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.
Pistol Packin' Mama
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was I havin' fun!
Until one night she caught me right
And now I'm on the run.
Oh, lay that pistol down, Babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama
Oh, she kicked out my windshield
And she hit me over the head.
She cussed and cried and said I lied
And she wished that I was dead.
Well, lay that pistol down, babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama
Lay that pistol down
Drinking beer in the cabaret
And dancing with a blonde
Till one night she shot out the lights
Band that blonde was gone
Well, lay that pistol down, babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama
Lay that pistol down
I'll see you every night babe
I'll woo you every day
And I'll be your regular daddy
If you'll put that gun away
And just, lay that pistol down, babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama
Lay that pistol down
Drinking beer in the cabaret
And was I having fun
Until one night she caught me right
And now I'm on the run
And just, lay that pistol down, babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama
Lay that pistol down
Now there was old Al Dexter
He always had his fun
But with some lead, she shot him dead
And his hawking deads are done
Now, lay that pistol down, babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama
Lay that pistol down
I said, lay that pistol down, babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama
Lay that pistol down
I said, lay that pistol down, babe.
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama
Lay that pistol down
Willie Nelson's "Pistol Packin' Mama" tells the story of a man who has been caught by his girlfriend while drinking beer in a cabaret. She is armed with a pistol, which she uses to threaten and assault him. Although he tries to reason with her, and even offers to be her "regular daddy" if she puts the gun away, she refuses to listen. In the end, the song takes a darker turn, as the lyrics describe how another man named Al Dexter was shot and killed by his own pistol-packin' mama.
While the overall feel of the song is upbeat and lively, the lyrics reveal a tale of violent relationships and the use of weapons to control others. The singer, while amused by his own misadventures at first, is ultimately scared for his life and running from his dangerous lover. The reference to Al Dexter's death adds to the sense of danger and tension in the song, and suggests that the use of guns in relationships can have deadly consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, drinkin' beer in a cabaret
I was enjoying a drink in a lively establishment
Was I havin' fun!
I was having a great time!
Until one night she caught me right
Until one night, she caught me doing something wrong
And now I'm on the run.
And as a result, I'm running away to avoid trouble
Oh, lay that pistol down, Babe.
Please put down the firearm, my dear
Lay that pistol down.
Put the gun away, please
Pistol packin' mama
You, the lady with the gun
Lay that pistol down.
Put the gun away, please
Oh, she kicked out my windshield
She destroyed my car's windshield with a kick
And she hit me over the head.
She struck me on the head
She cussed and cried and said I lied
She angrily swore and cried while accusing me of lying
And she wished that I was dead.
She expressed a wish that I was not alive
Drinking beer in the cabaret
Enjoying a beer at the lively spot
And dancing with a blonde
Dancing with a woman with blonde hair
Till one night she shot out the lights
Until the night she shot out the lights
Band that blonde was gone
The woman with blonde hair disappeared after the incident
I'll see you every night babe
I'll be with you every night
I'll woo you every day
I'll court you every day
And I'll be your regular daddy
I'll be your regular companion
If you'll put that gun away
But only if you put that firearm away
Now there was old Al Dexter
There was an old man named Al Dexter
He always had his fun
He always lived life to the fullest
But with some lead, she shot him dead
But she killed him with a gunshot wound
And his hawking deads are done
And his story has come to an end
I said, lay that pistol down, babe.
I reiterated my request that she put her gun away
Lay that pistol down.
Put the gun away, please
Pistol packin' mama
You, the lady with the firearm
Lay that pistol down
Please put the gun away
I said, lay that pistol down, babe.
I reiterated my plea for her to put the gun down
Lay that pistol down.
Put the gun away, please
Pistol packin' mama
You, the lady with the firearm
Lay that pistol down
Please put the gun away
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL DEXTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MusicDude86
Get it Willie!!! Great band!!!
Peace B Unto You
❤ great song
Rinda Myers
Aren't we glad Willie was in our lives?
Hulado
good question. i sure as hell am.
André Verhage
was?
Arthur Wild
And still is! And is still going strong!!❤️❤️
kaiju
@Arthur Wild thank Gawwwwd😮💨💨🍃
Black Wolf
👍👍💯💯⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
infanator GAMING
this is sooper cool. nice job . I like pistol packin mama.
EpicTacozCM
I need this in fallout