If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)

"If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)" is a song written by Harlan Sanders and Rick Beresford, and recorded by American country music artist George Jones. It was released in January 1981 as the third single from his album I Am What I Am. The song peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.^[1]

Background

By 1981, Jones career continued to thrive after the remarkable success of his #1 hit single "He Stopped Loving Her Today." After experiencing a lull in his career in the late seventies, the song reignited the singer's career on the charts; in 1980 he scored a #2 hit with "Two Story House," a duet with his ex-wife Tammy Wynette, and reached #2 again with his rendition of the Tom T. Hall composition "I'm Not Ready Yet." However, the upswing in his professional life brought little peace to his personal one; dogged by a years-old cocaine addiction and a near thirty year drinking problem, he continued to miss shows, engage the police in high speed chases, and show up at award shows obviously inebriated to accept honors for "He Stopped Loving Her Today." The despairingly hopeless "If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)" verged on topicality as Jones sang about falling out of cars at four in the morning and drinking "twenty bottles." As he often had, Jones played up to his demolished reputation with a mixture of sheepish bravado and showbiz practicality, writing in his 1995 memoir I Lived to Tell It All, "Knowing what people thought about Tammy and me, I often changed the words of 'If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me' when I sang it publicly, particularly on national television: If drinkin' don't kill me, Tammy's memory will...If folks bought my records because they thought I was breaking down, which I happened to be, so be it."

Chart performance

Chart (1981)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	8
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	25

References

↑ "George Jones singles". Allmusic. Retrieved November 25, 2011.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

George Jones songs

Singles	"No Money in This Deal" "Why Baby Why" "Achin', Breakin' Heart" "Seasons of My Heart" "Too Much Water" "Just One More" "Don't Stop the Music" "Color of the Blues" "White Lightning" "Window Up Above" "Tender Years" "She Thinks I Still Care" "I'll Share My World with You "The Race Is On" "Love Bug" "Walk Through This World with Me" "If My Heart Had Windows" "Good Year for the Roses" "Loving You Could Never Be Better" "A Picture of Me (Without You)" "The Grand Tour" "The Door" "He Stopped Loving Her Today" "I'm Not Ready Yet" "If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)" "Still Doin' Time" "Same Ole Me" "Shine On (Shine All Your Sweet Love on Me)" "I Always Get Lucky with You" "Tennessee Whiskey" "You've Still Got a Place in My Heart" "She's My Rock" "Hallelujah, I Love You So" "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" "The One I Loved Back Then (The Corvette Song)" "Somebody Wants Me Out of the Way" "Wine Colored Roses" "The Right Left Hand" "I Turn to You" "The Bird" "I'm a One Woman Man" "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair" "Choices" "Funny How Time Slips Away"

Collaborative singles	"We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" (w/ Melba Montgomery) "Let's Invite Them Over" (w/ Melba Montgomery) "What's in Our Heart" (w/ Melba Montgomery) "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (w/ Melba Montgomery) "We're Gonna Hold On" (w/ Tammy Wynette) "Golden Ring" (w/ Tammy Wynette) "Near You" (w/ Tammy Wynette) "Maybellene" (w/ Johnny Paycheck) "Two Story House" (w/ Tammy Wynette) "You Better Move On" (w/ Johnny Paycheck) "Yesterday's Wine" (w/ Merle Haggard) "C.C. Waterback" (w/ Merle Haggard)

Guest singles	"A Few Ole Country Boys" (w/ Randy Travis) "You Don't Seem to Miss Me" (w/ Patty Loveless) "A Country Boy Can Survive (Y2K version)" (w/ Chad Brock and Hank Williams, Jr.) "Murder on Music Row" (w/ Dierks Bentley)

Related articles	Albums discography Singles discography Discography with Tammy Wynette Awards

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