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.
Medley
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dusty and tired and he got him
A room for the night
He lay there in silence
With too much on his mind
Still hoping that he was not right
But he found them that evening
In a quiet little out of the way place
And they smiled at each other
When he walked through the door
And they died with their smiles on their faces
They died with a smile on their face
Don't boss him don't cross him
He's wild in his sorrow
He's ridin' and hidin' his pain
Don't fight him, don't spite him
Let's wait till tomorrow
Maybe he'll ride on again
The lyrics of Willie Nelson's song Medley: Blue Rock Montana/Red Headed Stranger tell a story of a man who enters a town called Blue Rock, hoping to find a room for the night. The man is dusty and tired, and has too much on his mind. The lyrics suggest that he is holding onto some secrets or regrets that he cannot shake off. The man then stumbles upon a group of people in a tavern in a quiet part of town. They smile at each other, sharing a moment of mutual recognition. The lyrics imply that there is some sort of history between them, and it is suggested that they may be a gang or a group of outlaws. Despite this, the man is welcomed, and the group seems happy to see him. However, the lyrics then take a grim turn, as they reveal that the group dies later that night, with smiles on their faces. The reason for their death is not explicitly stated, but it is suggested that they got into some sort of trouble, and met their end with a sense of satisfaction.
The song then goes on to describe the man's state of mind. He is wild in his sorrow, and is riding and hiding his pain. The lyrics suggest that the man is on the run, trying to escape his past. He is dealing with a lot of emotional pain and trauma, and the lyrics suggest that he may be seeking some sort of closure or resolution. The lyrics ask us not to boss him or cross him, but to wait till tomorrow, when maybe he will ride on again. The song is thus a poignant meditation on the human condition, and the way that we all struggle with pain and regret, and seek to find some sort of meaning or resolution.
Line by Line Meaning
Well he rode into Blue Rock
The singer arrived in the town of Blue Rock.
Dusty and tired and he got him
He was dusty and tired, so he rented a room for the night.
A room for the night
He got a room to stay for the night after a long travel.
He lay there in silence
The artist rested in quietude.
With too much on his mind
He was preoccupied with many things.
Still hoping that he was not right
Despite his worries, he held onto hope that things might turn out differently.
But he found them that evening
Later that day, he located the people he was searching for.
In a tavern in town
They were in a pub situated in Blue Rock.
In a quiet little out of the way place
The bar was located in a serene, secluded corner of the town.
And they smiled at each other
On his entrance, they exchanged smiles with each other.
When he walked through the door
As soon as he entered the bar, they acknowledged his presence.
And they died with their smiles on their faces
Unfortunately, they perished while still smiling.
Don't boss him don't cross him
Do not attempt to dictate or oppose him.
He's wild in his sorrow
He is grieving in an untamed manner.
He's ridin' and hidin' his pain
He attempts to bury his pain by running from it.
Don't fight him, don't spite him
Avoid antagonizing him or sparking confrontations with him.
Let's wait till tomorrow
We might need to wait till the next day for him to feel better.
Maybe he'll ride on again
He may leave and start a new journey.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
leokimvideo
The beard can't hide his classic voice.
D Snow
55 years later and he is still performing. Long live Willie!
Jason Larsen
@Brodie2005 TheGamer A lot of 87 year olds die. Most people don't live that long.
Christine Wild
His daughter has a tremendous voice, One of his son sounds just like him, I heard the other son sing tho
Ed smith
@KJ J It's all a fantasy, but if it makes you feel better dream on.
KJ J
He'll never die
When we go to Heaven, we wont die
We dont die if we're Christians 💯
Brodie2005 TheGamer
He might die
Sooz
Willie Nelson has written some of the most beautiful and memorable songs of all time. Only a couple of years after Patsy Cline's death and it almost seems as if he's having a bit of a struggle with his emotions singing Crazy. Thank you Willie Nelson, you're the greatest. 💙
Soundtrack of my youth 🎼🖤
Mark Berryhill
If you grew up in the 70s Willie and Waylon's "Outlaws" album was on your top 10 most played list.
Dwight Turner
When Willie wrote Crazy for Patsy, he first titled the song "Stupid." She refused to sing it, so he changed the name to Crazy. Don't believe me? Google it. That's what Willie told Ken Burns in 2019.