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.
I Just Don't Understand
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the first to say be happy if you can
But you lie and hurt someone who needs and loves you so
Do you mind too much if I don't understand
I suppose that you're convinced this is the thing to do
Life is short and sweet break all the hearts you can
I guess I shouldn't be surprised it's all a game to you
Forgive me but it all seems so unreal to me
And my heart and me we'd made so many plans
But that's all over now there's nothing left to do
But do you mind too much if I don't understand
(Do you mind too much) if I don't understand
In Willie Nelson's song, "I Just Don't Understand", the singer is singing to someone who has decided to leave a relationship. The singer acknowledges that they are not in a position to stop them from doing so and that it is important to be happy. However, the singer is hurt and confused as to why the other person would hurt someone who loves them so deeply. The singer questions the motives of the person who is leaving and wonders if they care about the broken hearts they are leaving behind.
The singer also questions the notion that life is short and therefore it is necessary to break as many hearts as possible in order to be happy. The singer is perplexed by the other person's behavior and cannot understand how they can be so callous towards someone who has loved them so deeply. The singer is also saddened by the fact that they had made plans with the other person and now all of those plans are dashed.
The song is a poignant reflection of the pain and confusion that often accompanies the end of a relationship. It highlights how difficult it can be to understand why someone would choose to hurt someone they love and how devastating it can be to have dreams and plans shattered.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd be the last one to tell you that you shouldn't go
I am not the right person to ask for your life decisions as they are yours to make
And the first to say be happy if you can
I would never discourage anyone from pursuing their own happiness
But you lie and hurt someone who needs and loves you so
Your actions have caused pain to someone who deeply cares for you
Do you mind too much if I don't understand
I apologize, but I can't comprehend how you could do something like this
I suppose that you're convinced this is the thing to do
I assume you believe that what you did was necessary or right
Life is short and sweet break all the hearts you can
Perhaps you see life as fleeting and believe that it's better to pursue what you want without consideration for others
I guess I shouldn't be surprised it's all a game to you
I shouldn't be shocked by your actions as it seems like you treat everything as a game
Forgive me but it all seems so unreal to me
I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that this is actually happening
And my heart and me we'd made so many plans
I had envisioned a future with you and my heart had hopes and dreams for our relationship
But that's all over now there's nothing left to do
Unfortunately, our future together is no longer possible and there's nothing we can do to change that
But do you mind too much if I don't understand
I don't mean to offend you, but I'm struggling to comprehend your actions and decisions
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jewel Dotson
Willie at his very best, no slush & frills just that beautiful haunting voice
Marianne Menon
I love Willie Nelson's music...From His Early Years till To Date and Beyond!!!!... Great song from a great album...Thank you so much for the lovely share.... ~Marianne...
david willison
What a great songwriter and singer. Thanks for the upload.
webbjr37
Willie At his very best
Dorajean Bear
"I SUPPOSE THAT YOU'RE CONVINCED THIS IS THE THING TO DO
LIFE IS SHORT AND SWEET, BREAK ALL THE HEARTS YOU CAN
I GUESS I SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED, IT'S ALL A GAME TO YOU"
"BUT DO YOU MIND TOO MUCH IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND"
ONE GREAT SONG MANY MOONS AGO LOVE LOVE IT
Madonna Hill
Willie Nelson my favorite singer he always sings what i am feeling, also my best friend from the past
Linda cp
I've loved this man's music since the 60's and am sorry he's getting too old to replicate his unique sound.
James Malcolm
Linda cp Linda, I saw Willie at the 2019 Luck Reunion. I’ve seen and appreciated him dozens of time and at the Reunion he was the best I’ve ever seen him. If anyone could duplicate that early sound, Willie could. He’s remarkable and I would not be surprised if he does just that. Maybe not the young sound, but definitely the old sound.
Lasse Håkansson
My favorit songsingwriter... still on thr run...
T4TEXASTOM JOHNNYCAT
From Willie's very last album from the 1960s, and the very first album he used his famous Martin guitar (Trigger). 1969