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.
She's Not for You
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She only wants to play
She's not for you
She's not for you
And I'm the only one
Who would let her act this way
She's not for you
She's not for you
So she told you she found
Heaven in your eyes
Well I think it only fair
To warn you
Sometimes she lies
But it's your heart
I can't tell you
What to do
But she's not for you
She's not for you
She just looks for
Greener pastures now and then
And when she grows tired
She knows Old Faithful
Will just take her back again
So just leave her here
I'm used to feeling blue
She's not for you
She's not for you
The lyrics of Willie Nelson's song She's Not for You speak about a woman who is not a suitable partner for the singer’s love interest. The singer asks his love interest to pay no mind to the woman because she’s only interested in playing around and not a serious commitment. He warns his love interest to be mindful of her lies when she says that she found heaven in his eyes. The singer acknowledges that he can’t tell his love interest what to do but says that the woman is not the right partner for him.
The song portrays the singer as a friend giving advice to his love interest to look out for himself. He explains that the woman is someone who looks for better prospects and returns to her old partners when she encounters setbacks. The singer’s sorrowful tone reveals his distress about his friend's vulnerability to the woman's advances, but he cannot do anything about it.
In summary, the song talks about the importance of choosing a suitable partner and warns against being misled by a deceptive woman.
Line by Line Meaning
Pay no mind to her
Ignore her behavior and actions
She only wants to play
She is not looking for a serious relationship but just wants to have fun
She's not for you
She is not compatible with the listener
And I'm the only one
The artist is the only one that allows her to behave the way she does
Who would let her act this way
The artist is responsible for her actions and behavior
So she told you she found
She told the listener that she had found
Heaven in your eyes
She saw something special in the listener that made her feel blissful
Well I think it only fair
The artist believes it is only reasonable and just
To warn you
To alert the listener of the truth
Sometimes she lies
The woman is known to not always tell the truth
But it's your heart
The choice is up to the listener and what they feel emotionally
I can't tell you
The artist can't dictate the decision of the listener
What to do
The listener must make their own choice regarding the woman
She just looks for
She always searches for
Greener pastures now and then
Better opportunities come up frequently for her
And when she grows tired
When she gets bored with her current situation
She knows Old Faithful
She is aware that the listener will always take her back
Will just take her back again
The listener will always forgive her and welcome her back no matter what she does
So just leave her here
The listener is advised to leave the woman and not get involved
I'm used to feeling blue
The artist is accustomed to feeling sad or depressed
She's not for you
The woman is not the right match for the listener
She's not for you
The woman is not compatible with the listener
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Donna Carlson
I never tire from listening to Willie 😊😊❤❤
Willie Nelson
Thank you so much for the unwavering love and support. Indeed you are a true fan. You can write me on willienelson426@gmail.com
Willie Nelson
Thank you so much for the unwavering love and support. Indeed you are a true fan. You can write me on willienelson426@gmail.com
David Preston
Hello Donna, how're you doing, I hope you are doing fine. I'm David from Houston, Texas. Where are you from? You seems like a real Country girl😊🌹
Mary Jane
Hi
Roxanna Erhard
💜💖
Larry Sweeet
Will never stop listening to Willie,one of the greatest! Ginger S
Cori R
My main man Willy... this music is timeless and relevant today
The Duckling Homestead and Gardens
I was born in '71...I began recognizing singer's names and voices to their songs in '80 as we had been off grid for a several years before '80, so we were out of the loop on entertainment during that time, But I remember putting the name to the song and it being Willie. I remember just plain as day the recognition, and just loving his voice and his songs. I asked for a Willie cassette for Christmas that year!!!!!!
I still love his music and will until I die. I might have to have them play this at my funeral...LOL!!!
Sharilynne Crocker
You're still looking good, willy. I've always loved your music.