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.
Move It On Over
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That baby of mine wouldn't let me in
So move it on over (move it on over)
Move it on over (move it on over)
Move over little dog cause the big dogs moving in
Shes changed the lock on my front door
My door key don't fit no more
Scoot it on over (move it on over)
Move over skinny dog cause the fat dogs moving in
This dog house here is mighty small
But it's better than no house at all
So ease it on over (move it on over)
Drag it on over (move it on over)
Move over old dog cause a new dogs moving in
She told me not to play around
But I done let the deal go down
So pack it on over (move it on over)
Tote it on over (move it on over)
Move over nice dog cause a mad dogs moving in
She warned me once, she warned me twice
But I don't take no ones advice
So scratch it on over (move it on over)
Shake it on over (move it on over)
Move over short dog cause the tall dogs moving in
Shell crawl back to me on her knees
Ill be busy scratching fleas
So slide it on over (move it on over)
Sneak it on over (move it on over)
Move over good dog cause a mad dogs moving in
Remember pup, before you whine
That sides yours and this sides mine
So shove it on over (move it on over)
Sweep it on over (move it on over)
Move over cold dog cause a hot dogs moving in
Willie Nelson’s song, ‘Move it on Over’ describes a man who returns home late and is unable to enter his own house as the locks have been changed. The woman he lives with has grown tired of his infidelity and has locked him out, forcing him to sleep in the doghouse. As he refuses to change his ways, he expects the cycle to continue, with him moving in and out of the house, while she continues to warn him. He believes that eventually, she will crawl back to him, but in the meantime, he will keep moving in and moving out.
The song uses various metaphors to describe the man’s situation. The phrase “move it on over” is repeated multiple times, signifying the man's refusal to change his behavior, while also highlighting the doghouse metaphor. He is “sneaking it on over,” “dragging it on over,” “getting it on over,” and finally, he is “shoving it on over.” The repetition of the phrase emphasizes his determination to keep moving forward.
Another metaphor used in the song is dogs. The man sees himself as a big dog, while his wife is a little dog, with a tall dog and a short dog joining the metaphor later. The lyrics play with the idea of a dog house, which is eventually where the man ends up sleeping. The dog house is small, but it’s still better than no house at all. The entire song is a lighthearted, humorous account of a man who refuses to change his ways.
Line by Line Meaning
Came in last night at half past ten
I arrived home late at night, around 10:30 PM.
That baby of mine wouldn't let me in
My significant other wouldn't allow me to enter the house.
So move it on over (move it on over)
Move it on over (move it on over)
Move over little dog cause the big dogs moving in
I need to find a new place to live, so I have to move out of this small space and make room for someone bigger and stronger than me.
Shes changed the lock on my front door
My door key don't fit no more
My significant other has changed the locks, and my key no longer works.
So get it on over (move it on over)
Scoot it on over (move it on over)
Move over skinny dog cause the fat dogs moving in
I need to move on and find a new living space, and I don't care if I have to take someone else's spot.
This dog house here is mighty small
But it's better than no house at all
My living situation is not ideal, but it's better than being homeless.
So ease it on over (move it on over)
Drag it on over (move it on over)
Move over old dog cause a new dogs moving in
I need to take the opportunity to move into a better living space and leave my old life behind.
She told me not to play around
But I done let the deal go down
My significant other warned me not to cheat, but I didn't listen and committed infidelity.
So pack it on over (move it on over)
Tote it on over (move it on over)
Move over nice dog cause a mad dogs moving in
I'm leaving my old life behind, even if it means leaving behind my morals.
She warned me once, she warned me twice
But I don't take no ones advice
My significant other warned me multiple times not to cheat, but I did it anyway and didn't take any advice from her.
So scratch it on over (move it on over)
Shake it on over (move it on over)
Move over short dog cause the tall dogs moving in
I need to move on and make way for someone better and more impressive than me.
Shell crawl back to me on her knees
Ill be busy scratching fleas
My significant other will come back to me begging after I cheat, and I will be uninterested, and uncaring
So slide it on over (move it on over)
Sneak it on over (move it on over)
Move over good dog cause a mad dogs moving in
I am moving on to new and better things, and I don't care about the people I hurt along the way.
Remember pup, before you whine
That sides yours and this sides mine
Don't complain about the situation; this is just how things are, and we have to deal with them.
So shove it on over (move it on over)
Sweep it on over (move it on over)
Move over cold dog cause a hot dogs moving in
I am coming into power, and you need to make way for me as I move into a bigger and better living space.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HANK WILLIAMS SR.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Julie Hazeltine
I could watch these videos with Willie and his boys all night! So intimate and touching.
September Campbell
Love it!!! Only wish I could see it live ❤❤❤
1000 Subscribers Without Video
WILLIE NELSON IS A LEGEND
Amy B
Loving this!
Primrose Haran
love the way Willie and the boys are so close
lebtu
Glad to see this! My heart is happy!
Michelle Carroll
Love it
Kimberly Smith
Feels like home....thanks so much for always staying true to yourself Mr.Nelson.What a beautiful family...God Bless you and yours.
Genevieve Hansen
Remembering Billy,,,,, Christmas 2020 bless your heart Willie,,, love ya all!!!!!
Master Case
They are amazing