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.
Heartaches by the Number
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heartache number two was when you came back again
You came back but never meant to stay
I've got heartaches by the numbers troubles by the score
Every day you love me less each day I love you more
I've got heartaches by the numbers a love that I can't win
But the day that I stop counting that's the day my world will end
[ guitar ]
You said that you were coming back to stay
With hopeful heart I waited for your knock on my door
I waited but you must have lost your way
I've got heartaches by the numbers...
In "Heartaches by the Number," Willie Nelson sings about heartbreak and the pain of a failed relationship. The lyrics describe the different stages of heartache, from the initial pain of being left behind to the confusion and disappointment of a lover who returns only to leave again. The song expresses emotional confusion and a sense of hopelessness in the face of an unrequited love. Through the lyrics, Nelson suggests that he remains committed to his love, even as it becomes increasingly clear that this love will never be returned in kind.
The song is full of heartbreak and loss, but there's also a touch of humor in how it catalogues all the different kinds of pain. It's an expertly crafted song that blends pain and humor in just the right proportions. One of the most memorable lines is "Every day you love me less each day I love you more," which captures both the agony of unrequited love and the persistence of hope in the face of heartbreak.
Overall, "Heartaches by the Number" is a classic country song that captures the essence of a broken heart. It's a poignant tale of the pain of love that didn't work, told with depth, humor, and expert craftsmanship.
Line by Line Meaning
Heartache number one was when you left me I never knew that I could hurt this way
The first time you left, it was unbearable for me. I have never felt that kind of hurt before in my life.
Heartache number two was when you came back again
Although you came back to me, it was painful because you didn't intend to stay.
You came back but never meant to stay
Your return wasn't a true reconciliation because you had no intention of staying.
I've got heartaches by the numbers troubles by the score
My pain and struggles seem endless and immeasurable.
Every day you love me less each day I love you more
Our love is imbalanced and it seems like you are slowly losing interest while my love for you continues to grow.
I've got heartaches by the numbers a love that I can't win
My love for you is not reciprocated in the same way, thus it is a love that I cannot conquer.
But the day that I stop counting that's the day my world will end
Counting our heartbreaks is a way for me to cope with the pain, and if I ever stop counting, it means that the pain has consumed me completely.
[ guitar ]
Instrumental break in the song.
Heartache number three was when you called me
When you called and said you were returning, I was optimistic and hopeful, but it led to more pain.
You said that you were coming back to stay
You gave me false hope by saying you were coming back for good.
With hopeful heart I waited for your knock on my door
With a hopeful heart, I waited for your return, but it never came.
I waited but you must have lost your way
You didn't show up, and I can only assume it's because you lost interest or got lost on the way.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harlan Howard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@normsweet1710
What a great tribute to a fellow Texan ! With many of the greats of country music.
@reneehemingway404
The best ever version of this song Willie, you are individually sensational. Thank you for making life so much brighter through your music.
@stormcrowlegendary3512
I first heard this song in Fall Out New Vegas. One thing I love about that game is it brings back great 50's songs that are all but forgotten in my generation that people like Willie here was lucky enough to experience.
@miekeschuller-denhaan6671
Willie, as always, you nailed this and made it your own!
@JosephineOliver-qh1te
Nailed it, thanks Willie and the boys! Loved the sound of the steel guitar, true blue country sound 👏🏼👍🏼
@patriciafleck6420
Willie Nelson is a legend and always will be great song writer awesome singer and grand guitar player
@janetfarris3739
I dearly love this song. My Momma always sang this song. That's how brother and I loved music. We were dancing our shoes off at the old Circle R. 😆
@carolwatkins7576
What a wonderful honor to Ray Price!
@ms.mcconnell4618
Thank you for making me smile, even when my heart feels like it is breaking❣️☝️💜😘
@patriciamoore3687
,SUCH A JOY TO WATCH THEM MAKE THIS MUSIC TOGETHER. I HAVE UP COUNTING MY # OF HEARTACHES. LOVE EVERY SECOND.