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.
Nightlife
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You will find me hangin' 'round
The night life, ain't the good life
But it's my life
Many people just like me
Dreamin' of old used-to-be's
And the night life, ain't no good life
Listen to the blues that they're playin'
Listen what the blues are sayin'
Life is just another scene
From the orld of broken dreams
Oh, the night life, ain't no good life
But it's my life
Life is just another scene
From the world of broken dreams
And the night life ain't no good life
But it's my life
And the night life ain't no good life
But it's my life
The lyrics of "Night Life" by Willie Nelson & Friends reflect the life of a musician and the struggles of the night life. The song starts with the singer talking about the evening sun going down and finding himself hanging around, indicating that he is a night person. The line "The night life, ain't the good life, but it's my life" clearly shows that the life he leads is not ideal, but it's something he has come to accept and embrace as his own.
Further, the song describes the lives of many people like the singer, who dream of the past and live in the present, where the night offers solace and comfort. The bluesy tone of the song highlights the harsh realities of the night life, where the dreams are broken, and everything seems like a scene from a world of broken dreams. Yet, the night life remains a significant part of the singer's life, and he takes pride in it.
Overall, "Night Life" is a song that speaks to anyone who has ever experienced the harsh realities of life, where things don't always go as planned, and one has to make the best of what's available. The lyrics reflect the struggle of many people who work during the night hours and offer a glimpse into why the night is sometimes the only respite one can get.
Line by Line Meaning
When the evenin' sun goes down
As soon as the sun sets in the evening
You will find me hangin' 'round
I'll be around looking for something to do
The night life, ain't the good life
Being out at night may not always be the best option
But it's my life
However, it's my decision to make
Many people just like me
There are others who are in the same position as me
Dreamin' of old used-to-be's
We all have regrets and memories of times gone by
And the night life, ain't no good life
Being up all night may not always lead to the best outcome
But it's my life
Nonetheless, it's my choice to make
Listen to the blues that they're playin'
Take a moment to listen to the music and lyrics
Listen what the blues are sayin'
Pay attention to the message being conveyed through the music
Life is just another scene
Life can be compared to a play or a movie with different acts/scenes
From the world of broken dreams
But unfortunately, many of these scenes may be filled with disappointment and failed aspirations
Oh, the night life, ain't no good life
Being out at night has its downsides
But it's my life
Despite the negatives, it's still my choice to live it
And the night life ain't no good life
Once again, being out at night may not lead to the best outcome
But it's my life
Still, it's my life to live and experience
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PHILIP PARRIS LYNOTT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@patrickstocks3576
When the evenin’ sun goes down
You will find me hangin’‘round
Oh, the night life, it ain’t no good life
But it’s my life
Many people just like me
Dreamin’ of old used-to-be’s
Oh, the night life, it ain’t no good life
Ah, but it’s my life
Listen to the blues that they’re playin’
Listen what the blues are sayin’
Life is just another scene
In this old world of broken dreams
Oh, the night life, it ain’t no good life
But it’s my life
Oh, the night life ain’t no good life
Oh, but it’s my life
Yeah, it’s my life
@ceilbolton23
Love you, Willie. One of the best and most underrated vocalists of all time. Your artistry is a blessing and you are truly one of a kind!
@mandtgrant
Willy and Neil Young: they play what sounds like simple music, but nobody else can play that sound
@lonewolf1053
Willie throwing down some jazz guitar man!...killer!...
@Tubulous123
Yes!!! Thank you!!! 1Nation4Life <3 (y) !!!
@fredbentley4944
Willie Nelson is a real artist. His phrasing and vocal dynamics make him almost if not completely impossible to imitate! Awesome job on Night Life!
@jessiecoulter5007
Phrasing, flip a coin ... Frank Sinatra or Willie Nelson hmm
@mr.monitor.
@jessiecoulter5007 they were both admirers of each other 😊
@CaptKaboom
Underrated guitarist also. Totally unique sound.
@kennethcurtis1856
Willie, to me, is like Bob Dylan. A great songwriter, but I can't listen to him sing.
@mr.monitor.
@@kennethcurtis1856 something is wrong with your ears.