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.
Seven Spanish Angels
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And said "say a prayer for me"
She threw her arms around him
Whispered, "God will keep us free"
They could hear the riders comin'
He said, "this is my last fight
If they take me back to Texas
They won't take me back alive"
There were seven Spanish angels
At the altar of the sun
They were prayin' for the lovers
In the valley of the gun
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels
Took another angel home
She reached down and picked the gun up
That lay smokin' in his hand
She said, "Father, please forgive me
I can't make it without my man"
And she knew the gun was empty
And she knew she couldn't win
But her final prayer was answered
When the rifles fired again
There were seven Spanish angels
At the altar of the sun
They were prayin' for the lovers
In the valley of the gun
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels
Took another angel home
There were seven Spanish angels
At the altar of the sun
They were prayin' for the lovers
In the valley of the gun
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels
Took another angel home
There were seven Spanish angels
At the altar of the sun
They were prayin' for the lovers
In the valley of the gun
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
There was thunder from the throne
And seven Spanish angels
Took another angel home
"Seven Spanish Angels" is a song about two lovers who are caught in the middle of a gunfight. The man knows that he is likely to be killed, so he asks the woman to say a prayer for him. She promises that God will keep them free. As the sound of approaching riders grows louder, the man knows that this is his last fight, and he vows not to be taken back to Texas alive.
Seven Spanish angels are then introduced, who are at the altar of the sun praying for the lovers who are caught in the valley of the gun. When the battle ends, there is thunder, and the seven Spanish angels take one of the lovers, an angel, home. The woman then picks up the dead man's gun and prays for forgiveness before being killed by gunfire. The song tells a story of love, courage, and tragedy, with fantastical elements of the seven Spanish angels.
The lyrics' interpretation likely contains religious, moral, and cultural allegories that add a level of complexity to the story. The seven angels' presence implies that the lovers are not alone, and that they are being watched over by a higher power. The use of the weapon by the woman, which is later revealed to be unloaded, embodies her desire to join her lover and reunite with him. The song offers a glimpse into the eternal battle between good and evil.
Line by Line Meaning
He looked down into her brown eyes
He gazed into her eyes deeply
And said 'say a prayer for me'
He requested her to pray for him
She threw her arms around him
She hugged him tightly
Whispered, 'God will keep us free'
She whispered that God will help them stay free
They could hear the riders comin'
They could hear the approaching riders
He said, 'this is my last fight'
He said that this is his final battle
If they take me back to Texas
If they take him back to Texas
They won't take me back alive'
He believes that he won't return alive
There were seven Spanish angels
There were seven angels who were Spanish
At the altar of the sun
They were at the altar of the sun
They were prayin' for the lovers
They were praying for the couple
In the valley of the gun
In the gunfight area
When the battle stopped and the smoke cleared
When the fight ended and the smoke dissipated
There was thunder from the throne
There was an ominous sound from above
And seven Spanish angels
And those seven Spanish angels
Took another angel home
Carried another angel to Heaven
She reached down and picked the gun up
She bent over and picked the gun which was lying down
That lay smokin' in his hand
The gun which was hot and smoke was coming from his hand
She said, 'Father, please forgive me'
She asked for forgiveness from God
I can't make it without my man
She can't live without her lover
And she knew the gun was empty
She knew that the gun had no rounds left
And she knew she couldn't win
She knew that she can't win the fight
But her final prayer was answered
Her last wish was fulfilled
When the rifles fired again
When the guns were fired again
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Eddie F. Setser, Troy Harold Seals
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@herbertstrunkiii876
This is THE most underrated song for both Ray Charles and Willie Nelson. Their talents blended perfectly.
@dwaterson21
Id have to give the "Most Underrated Willie Nelson Song" distinction to "The Great Divide" but this is my favorite from him. It's incredible.
@koldaussie
It also puts me into tears at times. Ah, Granddad Whyatt, I miss you, you damned best Grazier in Australia at your prime... well my opinion, none of them were as cool and had good access to Japanese markets in the 80's. Us grandkids loved you tonnes. You won't be chasing the devil's herd across the sky wherever you be, you'll be teaching them how to do it properly so the damned cattle don't escape in the first place.
@soposh5673
lol
@BradyAlley
Ah yes, the "UNDERRATED" song with 100 million views lol
@kellyjodesigns
Incredible!!
@alexshmurak96
This is just great! Black and white in harmony. Nothing better. We are brothers and sisters in this country.
@sunderwood9321
As long as I’ve been alive,we have been and are! My grandma will sit your butt down quick if you’re misbehaving when your parents aren’t around just like your grandma did to me! Don’t let them tell one of your aunts ❤
@user-bk4kc9mr4q
Yes, indeed, we are.❤
@nicrob80
This has absolutely nothing to do with black and white. This is about 2 amazing artists collaborating to make an awesome song! Why does everyone have to make it about race.. who gives a crap what color they are