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 albumโdestined to the IRSโand 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 holeโthe 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.
Frosty The Snowman
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say
He was made of snow but the children know
How he came to life one day
There must have been some magic in
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around
Oh, Frosty the snowman
Was alive as he could be
And the children say he could laugh and play
Just the same as you and me
Frosty the snowman
Knew the sun was hot that day
So he said, "Let's run
And we'll have some fun
Now before I melt away"
Down to the village
With a broomstick in his hand
Running here and there
All around the square
Saying catch me if you can
He led them down the streets of town
Right to the traffic cop
And he only paused a moment when
He heard him holler, "Stop"
For Frosty the snow man
Had to hurry on his way
But he waved goodbye
Saying, "Don't you cry
I'll be back again some day"
The song Frosty the Snowman is a cheerful and heartwarming holiday classic that tells the story of a snowman that comes to life. The lyrics take us through the origin story of Frosty, who was just a pile of snow with traditional snowman parts such as a corncob pipe, a button nose, and coal eyes. Even though Frosty is technically a "fairy tale," the children in the song know the secret of how he came to life one day.
The song tells us that there was some magic in an old silk hat that Frosty's creators found, and it was this hat that gave Frosty his sentience. The description of Frosty's dancing around once the hat was placed on his head adds life to the character and makes him feel like a mischievous and playful being.
Frosty's awareness of his own melting also emphasizes his own mortality to the children that play with him. Even though he is made of snow and may not be alive permanently, the children see Frosty as being alive and experiencing the joys of life like laughing and playing, just like they do. The song ends with Frosty having to leave but telling the children that he'll "be back again some day," reinforcing the spirit of the holiday season with the idea of return and renewal.
Line by Line Meaning
Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul
Frosty was a joyful snowman
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
He had a pipe made from corn and a nose shaped like a button
And two eyes made out of coal
His eyes were made of coal
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say
Some say Frosty is just a made-up story or legend
He was made of snow but the children know
Although made of snow, the children believe he was real
How he came to life one day
They know how he suddenly came to life
There must have been some magic in
Perhaps there was some kind of enchantment in
That old silk hat they found
The hat they discovered was made of silk and old
For when they placed it on his head
When they put the hat on his head
He began to dance around
He started dancing instantly
Oh, Frosty the snowman
The snowman named Frosty
Was alive as he could be
Became animate as much as possible
And the children say he could laugh and play
According to the children, he was able to laugh and play
Just the same as you and me
Just like you and me
Frosty the snowman
The Snowman named Frosty
Knew the sun was hot that day
He was aware that it was a hot day
So he said, "Let's run
He advised, 'let's run'
And we'll have some fun
So that they could have fun
Now before I melt away"
Before he would melt away completely
Down to the village
To the nearby town
With a broomstick in his hand
Holding a broomstick
Running here and there
Running there and here
All around the square
Everywhere around the town square
Saying catch me if you can
Challenging people to catch him
He led them down the streets of town
He guided them along the streets of the town
Right to the traffic cop
Directly to the traffic policeman
And he only paused a moment when
He only halted for a short while when
He heard him holler, "Stop"
The officer shouted, 'stop'
For Frosty the snowman
The snowman named Frosty
Had to hurry on his way
Required to proceed quickly
But he waved goodbye
He said farewell by waving
Saying, "Don't you cry
Telling them not to weep
I'll be back again some day"
He promised to return someday
Lyrics ยฉ Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jack Rollins, Steve Nelson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dustin Taylor
I love the Willie Nelson version of Frosty the Snowman.
The Great Boppilini
You know the artist is good when they release a Christmas song you like
Lแบกc Hoa
Esta melodรญa es como un abrazo musical en esta temporada.
Ryan's Channel
My favorite song for Christmas ๐ โค๏ธ ๐ ๐
Christopher Westerberg
I love this Version from Willie Nelson
Nicarlas Santos
Sensacional adorei obrigada por compartilhar ๐๐๐๐๐๐
Theresa Heyer
i love anything mr. Nelson sings ...happy Christmas WILLIE!
JCBro2014
Who else considers this their favorite version of the Christmas song?
Edoardo Buso
it touch the heart !! bye from italy
Back Bay Productions
Hell yeah!