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.
And so Will You My Love
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One phase of night has reached an ending now.
And nothin', nothin' lasts forever,
Except forever, and you, my love.
And so will you, my love:
My love.
An' since you've gone, I always walk alone.
'Cause nothin', nothin' lasts forever,
Except forever, and you, my love.
And so will you, my love:
My love.
And so will you, my love:
Your memories always near.
Wherever I am found,
Your memories still around.
The dawn an' I arrive at home at last.
Night turns it's lonely face toward the past.
'Cause nothin', nothin' lasts forever,
Except forever, and you, my love.
And so will you, my love:
My love.
In the song "And So Will You, My Love" by Willie Nelson, the singer reflects on the passing of time and the impermanence of life. The music symbolizes the fleeting nature of a moment, and as the crowd thins out, it becomes clear that everything is transient, except for love which is timeless. The phrase "nothing lasts forever, except forever" is repeated frequently throughout the song, underscoring the idea that while everything is subject to change, love endures.
The singer walks alone in the dark after his love has left, reflecting on the fact that he will always carry the memories of their time together with him. Despite the fact that she is gone, he feels her presence wherever he goes. The final verse sees the singer coming home at dawn, with the night "turning its lonely face" to the past. These lines suggest that the passage of time is unavoidable, but love can exist independently of it, transcending time itself.
In conclusion, "And So Will You, My Love" is a poignant meditation on the transitory nature of life and the enduring power of love. The repeated refrain of "nothing lasts forever, except forever" emphasizes the idea that love is capable of existing outside of time, and can continue to be a source of comfort and strength long after a person has gone.
Line by Line Meaning
The music's stopped, the crowd is thinnin' now.
The party is over and everyone is leaving, bringing an end to this particular phase of the night.
And nothin', nothin' lasts forever,
Everything is temporary and will eventually come to an end, including life and relationships.
Except forever, and you, my love.
The only things that are truly eternal are love and memories of loved ones who have passed away.
The street is dark here while I walk alone,
The singer is walking alone on a street that is devoid of light, illustrating the loneliness and emptiness they feel since their loved one has left.
'Cause nothin', nothin' lasts forever,
Once again emphasizing the idea that everything is temporary and will eventually fade away.
And so will you, my love:
The singer's loved one will also inevitably pass away and be lost, just like many other things in life.
Your memories always near.
Despite the absence of the loved one, their memories will always be close to the singer's heart and mind.
Wherever I am found,
Wherever the singer goes in life or in the afterlife, their memories of the loved one will still be with them.
The dawn an' I arrive at home at last.
The night is over and the singer returns home, a new day beginning as they continue to confront the loss of their loved one.
Night turns it's lonely face toward the past.
The night has ended, but the memories of the past continue to linger and haunt the singer.
And so will you, my love:
Once again repeating the idea that even memories of loved ones will eventually fade away into oblivion.
My love.
Affirming the depth of love and affection that the singer feels for their lost loved one.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind