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.
Goin' Home
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There'll be a gatherin' of loved ones and friends and Lord you know I want to be there
There'll be a mixture of teardrops and flowers, crying and talking for hours
'Bout how wild that I was and if I'd listened to them I wouldn't be there
Well there's old Charlie Toll they threw away the mold when they made him
And Jimmy McCline it looks like the wine's finally laid him
And Billie McRae that I could any day in a card game
There's a mixture of teardrops and flowers, crying and talking for hours
About how wild that I was and if I'd listened to them I wouldn't be there
Lord thanks for ride I got a feeling inside that I know you
And if you see your way, you're welcome to stay 'cause I'm gonna need you
There's be a mixture of teardrops and flowers, crying and talking for hours
About how wild that I was and if I'd listened to them I wouldn't be there
In Willie Nelson's song "Goin in", the singer expresses a desire to return home to be with his loved ones and friends. He knows that there will be a lot of emotions running high when he arrives, with tears and flowers, crying and talking for hours. Despite this, he still wants to be there, to be amongst the crowd, to listen to what people have to say even if it is about his wild past. He then goes on to list some people he knows, including old Charlie Toll, Jimmy McCline, Billie McRae and Bessie McNeal. They have all lived their lives in their own way, and for some of them, it's caught up with them. But the singer knows that there is a certain beauty to the emotions that accompany such gatherings, and that it is important to just be there for those you love, even if it is just to listen.
The song is reminiscent of a funeral or memorial service, where people come together to honor the memory of a lost loved one. However, there is no indication in the song that anyone has actually died, leaving the meaning of the song up to the interpretation of the listener. Some may see it as a reflection on the singer's own wild past and the people who influenced his life. Others may take it as a more universal message about the importance of coming together as a community to support one another, especially during difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
The closer I get to my home Lord, the more I want to be there
As I approach my home, the longing to be there grows stronger within me.
There'll be a gatherin' of loved ones and friends and Lord you know I want to be there
I desire to attend the gathering of my family and beloved friends.
There'll be a mixture of teardrops and flowers, crying and talking for hours
There will be both tears of sadness and beauty of flowers accompany discussions that will last for hours.
'Bout how wild that I was and if I'd listened to them I wouldn't be there
They will talk about my wild tendencies and how things could have been different if I had listened to them.
Well there's old Charlie Toll they threw away the mold when they made him
Charlie Toll was a unique individual, unmatched by anyone else in his personality.
And Jimmy McCline it looks like the wine's finally laid him
Jimmy McCline appears to have succumbed to his love of wine consumption.
And Billie McRae that I could any day in a card game
I could easily beat Billie McRae in a card game if I so choose.
And Bessie McNeal but her tears are real, I can see pain
Despite her tears, Bessie McNeal is genuinely suffering and in visible emotional pain.
Lord thanks for ride I got a feeling inside that I know you
I appreciate the ride, Lord, and feel a strong connection to you deep within me.
And if you see your way, you're welcome to stay 'cause I'm gonna need you
If it is possible, I welcome you to stay with me, Lord, because I will need your support.
There's be a mixture of teardrops and flowers, crying and talking for hours
Once again, there will be a combination of both sadness and beauty in the form of tears and flowers, accompanied by long conversations.
About how wild that I was and if I'd listened to them I wouldn't be there
The conversations will revolve around my past wild behavior, and how things could have gone differently if I had heeded their advice.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
spencerj1000
I’ve been listening to this song a lot lately- there’s a double entendre in the song- “being there”. I’m grateful to live in a world with Willie! Thanks to this great songwriter :)
Kathleen Clenin
There is none better than Willie. I have been to every concert he has performed here in Denver. I also saw the Highway Men. Wow.
Craigs List
Lucky dog, lucky dog! Years ago my boss took the whole office to see him at Lake Tahoe. The first time I saw that flag drop in the opening number, I've been in love ever since, but so wished I had, had the opportunity to see him with the Highwaymen. I'm envious.
Linda cp
Willie always speaks to my soul where I am any moment.
Mockingbird Analog
Willie is a great interpreter of songs. You always believe whatever he sings.
Peter Bellair
Phillip Holme
VNTPLA
Something wonderfully original in his "country crooner" style. Paul