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.
Seaman's Blues
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Riding on a tanker, feeling mighty low
My good gal's behind me, no loving for so long
I'm going back to Texas, for that's where I belong
Nights are so lonely on the ocean
To much time to dream of yesterday
If only I could carry out my notion
I'm on my way to Italy from the Gulf of Mexico
Riding on a tanker, feeling mighty low
My good gal's behind me, no loving for so long
I'm going back to Texas, for that's where I belong
I never thought when I was leaving
I could get so blue out on the sea
But I'll bet you after all this grieving
It's that good old Texas soil for me
And I'm on my way to Italy from the Gulf of Mexico
Riding on a tanker, feeling mighty low
My good gal's behind me, no loving for so long
I'm going back to Texas, for that's where I belong
The song "Seaman's Blues" by Willie Nelson is a heartfelt tune that tells the story of a seaman who is feeling lonely and nostalgic for his home state of Texas. The seaman is on his way to Italy from the Gulf of Mexico and is riding on a tanker, feeling incredibly low. His good gal is behind him and they have not had any affectionate moments for quite some time. The seaman is yearning to return home to Texas where he believes he belongs.
The lyrics of the song evoke a sense of longing, loneliness, and homesickness that the seaman is feeling while on board the tanker. The nights are portrayed as being particularly lonely and he spends most of his time dreaming of yesterday, wishing he could somehow make his way back to Texas as soon as possible. He never expected to feel so blue while he was out at sea, but he knows that there is nothing better than the soil of his home state to heal his broken heart.
The song is a beautiful and poignant reminder that home is where the heart is and no matter where life takes us, there is nothing quite like the comfort of being in a familiar place surrounded by the people we love. Willie Nelson's "Seaman's Blues" reminds us to cherish our homes and the people who make them complete.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm on my way to Italy from the Gulf of Mexico
I am currently traveling to Italy from the Gulf of Mexico.
Riding on a tanker, feeling mighty low
I am currently riding on a tanker and feeling extremely unhappy or depressed.
My good gal's behind me, no loving for so long
My significant other is not with me, and it has been a long time since we have shown affection to each other.
I'm going back to Texas, for that's where I belong
I intend to return to Texas because it is my true home and where I feel I belong.
Nights are so lonely on the ocean
The nights at sea are incredibly isolated and despairing.
To much time to dream of yesterday
I have an excessive amount of time to recall past experiences and dwell on them.
If only I could carry out my notion
I wish I had the opportunity to execute my idea or plan.
And hit the trail for Texas right away
And immediately begin my journey back to Texas.
I never thought when I was leaving
When I left, I did not expect this outcome or feeling.
I could get so blue out on the sea
I did not anticipate feeling such an intense sadness while at sea.
But I'll bet you after all this grieving
However, I am optimistic that after grieving and reflecting, I will feel better.
It's that good old Texas soil for me
Ultimately, the familiarity and comfort of Texas soil will be the solution to my current unhappiness at sea.
And I'm on my way to Italy from the Gulf of Mexico
I am still traveling to Italy from the Gulf of Mexico on this ship.
Riding on a tanker, feeling mighty low
However, I am continuing to feel down while traveling on this tanker.
My good gal's behind me, no loving for so long
Unfortunately, my significant other is still absent, and we have gone a long time without expressing our love for each other.
I'm going back to Texas, for that's where I belong
Despite my current circumstance, my goal and desire remain to return to Texas where I feel I belong.
Lyrics © ERNEST TUBB MUSIC, INC.
Written by: ERNEST TUBB, TALMADGE TUBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Skelet3n
Only 900 views for this song? This album is a masterpiece. I love it so much.
Paul Kosares
My favorite Willy Nelson album. I'm sure T Bone had something to do with that. Willy sounds great.
Jim Malcolm
Amen mysteryjesus Amen