It's Been A Good Year For The Roses

We just lost George Jones. After the life he lived, the fact that he made it to 81 is almost unbelievable. Booze, pills...an all-around rough life. He always looked like he enjoyed it though. His face was pockmarked and etched with lines and he often looked rode hard and put away wet...but he always seemed to have a twinkle in his eyes. That's a look you can't fake. No matter how you live your life, you SHOULD enjoy it. Lesson learned, I guess.

Most folks will probably remember him for the song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", which is an amazing song. "The King Is Gone (And So Are You)" has always been my favorite George Jones song...but one that you should give a listen to, I think, is "It's Been A Good Year For The Roses".

Penned by songwriter Jerry Chestnut, only George Jones could ever, in my ears, do this song justice. It's a country heart breaker for grownups. Sure, Elvis Costello had a hit with it too...but as good as his version is, it pales in comparison to the Possum's version.

In the song, George sings about his wife of three years, intimating that she's leaving him. He never says for sure that she's going or where or why...but he intimates it. The most the listener knows about her is she smokes, drinks coffee, she just packed something, and turned to walk away. That's it.  When he sings the line "After three full years of marriage, it's the first time that you haven't made the bed", his voice breaks...just a bit. Whether by design or sheer studio luck, that line, for me, defines the entire song.

It's a man's song. A man too stubborn and/or proud to beg the woman he loves to stay. Or perhaps a man who loves his woman so much that he can't stand to make her unhappy another day and knows that he can't change who he is, so he lets her go.

This song is from the point of view of a man who outwardly has always been strong and house proud. In that generation, the man worked and brought home the money that built and kept that home. Nowhere in the lyrics does he ever say a bad word about her. The marriage was just over...at least for a time.  There was nothing left to say...except maybe "I love you, please stay"...but those were words a man of that generation had a hard time saying.

If you've never been married, you'll never fully get the power of Jones' singing on this track. If you've ever gone through a separation or divorce, this hits dangerously close to heart and home.

George Jones had a lot of hits over the years and this was merely one of them. But it's a good one and it will probably stand the test of time. Maybe it's not as poetic as "He Stopped Loving Her Today" but it could serve as the prequel to the man in that song. The ol' Possum must've known a thing or two about heartbreak to be able to sing these songs so genuinely.

I never got to see George Jones perform. I always wanted to though. I just didn't want to get to the show and find out that No Show Jones had struck again. I've always heard he was a great performer. Oddly, of all the people I know in Nashville and show business in general, not a one of them knew Jones personally. They may have worked with him or had occasional dealings with him...but none were close to him. It's always made me wonder what was going on inside that man. I guess we're never likely to know....but it's been a good year for the roses anyway.

Rest In Peace Possum!