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.
Gravedigger
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Made his great grandchildren believe
he could live to a 103
A hundred and three is forever when you're just a little kid
So, Cyrus Jones lived forever
[Chorus]
Gravedigger
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger
Muriel Stonewall 1903 to 1954
She lost both of her babies in the second great war
Now, you should never have to watch your only children lowered in the ground
that means you should never have to bury your own babies
[Chorus]
Ring around the rosey
Pocket full o'posey
Ashes to ashes
{Musical intro}
We all fall down
[Chorus]
Little Mikey Carson '67 to '75
He rode his bike like the devil until the day he died
When he grows up he wants to be Mr. Vertigo on the flying trapeze
Oh, 1940 to 1992
[Chorus]
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
I can feel the rain
I can feel the rain
[Chorus]
Grave digger
The song "Gravedigger" by Willie Nelson tells the stories of four different characters: Cyrus Jones, Muriel Stonewall, Ring around the Rosy, and Little Mikey Carson. The lyrics delicately portray the tragedies of each character, such as Cyrus Jones who lived so long that he made his grandchildren believe he could live forever. Muriel Stonewall lost her children in the Second World War, and the song suggests that it is unnatural for parents to bury their own children. The lyrics use Ring around the Rosy, a popular nursery rhyme that symbolizes the Black Plague, to further emphasize the fleeting and fragile moments of life. Lastly, Little Mikey Carson, who tragically died young, has high hopes of becoming a famous trapeze artist.
The chorus of the song is repeated multiple times, and it emphasizes the idea that death is eternal. However, it also expresses a desire for the rain, suggesting that even in death, we still long to feel the natural elements of life.
Overall, the song is a reflection on the inevitability of death and the significance of every moment in life. It reminds us to cherish the time we have and to appreciate the little things in life that make it worth living.
Line by Line Meaning
Cyrus Jones 1810 to 1913
Introducing Cyrus Jones as a character who lived from 1810 to 1913
Made his great grandchildren believe
Implying that Cyrus Jones told his great grandkids something that was not necessarily true, but believed by them
he could live to a 103
Cyrus Jones convinced his great grandkids that he could live up to 103 years of age
A hundred and three is forever when you're just a little kid
Children perceive being 103 years old as living forever; it seems like an eternal time to them
So, Cyrus Jones lived forever
Despite Cyrus Jones passing away at the age of 103, his legacy lives on as he 'lived forever' in the hearts and minds of his great grandkids
[Chorus] Gravedigger When you dig my grave Could you make it shallow So that I can feel the rain Gravedigger
The chorus reiterates the subject of the song, 'Gravedigger,' who is being requested to dig a shallow grave for the singer. The singer desires to feel the rain despite being deceased
Muriel Stonewall 1903 to 1954
Introducing Muriel Stonewall, who lived from 1903 to 1954
She lost both of her babies in the second great war
Muriel Stonewall had to witness both her children pass away during the Second World War
Now, you should never have to watch your only children lowered in the ground
The artist sympathizes with Muriel Stonewall by expressing that no parent should have to bury their own children
that means you should never have to bury your own babies
Repeating the sentiment from the previous line that no parent should have to experience the heart-breaking pain of burying their own children
[Chorus]
Repeating the chorus that was explained before
Ring around the rosey
Referencing a nursery rhyme that many children are familiar with
Pocket full o'posey
Continuing with the nursery rhyme reference
Ashes to ashes
Alluding to the common funeral phrase, 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust'
{Musical intro}
Musical interlude
We all fall down
The last line of the nursery rhyme referenced earlier, which symbolizes death
Little Mikey Carson '67 to '75
Introducing Little Mikey Carson, a character that lived from 1967 to 1975
He rode his bike like the devil until the day he died
Revealing that Little Mike died while doing something he loved, which was riding his bike
When he grows up he wants to be Mr. Vertigo on the flying trapeze
Imagining Little Mikey's ambitions and dreams for the future; he wanted to be Mr. Vertigo, the flying trapeze artist
Oh, 1940 to 1992
Unknown who this line refers to. It may be the songwriter's dedication of the song to someone who lived during this time
[Chorus] When you dig my grave Could you make it shallow So that I can feel the rain I can feel the rain I can feel the rain
Repeating the chorus one more time
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID PROCTOR, CHRISTOPHER LAVERY, STEVEN NIXON, STEPHEN GILDEA, KEVIN MATTHEWS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Doug Milford
Cyrus Jones 1810 to 1913
Made his great granchildren believe
You could live to a hundred and three
A hundred and three is forever when you're just a little kid
So Cyrus Jones lived forever
Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger
Muriel Stonewall
1903 to 1954
She lost both of her babies in the second great war
Now you should never have to watch
Your only children lowered in the ground
I mean you should never have to bury your own babies
Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger
Ring around the rosey
Pocket full of posey
Ashes to ashes
We all fall down
Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain
Gravedigger…
richardblackblack
In all my 54 years...covering all genres of every kind of music..this is the most artistic delivery of any song I have ever heard..kudos Willie...your simply the best.
Willie Nelson official fan inbox
Thanks for your love and support that has brought me this far, I wouldn’t be where I am today without your loyalty and support. How long have you been a fan ❤😊❤
2leacy2
Wait it gets more .. 70
darnell pistachio
@Robert Allen still a great jam man. Cover songs in linear fashion are a dime a dozen. But when johnny covered hurt...or this version of Nelson's...give your head a shake.
Robert Allen
$$$$
scott rose
I still like Dave Matthew's version but Willie has true class
Tharpopolis
When the "ashes to ashes" part kicks in I get goosebumps.
george wash
yes beautiful power chords, so effective !
Lizzey Bolt
I think this is the most beautiful song about death that i have ever heard, and i love that Willie is singing it.
Willie Nelson official fan inbox
Thanks for your love and support that has brought me this far, I wouldn’t be where I am today without your loyalty and support. How long have you been a fan ❤😊❤