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.
Both Sides Now
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ice cream castles in the air
And feathered canyons everywhere
I'd look at clouds that way
Now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I could have done
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud's illusions I recall
I really don't know cloud at all
Moons and Junes and Ferris Wheels
Dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale complete
I'd look at love that way
But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughin' when you go
And if you care don't let them know
Don't give yourself away
I've looked at love from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all
In Willie Nelson's rendition of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, the lyrics present two contrasting perspectives: the first about looking at clouds, while the second focuses on the idea of love. The first stanza opens with a picturesque vocabulary, describing clouds as "bows and flows of angel hair," "ice cream castles in the air," and "feathered canyons everywhere." The language creates a sense of wonder and imagination, painting a beautiful picture of the clouds from the sky. However, in the second half of the stanza, adjectives such as "block," "rain," and "snow" replace the previous descriptive terms, almost as if the clouds have lost their magic and become ordinary. The phrase "the clouds got in my way" implies a sense of regret, lamenting the missed opportunities and experiences that this "new perspective" clouded.
In the second stanza, the focus shifts from cloud watching to love, with a similar contrast between two opposite perspectives. The first half of the stanza describes love as a fairytale experience, with "moons and junes and ferris wheels" and a "dizzy dancing way you feel." However, the second half of the stanza contradicts this romantic notion, describing love as "just another show" where one has to "leave them laughing when you go." The phrase "if you care don't let them know" suggests that one must hide their true feelings to avoid getting hurt, creating a sense of mistrust and confusion.
Overall, Willie delivers a gentle and melancholic rendition of the song, emphasizing the contrasting perspectives and showing the ambiguity of life that we all come to face at some point.
Line by Line Meaning
Bows and flows of angel hair
Referring to the beauty of nature and the imagery created by clouds.
Ice cream castles in the air
Referring to the fanciful and unrealistic dreams people have.
And feathered canyons everywhere
Describing the beauty of the clouds and how they can be seen as various shapes and images.
I'd look at clouds that way
Expressing appreciation for the beauty of nature and one's ability to see beyond the physical appearance of things.
Now they only block the sun
The clouds are now seen as an obstruction rather than something to admire.
They rain and snow on everyone
The clouds are seen as something that brings discomfort to people.
So many things I could have done
Reflecting on missed opportunities and the impact of external factors.
The clouds got in my way
Attributing the cause of missed opportunities to the obstacles (in this case, clouds) in one's path.
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
Reflecting on the changing perspectives and experiences with clouds over time.
From up and down and still somehow
Despite the changing perspectives, there is still an uncertainty in understanding the true nature of clouds.
It's cloud's illusions I recall
Referring to the false perceptions and assumptions made about clouds.
I really don't know cloud at all
Acknowledging that despite the changing perceptions, there is still much to learn about the nature of clouds.
Moons and Junes and Ferris Wheels
Referring to the romanticized ideas of love and relationships.
Dizzy dancing way you feel
The feeling of being swept away by love and the excitement it brings.
As every fairy tale complete
The idea that love is perfect and always has a happy ending, like in fairy tales.
I'd look at love that way
Expressing the hope and idealism in love.
But now it's just another show
The reality of love is not as perfect or idealized as previously believed.
You leave 'em laughin' when you go
People are not always genuine in their emotion or intentions with love.
And if you care don't let them know
The need to protect oneself by hiding true emotions and feelings.
Don't give yourself away
The importance of protecting one's vulnerability in love.
I've looked at love from both sides now
Reflecting on the differing perspectives and realities of love.
From up and down and still somehow
Regardless of differing perspectives and experiences, understanding the true nature of love remains elusive.
It's love's illusions I recall
The false perceptions and idealizations of love that are commonly remembered and romanticized.
I really don't know love at all
Acknowledging the limitations of personal understanding and the complexity of love as an emotion.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind