“(We’re Not) The Jet Set” by George Jones and Tammy Wynette
— Friday, May 25th, 2012 —
By the time you all read this post, I’ll be leading a group of students on a study expedition in Rome and Greece. Fittingly enough, then, this week on “The Cross and the Jukebox,” we’ll listen to a song by George Jones and Tammy Wynette about Rome, Athens, and Paris—Rome, Georgia; Athens, Texas; and Paris, Tennessee, that is.
In this song, “(We’re Not) The Jet Set,” Jones and Wynette poke fun at their own “redneck” identity. Their stories involve not elaborate vacations through Europe, but small southern towns, little cafes and fountains in what would be considered by many to be the middle of nowhere. They may not have the picturesque romantic backdrop, but, they insist, “ain’t we got love.”
As Jones and Wynette sing about how they “aren’t the Jet Set,” the ideal, wealthy couple, they insist that their love, while more common, is just as real. In this episode, we’ll think about how this intersects with a Christian understanding of happiness and contentment, how Jesus identifies himself with what the world considers often marginal or provincial, and how the gospel goes forward, to Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth—to Rome, Georgia; Athens, Texas; and Paris, Tennessee.
Hi Dr. Moore. I enjoy your blog very much. I can’t wait until you get back to the US and engage with the debacle that the YRR boys on the CBMW have stirred up. The whole thing revolves around words you’ve spoken and written, but have obviously have been twisted by Mr. Burk, et al.. I look forward to your responses. Thank you.