About The Song

It was recorded by American country music artist George Jones.  Released in April 1980 as the lead single from the album “I Am What I Am”. Marked Jones’s first solo No. 1 single in six years. The song won Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance in 1980, and CMA Song of the Year for 1980. Preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress since 2008. Ranked 142nd on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2021.

The song tells the heart-wrenching story of a man who continues to love a woman even after she has left him. He keeps old letters and photos from their previous romance, hoping she would “come back again.” Eventually, he passes away, and at his funeral, his former lover pays her respects, signifying that he has finally stopped loving her.

Video

Lyrics

He said, “I’ll love you till I die”
She told him, “You’ll forget in time”
As the years went slowly by
She still preyed upon his mind

He kept her picture on his wall
Went half-crazy, now and then
He still loved her through it all
Hoping she’d come back again

Kept some letters by his bed
Dated 1962
He had underlined in red
Every single ‘I love you’

I went to see him just today
Oh, but I didn’t see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I’d seen him smile in years

He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they’ll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

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
This time he’s over her for good

He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they’ll carry him away
He stopped loving her today