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.
American Tune
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yes and I've often felt forsaken and certainly misused
Oh but I'm alright I'm alright just weary to my bones
Still you don't expect to be bright and bon vivant
So far away from home so far away from home
Don't know a soul who has not been battered
Don't have a friend who feels at ease
Oh but it's alright it's alright for we've lived so well so long
Still when I think of the road we're traveling on I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it I wonder what's gone wrong
And I dreamed I was dying I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
Looking back down at me smiled reassuredly
I dreamed I was flying high up above my eyes could clearly see
The statue of liberty sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying
We come on the ship they call the Mayflower come on the ship that sails the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hours and sing an American tune
Oh but it's alright it's alright can't be forever blessed
Still tomorrow's gonna be another working day and I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest
In the first stanza of American Tune, Willie Nelson speaks of feeling confused and forsaken at times but ultimately acknowledges that he is alright despite being weary to his bones. He reflects on the fact that he is so far away from home and the challenges that come with it. He also notes that he doesn't know anyone who has not been battered or shattered in some way, which speaks to the human experience of hardship and struggle. The stanza ends with a hopeful tone, acknowledging that despite the challenges, they've lived well for a long time.
In the second stanza, Nelson continues to express the hardships of life, noting that he doesn't know a dream that hasn't been shattered or driven to its knees. He wonders what's gone wrong with the road they're traveling on, indicating a sense of uncertainty and questioning about the state of the world. The stanza ends with the powerful image of him dreaming of dying and seeing his soul rise unexpectedly, before soaring high above the Statue of Liberty that is sailing away to sea. It suggests a sense of loss and uncertainty about the future of America.
The final stanza speaks of the American experience, noting that they arrived on the Mayflower and sailed in uncertain times, but they continue to sing an American tune. He acknowledges that life can't always be blessed, but they're trying to get some rest and prepare for another working day. The song as a whole speaks to the human condition of struggle and hardship, but also to the resilience and hopefulness that we need in order to keep moving forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Many's the time I've been mistaken and many times confused
I've made a lot of mistakes and been unsure many times
Yes and I've often felt forsaken and certainly misused
I've felt abandoned and taken advantage of at times
Oh but I'm alright I'm alright just weary to my bones
I'm physically and emotionally exhausted but I'll be okay
Still you don't expect to be bright and bon vivant
You can't always be happy and carefree
So far away from home so far away from home
I'm far from where I feel most comfortable
Don't know a soul who has not been battered
Everyone has been hurt or damaged in some way
Don't have a friend who feels at ease
No one I know is completely at peace with themselves
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered or driven to its knees
Everyone's aspirations have been broken or compromised
Oh but it's alright it's alright for we've lived so well so long
Despite everything, we've had a good life so far
Still when I think of the road we're traveling on I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help but question what's led us to where we are now
I can't help it I wonder what's gone wrong
I'm unable to stop wondering what's led us down this path
And I dreamed I was dying I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
I had a dream where I thought I was dying but my soul left my body unexpectedly
Looking back down at me smiled reassuredly
My soul looked back at me and gave me a reassuring smile
I dreamed I was flying high up above my eyes could clearly see
I had a dream where I was flying and had a clear view of everything below
The statue of liberty sailing away to sea
In my dream, I saw the Statue of Liberty sailing away
And I dreamed I was flying
I continued to have a dream where I was flying
We come on the ship they call the Mayflower come on the ship that sails the moon
We arrived in America on the Mayflower and continue to explore new frontiers
We come in the age's most uncertain hours and sing an American tune
We arrived during a time of great uncertainty and are trying to find our way in America
Oh but it's alright it's alright can't be forever blessed
We can't always be lucky and things won't always go our way
Still tomorrow's gonna be another working day and I'm trying to get some rest
Tomorrow will be another day of work, but for now, I'm trying to relax
That's all I'm trying to get some rest
All I want right now is to rest and recharge
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Paul Simon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind