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.
It's Not For Me To Understand
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The yard was filled with kids at play
And on the sidewalk of this home
A little boy stood all alone
His smiling face was sweet and kind
But I could see the boy was blind
He listened to the children play
Dear Lord above, why must this be
And then these words came down to me
After all, you're just a man
And it's not for you to understand
It's not for you to reason why
You too are blind without my eyes
So question not what I command
'Cause it's not for you to understand
Now when I pray my prayer is one
I pray his will, not mine be done
After all, I'm just a man
And it's not for me to understand
In Willie Nelson's song "It's Not for Me to Understand," the singer encounters a blind little boy standing alone on the sidewalk as he passes by a home where other children are playing. He is struck by the boy's kind and joyful demeanor despite his inability to see. The singer then questions why God would allow such a thing to happen, and asks for an explanation. However, the answer that comes to him is that as a human, he is not meant to understand everything that happens in the world, and that it is not for him to question God's will. The song ends with the acknowledgment that the singer is only a man and that he will pray for God's will to be done.
The message of this song is powerful and not easily dismissed. It speaks to the struggles we all face in trying to understand the world around us, and the deep need we have for answers to the difficult questions in life. The perspective it offers is one of humility and acceptance, urging us to let go of the need for complete understanding and to trust in a higher power.
Line by Line Meaning
I passed a home the other day
Willie Nelson observes a house as he passes by it.
The yard was filled with kids at play
There were many children playing in the yard.
And on the sidewalk of this home
There was a sidewalk near this house.
A little boy stood all alone
A child stood alone on the sidewalk.
His smiling face was sweet and kind
The child's pleasant demeanor was noteworthy.
But I could see the boy was blind
Willie saw that the child was visually impaired.
He listened to the children play
Despite his blindness, the child was able to enjoy the sounds of the other children playing.
I bowed my head and there I prayed
Willi Nelson stopped and prayed to himself.
Dear Lord above, why must this be
Willie Nelson expresses his confusion and frustration to the Lord about why this child must be blind.
And then these words came down to me
Willie felt as if he received a response from a higher power.
After all, you're just a man
Willie realizes his own limitations and that he cannot understand everything.
And it's not for you to understand
Willie is reminded that there are certain things beyond human comprehension.
It's not for you to reason why
Willie is told that sometimes, there just isn't a logical explanation for everything.
You too are blind without my eyes
The higher power reminds Willie that there are things he cannot see and understand.
So question not what I command
The message is clear: one should not attempt to question or understand everything.
'Cause it's not for you to understand
Willie is reminded once again that there are some things beyond comprehension.
Now when I pray my prayer is one
Willie begins to change his perspective on prayer and life.
I pray his will, not mine be done
Rather than praying for what he wants, Willie now prays for what is meant to be.
After all, I'm just a man
Willie has accepted his limitations and that there are certain things beyond his control.
And it's not for me to understand
He is reminded once again that there are some things beyond human comprehension.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Msiddian
I heard this for the first time this morning. Boy did I need it. I am missing my son so much and asking God why my son had to go.. Love this, it says it all. I know I will understand one day when I am with him again...
Barnaby Row
God bless you, I hope you are doing well
Cornie Banman
This is an incredible song, with such great meaning for so many people that have that same question - God bless you Willie.
Bob & Sandy Rajkowski
I am just an amateur guitar player who plays at a nursing home twice a month, and I can't get enough of this song. Just love it. 💘
Wayne Dalrymple
I’m a hard nosed old truck driver but this song brought tears to my eyes. I love this song.
John Redwine
That's a great song. Willie understands much more than I thought he did ! Been a Willie Nelson fan over 40 years . I believe he is getting even better !
Kathleen Clenin
This is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. And to be sung by favorite singer makes it even better.
Curtis Brummet
What a song not only is it great but it's true.
Patriot Custodian
Such a simple, yet powerful, song.
Bob & Sandy Rajkowski
This song really makes you realize just how lucky some of us really are