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.
Mama Tried
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was a lonesome whistle blowin'
And a young'un's dream of growin up to ride
On a freight train leavin' town
Not knowin' where I'm bound
And no one could change my mind but Mama tried
From a family meek and mild
My mama seemed to know what lay in store
In spite of all my Sunday learnin'
Towards the bad I kept on turnin'
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame, 'cause Mama tried
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul
Left my mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Workin' hours without rest
Wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right but I refused
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame, 'cause Mama tried
Willie Nelson's song "Mama Tried" tells a story about a young man who grows up with dreams of escaping from his hometown on a train but is constantly getting into trouble despite his mother's attempts to steer him in the right direction. The opening lines detail the singer's first memories, specifically the sound of a "lonesome whistle blowin'" and his desire to ride a freight train away from everything he knew. He was determined, and Mama tried to reason with him, but he was stubborn, and nothing could keep him down. Despite all of Mama's best efforts, the young man finds himself incarcerated, living a life sentence without parole.
The theme of the song is rebellion and disobedience in the face of guidance from a mother who meant well. It's a story about the trials of growing up, making decisions that have lasting consequences and seeking freedom versus security. Mama tried to raise the unredeemable young man better than she did, but he refused to obey or take heed of her sound advice, ending up locked up in jail. The song illustrates the agony that the mother had to endure as she watched her child waste his life away, clinging to the hope that maybe, just maybe, he will come to his senses later on.
Line by Line Meaning
The first thing I remember knowin'
Willie Nelson's nostalgic reminiscence of his childhood memories
Was a lonesome whistle blowin'
The sound of departing and arriving trains, evoking a sense of wanderlust for a young Willie
And a young'un's dream of growin' up to ride
Describing the youthful ambition of leaving home and experiencing the world on a freight train
On a freight train leavin' town
The symbol of freedom and escape from routine life
Not knowin' where I'm bound
Uncertainty and unpredictability of life on the road
And no one could change my mind but Mama tried
Despite his longing for adventure, Willie acknowledges his mother's efforts to dissuade him from pursuing his dreams.
A one and only rebel child
Describing himself as a nonconformist and an independent-minded individual.
From a family meek and mild
Contrasting his rebellious nature to the traditional, conservative values of his family.
My mama seemed to know what lay in store
Acknowledging his mother's foresight and intuition about his future mistakes.
In spite of all my Sunday learnin'
Referring to religious education and moral values he was taught as a child.
Towards the bad I kept on turnin'
Describing his choices that were contrary to the right path despite his upbringing.
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore
Despite her best efforts, Willie was beyond help, and his mother could no longer influence his decisions.
And I turned twenty-one in prison doin' life without parole
The consequence of his bad choices was a life sentence in prison.
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Although he had gone astray, he recognizes his mother's unwavering attempts to guide him in the right direction.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
Acknowledging his past behavior, which violated his mother's wishes and led to his downfall.
That leaves only me to blame, 'cause Mama tried
Asserting responsibility for his actions, despite his mother's efforts to set him on a better path.
Dear old Daddy, rest his soul
Referring to his deceased father.
Left my mom a heavy load
Expressing sorrow for the burden that his mother had to bear after his father's death.
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Describing his mother's efforts to take on the role of both parents and provide for her family.
Workin' hours without rest
Illustrating the extent to which his mother worked to support her family.
Wanted me to have the best
Revealing his mother's desire for him to have a better life than hers.
She tried to raise me right but I refused
Admitting to disobeying his mother's expectations and causing her grief as a result.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Merle Haggard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@HussyHarryet
R.I.P Toby you legend. Devastated.
@boblozaintherealworld3577
my wife and I still just blown away.
@murphyr31
Me too, hit me nearly as hard as loosing Merle. It was like we lost Merle all over again. RIP fellas
@2beinteresting
Requiescat in pace, Toby! Who would've thought that the oldest of these three gentlemen would live the longest!
@Joeybydin
This one has hit me harder than any death ever has when it was somebody i had never met. I'm an Okie and it's just not the same around here with him gone. I really can't explain it. Only good thing about it is the local stations have been playing a lot more Toby than usual. Rip big guy!
@Joeybydin
@@boblozaintherealworld3577up until the last few weeks i really thought he was going to be ok. Even knowing for years that he was aick, it still just shocked me when i woke up and found out.
@bryanjones3089
Love how Willy stayed in the background and let Merle and Toby have that special moment together
Great memory
Rip Toby
You and Merle are singing together again 😢
@commonsenseman6024
Rip Toby and Merle, true country legends. You were unapologetically real country, God bless
@rhondaboncutter5812
My father was a Merle fan, as a kid would play Merle's Records for him as he sat on the back porch drinking a beer! I always sat and sang with him! I miss my Dad!
@SweetJustice
Ditto, my Dad played Merle’s records while rocking in his rocking chair, smoking a Winston some of my first memories