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.
If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time
Willie Nelson Lyrics
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We'll go honky tonkin' and we'll have a time
We'll have more fun baby on the way down the line
If you've got the money honey I've got the time
There ain't no need to teary' lets start out tonight
We'll have fun oh boy oh boy and we'll do it right
Bring along your Cadillac leave my ol' wreck behind
We'll go honky tonkin' make every spot in town
We'll go to the park where it's dark and we won't fool around
If you run short of money I'll run short of time
You got no more money honey I've no more time
If you've got the money honey I've got the time
We'll go honky tonkin' and we'll have a time
Bring along your Cadillac leave my ol' wreck behind
If you've got the money honey I've got the time
The lyrics to Willie Nelson's song “If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time” are about having a good time and enjoying life, as long as you have the means to do so. The singer is telling someone that if they have money to spare, he is ready and willing to go out and party with them. The lyrics suggest that there is no need to wait or hesitate, but rather to seize the moment and have some fun.
He encourages the person to come along in their Cadillac and leave his old wreck behind, emphasizing the idea that they should live in the moment and enjoy the luxuries they have. There is also an implicit message that this kind of carefree lifestyle is only possible for those who have the means to afford it.
Additionally, the song touches upon the idea of reciprocity in relationships. The singer is open to going out and having fun with someone, as long as they have money to spend. However, if the person runs out of money, the singer will also lose interest and will no longer have the time to spend with them. Ultimately, the song celebrates the idea of living in the present and enjoying life, regardless of the cost.
Line by Line Meaning
If you've got the money honey I've got the time
If you have the financial means, I am available to spend time and engage in activities with you.
We'll go honky tonkin' and we'll have a time
We'll go out together, possibly to country bars or dance halls, and have a fun experience.
We'll have more fun baby on the way down the line
Our enjoyment will increase as we continue to spend time together in various activities.
There ain't no need to teary' lets start out tonight
There is no reason to hesitate, we should begin our fun-filled evening as soon as possible.
We'll have fun oh boy oh boy and we'll do it right
We will engage in activities that bring us pleasure, and we will do them in the proper or appropriate way.
Bring along your Cadillac leave my ol' wreck behind
Bring your nice car and we will use it to drive around, leaving my old car behind.
We'll go honky tonkin' make every spot in town
We will explore and visit every country bar or dance hall in town.
We'll go to the park where it's dark and we won't fool around
We will go to a secluded area of the park where there is minimal light and engage in flirtatious behavior without engaging in sexual activity.
If you run short of money I'll run short of time
If you run out of funds before our time together is up, we will have to end the evening prematurely.
You got no more money honey I've no more time
If you have used up all your financial resources, then our time together has come to a close.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JAMES A. BECK, LEFTY FRIZZELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind