I was reading a music magazine in bed one evening. I saw the headline, "Why I write those sad songs". Soon afterward, I wrote most of this song in the yard as I was thinking about George Jones the greatest singer of the sadist songs. Frankly, it doesn't get any more biographical than this.

That's Why I Write
All Those Sad Songs

 

friday night after a concert
i just heard george jones play
i saw a man out in the parking lot
i thought i knew that face

i walked over to him
he shook my hand when i said his name
this was the man who wrote all those sad songs
i’d just heard ole’ george play

mister how do you do it
write those sad songs of life
songs that people love to listen to
songs that make those same people cry

i stood there waiting
looking at the lines on his face
i didn’t know what he was thinking
until i heard him say

i’ve been a gambler and i’ve been a drinker
i’ve been good and i’ve been bad
i’ve done things i wish i hadn’t
i’ve lost things i wish i still had
i’ve been married and i’ve been single
i’m still looking for where i belong
i’ve found love’s a hard thing to hold on to
that’s why i write all those sad songs

it seemed so simple
he just wrote was on his mind
songs to everyday people
songs from his everyday life
i thanked him for talking to me
and sharing a secret of his trade
he put his hand on my shoulder
as i was walking away

son i know what you’re thinking
i can see it in your eyes
but don’t trade a life that’s safe and simple
to write a song that will make people cry
this is something you must consider
what i’m saying ain’t no lie
i ain’t a winner and i ain’t a loser
those are my tears those other people cry