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.
How Long Is Forever
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I let you come and go at will it seems
You're back again this time you say forever
But I wonder just how long forever means
How long is forever this time
How long until one night you don't come home again
How long is forever this time how long until I'm all alone again
And it could be they're right but who can say
You'll be welcome here within my arms forever
Even when forever ends for me today
How long is forever this time...
The lyrics of Willie Nelson's song How Long Is Forever discuss the complexities of love and forgiveness in a relationship, particularly when trust has been broken. The singer reflects on the pain caused by a lover who has come and gone as they pleased, leaving the singer feeling vulnerable and uncertain. Now, the lover claims to want to stay together forever, but the singer is skeptical about this promise. The singer wonders if this person will remain faithful and committed for the long haul, or whether they will leave again, causing more heartbreak and pain.
The lyrics highlight the difficulty of predicting the future and the struggle to maintain trust and faith in someone who has previously betrayed our trust. The singer recognizes their own vulnerability, as well as the risks of opening up their heart again, but ultimately decides to take a chance on love one more time. The song encourages listeners to consider the importance of honesty, trust, and communication in a relationship, and to carefully weigh the risks and rewards of giving someone a second chance.
Line by Line Meaning
I fell too hard and much too deep in love with you
I loved you intensely and passionately, to the point where it was beyond reason and control.
I let you come and go at will it seems
I allowed you to enter and exit my life as you pleased, without any resistance or boundaries.
You're back again this time you say forever
You returned to my life and promised to stay forever, but I am skeptical and uncertain about the truth of that claim.
But I wonder just how long forever means
I question the duration and sincerity of your promise to stay with me forever.
How long is forever this time
I am curious about the actual length and authenticity of your commitment to me this time.
How long until one night you don't come home again
I am concerned that one day you will disappear again, leaving me alone and wondering where you are or what happened to you.
How long is forever this time how long until I'm all alone again
I am worried that your promise to stay with me forever may not last, and I will be left alone once more.
People say I'm foolish when I take you back
Others criticize me for accepting you back into my life after previous departures or betrayals.
And it could be they're right but who can say
Although outsiders may see my behavior as foolish or misguided, I am uncertain if they are correct in their assessment.
You'll be welcome here within my arms forever
I will always be willing to embrace and love you, regardless of previous mistakes or shortcomings.
Even when forever ends for me today
Even if my life ends today and my concept of forever comes to an end, I will still love and forgive you.
How long is forever this time...
I continue to question the sincerity and longevity of your promise to stay with me forever.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind