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.
Make Way For A Better Man
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You tried to make her happy
You couldn't make her happy
Make way for a better man than you
You tried your brand of lovin'
She couldn't stand your lovin'
Make way for a better man than you
I held back cause you and I were friends
I'm takin' over now those signals she keeps sendin' means your romance is endin'
Make way for a better man than you
[ guitar - steel ]
Those fancy words you told her
Were not enough to hold her
Make way for a better man than you
I guess you're in your lockout
You came to back and struck out
Make way for a better man than you
I held back cause you and I...
Make way for a better man than you
In Willie Nelson's song "Make Way For A Better Man," the singer is addressing a friend who has failed in his attempt to make a woman happy. The friend's efforts at loving her have been unsuccessful, and she is now seeking someone who is better for her. The singer, who has held back out of concern for their friendship, has decided to step in and take over. He points out that the signals she has been sending show that she is no longer interested in the friend's romantic advances.
The song presents a classic theme of romantic competition, with one man challenging another for the affections of a woman. However, it also delves deeper into the nature of friendship and loyalty. The singer initially tries to stay out of the situation to avoid harming his friendship with the failing lover, but ultimately decides to pursue the woman himself after seeing that his friend cannot provide for her needs. The lyrics suggest that love can be a ruthless game, and even the closest of friends may find themselves pitted against one another.
Overall, "Make Way For A Better Man" is a bluesy, honest portrayal of a romantic rivalry. The lyrics are simple but effective, painting a vivid picture of a man who has failed to win the love of the woman he desires, and the friend who steps in to fill the void. The song is a testament to Willie Nelson's skill as a songwriter, capturing the complexities of human emotion with just a few choice words.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me talkin' now
Start explaining everything to me now
You tried to make her happy
You attempted to make her feel joy
You couldn't make her happy
You were unable to bring her happiness
Make way for a better man than you
Step aside for a superior man to take over
You tried your brand of lovin'
You gave her your kind of love
She couldn't stand your lovin'
She couldn't tolerate your way of love
Make way for a better man than you
Remove yourself for someone who can give better love
I held back cause you and I were friends
I restrained myself because we were friends
But old buddy this is where our friendship ends
Our friendship ends here, my old friend
I'm takin' over now those signals she keeps sendin' means your romance is endin'
I am taking over now, the signals she is giving indicate that your relationship is ending
Make way for a better man than you
Move aside for a better man to take your place
[ guitar - steel ]
Instrumental break
Those fancy words you told her
The fancy words you used to persuade her
Were not enough to hold her
Were insufficient to maintain her interest
Make way for a better man than you
Clear the path for someone more suitable
I guess you're in your lockout
You're now locked out
You came to back and struck out
You returned but failed to win her over
Make way for a better man than you
Step aside for someone who can do better
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: COBEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind