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.
Have I Told You Lately that I Love You
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Could I tell you once again somehow
Have I told you how with all my heart
And soul I need you
Well darling I'm telling you now
My heart would break in two if I should lose you I'm no good without you anyhow
Have I told you lately that I love you
Well, darling, I'm telling you now
Have I told you lately when I'm sleeping
Every dream that I dream is you somehow
And have I told you how my every thought
Is in your keeping
Well, darling, I'm telling you now
My world would end today if I should lose you
'Cause I'm no good without you anyhow
Have I told you lately that I love you
Well, darling, I'm telling you now
The lyrics of "Have I Told You Lately that I Love You" by Willie Nelson are an expression of undying love and devotion. The first verse begins with a reflection on the past, asking if the person has been notified of their love lately. The singer then proceeds to express how consuming their love is and how they cannot live without their significant other. The second verse delves into the singer's dreams and thoughts, indicating that their partner is always at the forefront of their mind. The lyrics are a declaration of unwavering loyalty and love and a reminder to always communicate the depth of one's feelings.
The lyrics are simple, but the emotions they convey are powerful. Willie Nelson crafted a masterpiece that resonates with anyone that has ever been in love. The song emphasizes the importance of letting our loved ones know how much they mean to us, now and always.
The message of this song is timeless, and it has earned its place as one of the most famous love songs of all time. It captures the essence of what it means to be in love and reminds us that we should never take our loved ones for granted.
Line by Line Meaning
Have I told you lately that I love you
I hope you know that my love for you is still strong
Could I tell you once again somehow
Can I express my love for you once more?
Have I told you how with all my heart and soul I need you
I can't live without you, you're everything to me
Well darling I'm telling you now
I need you to know how much I truly love you right now
My heart would break in two if I should lose you I'm no good without you anyhow
If I ever lost you, it would tear me apart because I cannot function without you in my life
Have I told you lately when I'm sleeping
Even in my dreams, you are always on my mind
Every dream that I dream is you somehow
All of my dreams involve orrevolve around you
And have I told you how my every thought is in your keeping
Every thought I have is directed toward you, you control my thinking
Well, darling, I'm telling you now
I need you to understand the depth of my love at this very moment
My world would end today if I should lose you 'Cause I'm no good without you anyhow
If you left me right now, I would be completely lost and without purpose in life
Have I told you lately that I love you
I just want to remind you of how much I love you
Well, darling, I'm telling you now
I need you to know that my love for you is real and will never fade away
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SCOTT WISEMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind