There’s nothing prettier in the world than a melody. I can get lost in a song with a melody.”
— George Jones

31. “Country fans need to support country music by buying albums and concert tickets for traditional artists or the music will just fade away. And that would be really sad.”
— George Jones

32. “After the first couple of years recording I did a lot of praying. I said, ‘Lord, please give me a hit.’ I want one so bad.”
— George Jones

33. “Before then, Britain was pessimistic and the role of government was largely managing Britain in decline.”
— George Jones

34. “All Patsy Cline had to do was sing somebody else’s song and her version would outsell theirs because it would be so good!”
— George Jones