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Topic: He Stopped Loving Her Today |
Pat Burns
From:
Branchville, N.J. USA
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 9:31 am |
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I saw the topic about George's new CD, which has "She Stopped Loving Her Today" on it, and it got me to thinking...that song is considered by many to be one of, if not the best country song ever written, full of pathos and unrequited love.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love George Jones' singing as much as anybody, nobody sings or turns a phrase better than George...but I guess I must be a cynic, because when I hear that song, I don't hear a song about a pure undying love...I hear a song about a pathetic compulsive alcoholic who refuses to move on, poring over old love letters and occasionaly going half-crazy, which I assume means going on a drunken bender over it...sitting around by himself after work, drinking himself into an early grave. I understand that that's what makes it a country song..otherwise it would be a pop tune...I guess I'd just like the all-time best country tune to be a little more uplifting.
And I can't help myself..I always see George grinning and doing those talking lines in the song like this...
"You know she came to see him one last time
Oh and we all wondered if she would
And it kept running through my mind
You know, Gosh-DARN, she sure looks good!"
[This message was edited by Pat Burns on 10 October 2005 at 01:47 PM.] |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 9:48 am
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I'm always amused by how people revere this song. Oh, I love it, don't get me wrong. But it's about as 'country' as zipadee doo dah.
And yes--it's a song about a total loser. A sick pathetic guy that sits at home alone drinking, probably plotting to stalk the woman who was smart enough to get the hell out while she still could.
"You know she came to see him one last time
Oh and we all wondered if she would
And it kept running through my mind
Damn! this guy gave me the creeps!"
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 10:11 am
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| I dunno, fellas. I've known plenty of emphatically non-loser guys who got seriously derailed by a woman leaving. I guess we never know till we walk in their shoes. The actual lyrics in this tune, and the way George sings them, paint a very different picture in my mind. If this ain't country music, I guess I just don't know anything about it. |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 11:12 am
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I dunno either. I just re-read all the lyrics and I don't see anything that necessarily refers to going on a drinking binge, home alone or otherwise. Methinks that perception may be in the eye of the beer-holder...  |
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Walter Stettner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 11:23 am
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Something different on the topic: The song remained in the can for several months because neither George nor producer Billy Sherrill were satisfied with the original result. Several months later George redid the recitation in the middle, and only then the song was released.
It went to #1 in th charts and won CMA "Single Of The Year".
Kind Regards, Walter
www.lloydgreentribute.com
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 11:25 am
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Guilty as charged----of grossly exaggerating the pathos to suit my point.
But sincerely, from the first time I heard the song 'til now, for me, the song paints the picture I describe above. Never seemed sad. Just weird. And hey--I've been there. Had it bad. Got over it. Moved on. |
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Jon Light (deceased)
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 11:30 am
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Walter--perhaps you can shed some truth----I read one biography that pretty much said that George did not want to do this song that Sherrill brought to him. Thought it was too sappy. It was at a time when Sherrill was trying to reinvent George and resurrect his career--George didn't fancy himself a melodramatic ballad singer. But he went ahead and did it and sure enough, it started the next great phase in his career, really well suited to a voice that was mellowing.
On the other hand I have read stories that were completely at odds with this. So I have no idea what is the truth.[This message was edited by Jon Light on 09 October 2005 at 12:31 PM.] |
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Larry Strawn
From:
Golden Valley, Arizona, R.I.P.
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 12:16 pm
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I've also read where George didn't want to do the song, said it was to sad no one would buy it,,,imagine that, a country song that is sad!! LOL..
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Emmons S/D-10, 3/5, Sessions 400 Ltd. Home Grown E/F Rack
"ROCKIN COUNTRY"
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Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 12:24 pm
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| This song explains a situation that millions of men [and women]have been in.It tells the cold hard facts of life.what's wrong with the truth?This is real life not silly bubblegum crap.I'm glad George did this song,I can't think of anyone else that could have done it justice. |
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Don Benoit
From:
Okanagan Falls, BC
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 12:40 pm
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I love all of George's songs. Too bad that the band members don't do the takes on the released CD's. No one can do the original steel licks like Tom Killen can.
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http://www.steelguitar.ca
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Steve Hinson
From:
Hendersonville Tn USA
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 2:04 pm
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George didn't like the song...bet Sherrill a hundred bucks it wouldn't be a hit...kept trying to sing the lyrics to the tune of"Help Me Make it Thru the Night"...everything turned out OK though...
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http://home.comcast.net/~steves_garage
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 5:51 pm
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"He stopped lovin' her today.
She wrecked his brand-new Chevrolet.
They had to tow the thing away,
Yeah, he stopped lovin' her today!"
I did goofy "re-writes" long before Weird Al Yankovic.
(Ever think maybe she was the lush? ) |
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Craig A Davidson
From:
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 6:08 pm
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| There is nothing in the song about a pathetic drunk pining for his girl. She doesn't die and in fact she comes to visit him before they bury him. To me he has always loved her and does until the day he dies. I know people like that. My grandma loved my grandpa very much and after he died she just kind of gave up on life. She only ever had about five drinks in her 90 years. I have also heard of people who died and their spouses laid right down next to them and died too. [This message was edited by Craig A Davidson on 09 October 2005 at 07:09 PM.] |
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Sonny Priddy
From:
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 6:17 pm
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Useing GOD'S Name In Vane Didn't Help It Eather. SONNY.
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Paul King
From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
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Posted 9 Oct 2005 6:53 pm
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| Larry brought up a point about George Jones not wanting to sing the song becasue it was too sad. I saw the interview and George did say that but he also said he was glad he was wrong. Imagine that, an artist being wrong about a song. |
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Pat Burns
From:
Branchville, N.J. USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 5:58 am
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..sorry, Craig..there's a difference between pining for someone you've been married to and spent your life with, and pining for someone who turned you down to the point where, as the song says, he went half crazy sometimes..
Jon Light has it right...the song should have been called "He Stopped Stalking Her Today"... |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 6:10 am
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Perfect country western song?
Does David Allan Coe come to mind?
Duh!  |
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Theresa Galbraith
From:
Goodlettsville,Tn. USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 6:12 am
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| Using the Lords name in vain is VERY uncalled for. [This message was edited by Theresa Galbraith on 10 October 2005 at 07:14 AM.] |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 6:40 am
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| Quote: |
| "He Stopped Stalking Her Today"... |
There's absolutely nothing in the song about stalking. To stalk is to actively go after someone. Not one word or implication about that here, IMO. Quite to the contrary, this tune paints a pathetic soul who simply couldn't go on. You're free to extrapolate as you see fit - some jilted lovers do stalk - but it seems to me you're making a stretch here.
I think the differences in view here are cultural and religious. The modern "well-adjusted" ethos is to simply "get over it and move on". Great if it works, but it doesn't for everybody, especially if a long-term marriage is at issue. Some people say "forever" and mean it. I know and have known people like that. Calling them stalkers doesn't make it so. IMO. |
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Ron Page
From:
Penn Yan, NY USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 7:04 am
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I think it's a great song and this thread is a good indicator or that. It paints a picture, or rather a visual framwork and lets the listener fill in the details with their own impressions or conclusions.
You have to admit that the first time you ever heard it you thought this is great... here's a guy who's got it together and is moving on. Then George sang about the wreath upon his door, and you said, oh, wait a minute...
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HagFan
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Pat Burns
From:
Branchville, N.J. USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 7:04 am
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| Quote: |
| Using the Lords name in vain is VERY uncalled for. |
...right you are, Theresa...I edited the original post.
...and Ron, I think you're right in that it's a well written song that doesn't spell it out for you...a well written song lets you fill in the blanks. You're right, this song does, as evidenced by the different interpretations of the same lyrics.[This message was edited by Pat Burns on 10 October 2005 at 08:07 AM.] |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 7:41 am
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| Quote: |
| It paints a picture, or rather a visual framwork and lets the listener fill in the details with their own impressions or conclusions. |
Yes, this is precisely why I think it's better not to directly incorporate specific tags like "drunk" or "stalker". Of course, people can and will fill in additional details from their own personal experience. That is a big part of what makes this such a great song, and universally identifiable to so many people.
This is much like impressionist vs. realist paintings. Would we alter a Monet or Renoir with a photographically detailed section?
Unfortunately, this is a trend in modern music - to go after target niche audiences by hitting simplistic hot-button issues. To me, this is one of the main distinguishing differences between 'classic' and 'modern' country music. My favorite example is "That Ain't My Truck". Now there's a universal concept (and Pat, look at the lyrics on that one - there's a song about an actual stalker). |
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Pat Burns
From:
Branchville, N.J. USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 7:57 am
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 I guess there's lots of stalker tunes in country music...
Clint Black in "Nothin' But The Tail Lights" mumbling to himself about what he's gonna do when "I find that pickup truck"...
...Little Sister in "That's the Night That The Lights Went Out in Georgia"...
...but the ultimate stalker song is the old pop standard, "Two Silhouettes on the Shade"...let me in or else I'll beat down your door![This message was edited by Pat Burns on 10 October 2005 at 10:08 AM.] |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 9:26 am
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I think the ultimate stalker song is the one by old Garth where the trucker comes home, finds his wife gone and then drives his Petercar throught the motel wall.
Now, that's industrial strength stalking! |
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Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Posted 10 Oct 2005 11:21 am
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| Still ain't as sad as "Farewell Party". |
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