“I WAS ALWAYS PULLING HIM OUT OF SOME DAMN THING.” — MERLE HAGGARD ON GEORGE JONES. Merle didn’t talk about George like a polished legend. He talked about him like a little brother who kept getting into trouble — even though George was the older one. He loved him. He worried about him. Sometimes he couldn’t stand him. For a while, they weren’t even speaking. But Merle had co-written a song years earlier. And somehow, that song found its way to George. “I Always Get Lucky with You” became George Jones’ final solo No. 1 hit. Funny how love works in country music. It doesn’t always sound tender. Sometimes it sounds like a grown man calling his friend the Babe Ruth of the genre — and meaning every word. There’s a reason Merle never fully forgave himself for something. 💔 Did you ever have a friendship like that — the kind that looked like fighting but was really love?
“I Was Always Pulling Him Out of Some Damn Thing.” — Merle Haggard on George Jones Country music has always…