Born during the Great Depression and raised by his grandparents, Nelson wrote his first song at age seven and joined his first band at ten. During high school, he toured locally with the Bohemian Polka as their lead singer and guitar player. After graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the U.S. Air Force but was later discharged due to back problems. After his return, Nelson attended Baylor University for two years but dropped out because he was succeeding in music. During this time, he worked as a disc jockey in Texas radio stations and a singer in honky-tonks. Nelson moved to Vancouver, Washington, where he wrote "Family Bible" and recorded the song "Lumberjack" in 1956. He also worked as a disc jockey at various radio stations in Vancouver and nearby Portland, Oregon. In 1958, he moved to Houston, Texas, after signing a contract with D Records. He sang at the Esquire Ballroom weekly and he worked as a disk jockey. During that time, he wrote songs that would become country standards, including "Funny How Time Slips Away", "Hello Walls", "Pretty Paper", and "Crazy". In 1960 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and later signed a publishing contract with Pamper Music which allowed him to join Ray Price's band as a bassist. In 1962, he recorded his first album, ...And Then I Wrote. Due to this success, Nelson signed in 1964 with RCA Victor and joined the Grand Ole Opry the following year. After mid-chart hits in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Nelson retired in 1972 and moved to Austin, Texas. The ongoing music scene of Austin motivated Nelson to return from retirement, performing frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters.
In 1973, after signing with Atlantic Records, Nelson turned to outlaw country, including albums such as Shotgun Willie and Phases and Stages. In 1975, he switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded the critically acclaimed album Red Headed Stranger. The same year, he recorded another outlaw country album, Wanted! The Outlaws, along with Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. During the mid-1980s, while creating hit albums like Honeysuckle Rose and recording hit songs like "On the Road Again", "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", and "Pancho and Lefty", he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen, along with fellow singers Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson.
In 1990, Nelson's assets were seized by the Internal Revenue Service, which claimed that he owed $32 million. The difficulty of paying his outstanding debt was aggravated by weak investments he had made during the 1980s. In 1992, Nelson released The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?; the profits of the double album—destined to the IRS—and the auction of Nelson's assets cleared his debt. During the 1990s and 2000s, Nelson continued touring extensively, and released albums every year. Reviews ranged from positive to mixed. He explored genres such as reggae, blues, jazz, and folk.
Nelson made his first movie appearance in the 1979 film The Electric Horseman, followed by other appearances in movies and on television. Nelson is a major liberal activist and the co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which is in favor of marijuana legalization. On the environmental front, Nelson owns the bio-diesel brand Willie Nelson Biodiesel, which is made from vegetable oil. Nelson is also the honorary chairman of the advisory board of the Texas Music Project, the official music charity of the state of Texas.
Nelson uses a variety of music styles to create his own distinctive blend of country music, a hybrid of jazz, pop, blues, rock and folk. His "unique sound", which uses a "relaxed, behind-the-beat singing style and gut-string guitar" and his "nasal voice and jazzy, off-center phrasing", has been responsible for his wide appeal, and has made him a "vital icon in country music", influencing the "new country, new traditionalist, and alternative country movements of the 1980s and 1990s".
In 1969, the Baldwin company gave Nelson an amplifier and guitar with their "Prismatone" pickup. During a show in Helotes, Texas, Nelson left the guitar on the floor of the stage, and it was later stepped on by a drunk man. He sent it to be repaired in Nashville by Shot Jackson, who told Nelson that the damage was too great. Jackson offered him a Martin N-20 Classical guitar, and, at Nelson's request, moved the pickup to the Martin. Nelson purchased the guitar unseen for $750 and named it after Roy Rogers' horse "Trigger". The next year Nelson rescued the guitar from his burning ranch.
Constant strumming with a guitar pick over the decades has worn a large sweeping hole into the guitar's body near the sound hole—the N-20 has no pick-guard since classical guitars are meant to be played fingerstyle instead of with picks. Its soundboard has been signed by over a hundred of Nelson's friends and associates, ranging from fellow musicians to lawyers and football coaches. The first signature on the guitar was Leon Russell's, who asked Nelson initially to sign his guitar. When Nelson was about to sign it with a marker, Russell requested him to scratch it instead, explaining that the guitar would be more valuable in the future. Interested in the concept, Nelson requested Russell to also sign his guitar. In 1991, during his process with the IRS, Nelson was worried that Trigger could be auctioned off, stating: "When Trigger goes, I'll quit". He asked his daughter, Lana, to take the guitar from the studio before any IRS agent arrived there, and then deliver it to him in Maui. Nelson then concealed the guitar in his manager's house until his debt was paid off in 1993.
Nelson is widely recognized as an American icon. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. In 2011, Nelson was inducted to the National Agricultural Hall of Fame, for his labor in Farm Aid and other fund raisers to benefit farmers. In 2015 Nelson won the Gershwin Prize, the lifetime award of the Library of Congress. In 2018 The Texas Institute of Letters inducted him among its members for his songwriting. He was included by Rolling Stone on its 100 Greatest Singers and 100 Greatest Guitarists lists.
A Moment Isn't Very Long
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I forgot to remember that you'd gone.
For a moment, I found myself smiling,
But a moment isn't very long.
An' last night as I danced with a stranger,
An' she held her cheek close to my own,
For a moment, I almost forgot you,
Every now an' then I get a chance to smile,
But those every now an' thens just last a little while.
An' tonight I've got a date with a new love,
But I know I'd do just as well at home.
For a moment, maybe I could forget you.
But a moment isn't very long.
Every now an' then I get a chance to smile,
But those every now an' thens just last a little while.
An' tonight I've got a date with a new love,
But I know I'd do just as well at home.
For a moment, maybe I could forget you.
But a moment isn't very long.
In Willie Nelson's A Moment Isn't Very Long, he sings about the difficulties of moving on from a past love. Throughout the song, Willie describes moments where he forgets about his lost love and even finds happiness with someone else. However, he acknowledges that these moments are fleeting and ultimately cannot replace his previous love.
The lyrics in the first verse set up the tone for the song as Willie talks about how he forgot that his love had left him while talking to a friend in town. He experiences a brief moment of happiness in the form of a smile, but quickly realizes that it won't last long. In the second verse, Willie talks about dancing with a stranger and almost forgetting about his lost love. However, once again, the happiness he feels is short-lived, and he ultimately can't escape the thoughts of his past love.
The chorus of the song repeats the idea that every now and then, Willie has moments of happiness and forgetfulness, but they never last very long. He even goes on a date with someone new, but recognizes that he would probably do just as well staying at home. Ultimately, Willie realizes that while he may have moments where he forgets about his past love, those moments are always temporary and can't replace the love that he lost.
Overall, "A Moment Isn't Very Long" speaks to the idea that moving on from a lost love is difficult and that moments of happiness are fleeting. While Willie may experience brief moments of forgetfulness and happiness, he ultimately can't escape the thoughts of his past love, and the pain that comes with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday, as I talked with a friend in town,
As I had a conversation with a friend in the town yesterday,
I forgot to remember that you'd gone.
I momentarily forgot that you were no longer with me.
For a moment, I found myself smiling,
I felt happy and lighthearted for a brief moment.
But a moment isn't very long.
However, that feeling didn't last very long.
An' last night as I danced with a stranger,
As I danced with a stranger last night,
An' she held her cheek close to my own,
And she held her cheek close to mine,
For a moment, I almost forgot you,
I almost forgot about you for a short while.
But a moment isn't very long.
But it was a fleeting feeling.
Every now an' then I get a chance to smile,
Occasionally, I have a moment of happiness,
But those every now an' thens just last a little while.
But those brief moments of joy never endure for long.
An' tonight I've got a date with a new love,
Tonight, I have a date with someone new.
But I know I'd do just as well at home.
However, I'm aware that it wouldn't make much of a difference.
For a moment, maybe I could forget you.
I may be able to forget about you, even if temporarily.
But a moment isn't very long.
But it won't last very long.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Juan Martinez
"A moment isn't very long"
"Yesterday, as I talked with a friend in town,
I forgot to remember that you'd gone.
For a moment, I found myself smiling,
But a moment isn't very long.
An' last night as I danced with a stranger,
An' she held her cheek close to my own,
For a moment, I almost forgot you,
But a moment isn't very long.
Every now an' then I get a chance to smile,
But those every now an' thens just last a little while.
An' tonight I've got a date with a new love,
But I know I'd do just as well at home.
For a moment, maybe I could forget you.
But a moment isn't very long.
Every now an' then I get a chance to smile,
But those every now an' thens just last a little while.
An' tonight I've got a date with a new love,
But I know I'd do just as well at home.
For a moment, maybe I could forget you.
But a moment isn't very long."
Marc Chenoweth
The great music of this man is astounding and awesome! Never disappoints.
Marianne Menon
Thank you so much for your kind comment! I agree with you!!
~Marianne...
Doug Newsam
Anything by Willie is beautiful and this is no exception.
NW TigerWoodard
I love this song, I love the beat! love your voice I love the way I can dance to it. Thanks for sharing!
Lea Van Gelder
Great song! How could you pick a favourite when Willie performs his magic on all!
Hawk Alougee
I've been listening to Willie for 50 years now, thank you Willie for this song and the last 50 years of your music, love ya man
Morag Mac Rae
Great song, love his voice and guitar playing x
Phillip Holt
By accident I saw him play blue eyes crying in the rain in 1973 and I captured his talent. I'm so glad I did. He was always on my mind to this day. I even bought a classical 🎸 guitar 5 years later.
Marlene Sullivan
"LEGENDARY" MR WILLIE NELSON🚶🎸🧡🎼
Iara Fleck
LINDO DEMAIS.
ADORO ESTE CANTOR.
WILLIE NELSON É O MÁXIMO.