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.
All the Things You Are
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That makes the lonely winter seem long.
You are the breathless hush of evening
That trembles on the brink of a lovely song.
You are the angel glow that lights a star,
The dearest things I know are what you are.
Some day my happy arms will hold you,
And some day I'll know that moment divine,
The lyrics of Willie Nelson's song "All the Things You Are" convey a sense of love and admiration for someone who is seen as the bright light in a dark winter. The opening line, "You are the promised kiss of springtime" speaks to the anticipation of a new, hopeful season that comes after a long winter. The singer is expressing that the person they are enamored with is like a promise of better things to come.
The next line, "That makes the lonely winter seem long" is a clever way of saying that this person makes time fly by when they are together. The singer then goes on to describe the person as a "breathless hush of evening," which indicates a sense of calm and tranquility that is experienced when spending time with the person they love. The phrase "trembles on the brink of a lovely song" adds to the romantic nature of the song as it creates an image of someone about to burst into song, expressing their love.
The lyrics continue to paint a picture of this person as a shining star that the singer admires. "The dearest things I know are what you are" reinforces the idea that the individual being described is of great importance to the singer. The final two lines shift the focus too the future, expressing the hope that one day the singer will be able to hold this individual in their arms, and that this person will be "mine," implying a desire to hold onto them forever.
Line by Line Meaning
You are the promised kiss of springtime
You are the hope that the dull winter season will end soon, and the freshness and warmth of spring will take its place.
That makes the lonely winter seem long.
Your anticipated arrival is so eagerly awaited, that the winter season appears to stretch out forever until you finally arrive.
You are the breathless hush of evening
You are the serene calmness that descends over evenings, where the world gradually quietens down, and tranquility reigns.
That trembles on the brink of a lovely song.
The calmness and tranquility that enshrouds the twilight hours seem like a prelude to the beautiful music of nature that is to come.
You are the angel glow that lights a star,
You are the divine spark that radiates from the stars in the sky, making them shine even brighter and more beautiful.
The dearest things I know are what you are.
You are, without a doubt, the most precious and valuable thing in my life. Everything else pales in comparison.
Some day my happy arms will hold you,
One day, I will embrace you joyfully, holding you close and feeling your warmth and love.
And some day I'll know that moment divine,
At some point, I will experience a transcendent moment of pure bliss that leaves no room for anything else.
When all the things you are, are mine!
When I can finally claim everything that defines you, when your entirety is bound to me, I will be happiest and most fulfilled.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
melwy
So many of the greatest singers have recorded this beautiful song, but somehow, this direct and simple interpretation is my favorite. Thank you for posting this.
jazz4asahel
Not a trick to be found here. The man stands there and honors the tune. Solid musicianship, straightforward rendition of a beautifully crafted tune. This one makes a tear fall, because it is so true and right. The crowd goes wild, too.
drewangolf
Great version - Willie really has soul. Thx so much for posting.
Richard Ryan
One of the most talented artists out there today.
Markus Johannes Heger
Brilliant! Extremely beautiful version of a very great song... thanks Willie... just awesome🙌
Blueman 1957
Markus Johannes Heger I wrote this song thank you
matilda1491
I love all of the music on his Healing Hands of Time album. This old Texas boy did good and thanks for the music Willie. A fellow Texan.
Patricia Stonehouse
you give me goosebumps with this song Willie ♥
Tania almeida benetti
Me lembra um momento especial de minha vida!!
Bonnie Kruger
Willie you can sing any type of music, you are just the Willie loved by many, I am #1 fan for many many years