Out father used to sing this song when we lived in Kirbyville in East Texas in 1952 to 1955. George Jones was from East Texas and he played guitar and sang on the streets of Port Arthur and Beaumont as a boy.
He also played at the firehouse in Kirbyville, Texas back when he was very young.
There is a biography of George Jones called Ragged But Right. It is an excellent book.
http://www.hillbilly-music.com/library/books/index.php?id=3205