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.
For The Good Times
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But life goes on and this old world will keep on turning
Let's just be glad we had some time to spend together
There's no need to watch the bridges that were burning
Lay your head upon my pillow hold your warm and tender body close to mine
Hear the whisper of the raindrops blowing soft against the window
And make believe you love me one more time for the good times
I'll get along you'll find another
I'll be here if you should find you ever need me
Don't say a word about tomorrow or forever
There'll be time enough for sadness when you leave me
Lay your head upon my pillow...
Willie Nelson's song "For the Good Times" is a melancholic ballad about the ending of a romantic relationship. The song is a message of acceptance and consolation, as the singer tries to console his lover, telling them that even though the relationship is over, they should cherish the time they spent together.
The first line of the song, "Don't look so sad I know it's over," expresses the idea that everything comes to an end. The singer is not denying the sadness of the situation, but rather is trying to help his lover see that it is a natural part of life, and that time will heal the pain. He urges his lover to be glad that they had some time together, and to not dwell on the past and watch "the bridges that were burning."
The chorus of the song, "Lay your head upon my pillow, hold your warm and tender body close to mine," is a powerful image of the desire to feel close to someone, even when the relationship is over. The singer is trying to create a moment of intimacy and comfort, as they reminisce about happier times. The final lines of the song, "And make believe you love me one more time for the good times," express the idea that even though the relationship may be over, the memories of good times should be cherished and remembered.
Overall, "For the Good Times" is a poignant and heart-warming song that speaks to the human experience of love and loss. It is a reminder that even when things end, the memories and experiences should be treasured and celebrated.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't look so sad I know it's over
Don't feel so gloomy because our relationship has ended
But life goes on and this old world will keep on turning
Even though we've parted ways, the world and all things in it won't stop
Let's just be glad we had some time to spend together
Instead of focusing on the end, we should relish the time we spent together
There's no need to watch the bridges that were burning
We don't have to worry about the conflicts that may have arisen in the past
Lay your head upon my pillow hold your warm and tender body close to mine
Rest your head with mine, stay close and cherish the moment
Hear the whisper of the raindrops blowing soft against the window
Listen to the sound of the raindrops caressing the window
And make believe you love me one more time for the good times
For the memories of good times shared, we'll pretend that our love never ended
I'll get along you'll find another
Even though we're parting ways, we'll both move on and find love elsewhere
I'll be here if you should find you ever need me
I'll still be here if you ever need my help or support
Don't say a word about tomorrow or forever
We don't need to worry or discuss what will happen tomorrow or forever
There'll be time enough for sadness when you leave me
We don't have to be sorrowful right now, we'll have plenty of time for that later
Lay your head upon my pillow...
Rest your head with mine, stay close and cherish the moment
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Kristoffer Kristofferson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Enrique Aldanondo
" Por los buenos tiempos "
No te pongas tan triste, se que se acabo
Pero la vida sigue
Y este viejo mundo seguirá girando
Estemos agradecidos de lo que tuvimos
Algo de tiempo para pasar juntos
No hay necesidad de mirar ...
Los puentes que se están quemando.
Pon tu cabeza en mi almohada
Pon tu cálido y tierno cuerpo cerca de mi
Escucha el susurro de las gotas de lluvia
Soplando suave contra la ventana
Y hazme creer que me amas una vez mas
Por los buenos tiempos.
Sobreviviré, y encontraras a otro
Y estaré aquí si descubres ...
Que alguna vez me necesitas
No digas una palabra del mañana por siempre
Habrá tiempo suficiente
Para la tristeza cuando me dejes.
Pon tu cabeza en mi almohada
Pon tu cálido y tierno cuerpo cerca de mi
Escucha el susurro de las gotas de lluvia
Soplando suave contra la ventana
Y hazme creer que me amas una vez mas
Por los buenos tiempos ...
Por los buenos tiempos.
Hilton Chapman
@Malati Mala: Re your "There's this thing I do when it gets so bad I can't go on..."
"If I never loved, I never would have cried" - (I Am a Rock by S&G)
"It's a dirty old shame,
But all you get from love is a love song" (Carpenters, I think)
Also try "Memories Don't Leave Like People Do" by good ol' Engie!
"Alone" - by Heart, I think.
C'est la vie! <Long sigh>
HC-JAIPUR (01/Feb/2019)
EL RIO VIOLINO
How does Willie do it? He sounds like he's talking softly even when he's singing. What a voice for the ages.......
malati mala
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them up from your dreams and hug them for real.
Albert McKeown
Thats not going to happen
Just hope you hug them enouģht
In life
But don't worry if you didn't
You can make it up when you meet them in the after life....
They want you to live your life for rèal not in dreams
Valerie Haslett
Oh how true.
Kees Kouwenberg
Sometimes, just sometimes... rarely, but it happens... that covers are better than the original. This is one of them!
Cathy Woods
always puts his own honest interpretation to every song he sings.Terribly underrated but great performer.
Country Cowboy and his Pitbull
This song hits the heart.
ROSEMARY RADFORD
Best cover of this I've heard ❤
Ken Johnson
Seen Willie many times seems to get better with age , can still pick ole Trigger like he could 50 years ago , a legend in his own time .
Joško Ratković
It is a real joy to be alive and to hear someting like this.A song gifted from god.