Vince Gill at his very best, with a little help from Patty Loveless.
This version, sung at George Jones’ funeral, is not the most technically perfect version, but it’s the rawest and most honest expression of the song.
Dry your tears…I’ll post a happy song tomorrow. I promise.
“It is my belief they don’t make those shoes anymore”….What a heart touching thing to say by Vince Gill at George Jones’s funeral, and he is so right. Nobody will ever come close to having the voice that “The Possum” had, he was simply “Unforgettable”, very few people have this distinction, in my opinion, and the ones that do, they have earned it, George Jones sure did, with his music and his colorful but troubled life. He left the world a wonderful gift, the gift of his beautiful voice….So onto this song, this is one of my all time favorite songs (I do say that about a lot of your selections), but this particular version of Vince Gill’s is my favorite. I know Vince was very close with George Jones, this is evident in this performance. Just listen to the lyrics of this song, they are just so heart touching, Vince wrote this song originally when his own brother passed away, and now he sings it for George Jones. The raw heart touching uncontrollable emotion Vince Gill puts into this song will bring me to tears every time I watch this video, like how could it not. To get up on the stage while you are just starting the deep stages of grief, to honor one of the world’s greats, and a person that you love so much has got to be so hard. Vince gave it everything he had, Patty had to take over a few times to support Vince, you can see the grief and concern over Vince’s struggling on her face. Then the ultimate happened….. the “Garth Moment”. Everyone in the audience could see Vince’s struggles, so Garth stood up to support him, and most of the audience followed his lead, that is “So Garth”, Garth has a heart of gold, that is why is he is so loved, it is not an act with him, it is genuine. With Patty’s help, and the audience’s help, Vince was able to get thru this song. “Go rest high on this mountain, your work on earth is done” I love that line. So fitting and perfect for when we lose a loved one. I never get tired of this song. Vince has the most crystal clear voice for this song. Fantastic selection Egg