Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American musician, actor, an… Read Full Bio ↴Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American musician, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.

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 What It's Worth
Willie Nelson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me
I've got to beware

[Chorus]
Think it's time we

Stop! Hey
What's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right, if everybody's wrong
People speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance
From behind

[Chorus]

Singing songs and carrying signs
Getting so much resistance
From behind

[Chorus]

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line
The Men come and shoot you down

[Chorus]

Hey! What's that sound
Look what's going down.

Overall Meaning

Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Bill Evans’ cover of Buffalo Springfield’s hit “For What It’s Worth” is a powerful rendition of a song that remains relevant today. The opening lines, “There’s something happening here, what it is ain’t exactly clear” set the tone for the song’s commentary on the social and political unrest of the 1960s. The image of “a man with a gun over there, telling me I’ve got to beware” creates a sense of unease and danger, highlighting the presence of violence in protests and the fear that peaceful protestors may be met with aggression.

The chorus’s call to “stop, hey, what’s that sound, everybody look what’s going down” marks a shift towards activism and a plea for solidarity in the face of injustice. The song acknowledges the divisive nature of political debates, with “battle lines being drawn” and “nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong.” The last verse adds an element of paranoia and fear, with “the Men” coming to “shoot you down” for stepping out of line. This final verse serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating the dangers of speaking out against authority.

Overall, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Bill Evans’ interpretation of “For What It’s Worth” is a powerful message of social and political awareness, urging listeners to stand up for their beliefs and fight for justice.

Line by Line Meaning

There's something happening here
Something is taking place around us, but it is not yet clear what it is.

What it is ain't exactly clear
The exact nature of the event is not yet known to us.

There's a man with a gun over there
At that moment, there is a man holding a gun nearby.

Telling me I've got to beware
That man is warning me to be cautious of something.

Think it's time we Stop! Hey What's that sound Everybody look what's going down
It is necessary for us to pause and take notice of the situation around us, and this sound indicates there is something important happening.

There's battle lines being drawn
A conflict is brewing among different groups of people.

Nobody's right, if everybody's wrong
When everyone is so entrenched in their own opinion, it is impossible for anyone to be right.

People speaking their minds Getting so much resistance From behind
Some individuals are expressing their opinions, but are being met with significant opposition from others who disagree with them.

Singing songs and carrying signs Getting so much resistance From behind
Even symbolic protests or peaceful demonstrations are being met with opposition and hostility from others.

Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep
Fear and anxiety can take hold and spread, affecting all areas of one's life.

It starts when you're always afraid Step out of line The Men come and shoot you down
When one deviates from the societal norm or expected behavior, those in power may respond with aggression or violence.

Hey! What's that sound Look what's going down.
This sound represents an important event or moment, and everyone should pay attention to what is happening.

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEPHEN STILLS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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