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.
Stormy Weather
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Since my gal and I ain't together keeps rainin' all the time
Life is bare gloom and misery everywhere stormy weather
Just can't get my poor self together I'm weary all the time all the time
When she went away the blues walked in and met me
If she stays away old rocking chair will get me
Can't go on everything I had is gone stormy weather
Since my gal and I ain't together keeps rainin' all the time
In Willie Nelson and Shelby Lynne's "Stormy Weather," the song's speaker laments the pain and misery he feels since his lover left him. He starts by acknowledging the dismal weather that reflects his mood, as the lack of sun embodies the darkness and emptiness he feels since the relationship's end. He then goes on to describe the desolation that has taken hold of his life, expressing his weariness and lack of motivation to do anything. His world is nothing but gloom and misery since his lover isn't there to share it with him. When she was there, things were brighter, and life felt complete, but since she left, he's been unable to pull himself out of his funk. He prays for her return and hopes he'll be able to walk in the sun, which represents happiness and joy, once again. If she doesn't come back to him, he fears he'll be stuck in pain and loneliness, living out his days in an old rocking chair.
Overall, the lyrics of "Stormy Weather" are a heartfelt representation of the emotional pain that comes with a broken heart. The rain and darkness of the weather perfectly embody the despair and sadness the singer feels, making it a potent symbol for the listener to relate to and empathize with.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky stormy weather
The sky is cloudy and dark, and the sun is hidden from sight. The reason for this condition of the sky is unknown, but it symbolizes the emotional state of the singer, who is feeling down and depressed.
Since my gal and I ain't together keeps rainin' all the time
The singer's separated from his lover, and this has led to a perpetual state of sadness and despair. The rain is a metaphor for this gloominess, which persists regardless of the time of day.
Life is bare gloom and misery everywhere stormy weather
The singer's life has become a bleak, sad reality that's slowly breaking his spirit. He's unable to find joy or happiness in anything, and this has left him in a state of misery and hopelessness.
Just can't get my poor self together I'm weary all the time all the time
The singer is struggling to keep himself composed and focused at all times. He's become very tired and exhausted from the effort of trying to hold himself together. This is a sign of his deep emotional turmoil.
When she went away the blues walked in and met me
The singer admits that his sorrow and sadness are a direct result of his lover leaving him. This has opened the door to the 'blues,' which represent his feelings of loneliness, rejection, and abandonment.
If she stays away old rocking chair will get me
The singer feels helpless and hopeless without his lover. He's afraid that this sadness will consume him entirely, leaving him trapped in a cycle of grief and loneliness, represented by the image of the old rocking chair.
All I do is pray the Lord above will let me walk in the sun once more
The singer is holding on to the hope that someday, things will get better. He's asking for divine intervention to bring light and sunshine back into his life. This shows his vulnerability and the depth of his despair.
Can't go on everything I had is gone stormy weather
The singer has lost everything that he used to hold dear. He's unable to move forward or make a fresh start. This phrase suggests that he's stuck in the past, and this is preventing him from seeing a brighter future.
Since my gal and I ain't together keeps rainin' all the time
The refrain repeats the central theme of the song. The singer's lover is absent, and this has caused an ongoing state of sadness and gloominess. The rain is still falling, symbolizing his continued emotional turmoil.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management, S.A. MUSIC
Written by: Harold Arlen, Ted Koheler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind