George Jones：Meaning of Howlin' At The Moon Songmeaning

The song "Howlin' at the Moon" by George Jones tells the story of a man who is deeply infatuated with a woman. He confesses that he is in terrible shape and feels lost, unable to even spell his own name due to his love for her. His obsession with her has driven him to do peculiar things like attempting to eat a steak with a tablespoon and imitating the behavior of rabbits, which includes walking on his hands and howling at the moon. The man is so enraptured by the woman that he starts losing his sanity. He can't distinguish between day and night anymore and compares himself to a crazy person. He acknowledges that merely looking at the woman nearly drove him mad and caused him to lose whatever sense he had left. He finds himself constantly chasing after her like a rabbit, anxiously pulling out his hair and expressing his desperation by howling at the moon. The man's friends invite him for a hunting trip, confident that he is the best hunter among them. However, his fixation on the woman leads him to mistakenly believe that he can outperform any hound dog. He even tries to climb a tree to catch a raccoon, showing how his infatuation has affected his judgment and behavior. In his distorted state, he consumes three bones for dinner and obsessively scratches fleas. The man's irrationality continues as he rides his horse into town. Mistaking a gas pump for a person, he commands it to stop by shouting "whoa" and requests it to be filled up with gas. This incident highlights his confusion and adds to the portrayal of his deteriorating mental state. The gas station attendant, instead of correcting his mistake, hits him with a wrench, symbolizing a forceful awakening or reality check. Despite all the challenges and obstacles he faces, the man admits that he has fallen deeply for the woman and that his world was profoundly shaken when he fell for her. He claims to be willing to leave his foolish ways behind if she accepts his proposal and becomes his wife, illustrating his desire for a committed and stable relationship. Overall, "Howlin' at the Moon" showcases the extreme lengths to which love can drive a person, blurring their perception of reality and leading them to exhibit irrational behavior. It emphasizes the overwhelming power that infatuation can have over an individual's mind, causing them to act in nonsensical ways.