'Sissy's Song': The Story Behind Alan Jackson's Song of Grief and Loss

Alan Jackson has created a career for himself by continually dishing out classic country music songs that stand the test of time. We saw a prime example of his songwriting expertise with "Sissy's Song," from his 2009 album Good Time.

Sometimes the best way to deal with grief is by sitting down and writing everything down in the form of a country song. That's exactly what Jackson did after he lost his longtime housekeeper and friend Leslie "Sissy" Fitzgerald after she passed away in a motorcycle accident. Originally, he worked with his producer Keith Stegall with nothing but the acoustic guitar in a recording session, with plans of playing the song for Sissy's family at her funeral. Jackson explained to The Boot how sudden her death was and how jarring it is to lose someone you see on a daily basis unexpectedly.  

"I wrote it for a girl that worked for us who died. She was a lady that looked after the whole house. Leslie Fitzgerald was her real name, but we called her Sissy. She had an accident on a motorcycle; she was 40-something [when she died on May 20, 2007]. She was just somebody who was in our house every day ... then, all of a sudden, [she was] gone. When people get old, you expect them to die, but it's different when they are young and it's tragic like that."

Read More: The Story Behind Alan Jackson's Heartfelt Hit 'Remember When'

The song is incredibly easy to relate to if you've ever experienced loss. The music video did the emotional lyrics justice, filmed at a historic church just outside of Nashville. Jackson explained that the country ballad, which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard country charts, originally wasn't even going to be on his album.

"It's a real special song for me," Jackson told The Boot. "I recorded it for the funeral, but [producer] Keith [Stegall] and I went into the studio one day and put the guitar and vocal down. It's just me and the guitar and the harmony parts. After some people heard it at the label, everybody wanted to put it on the album."

"Sissy's Song" Lyrics