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.
Suffering in Silence
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your problem is clear now to me.
You think that the whole world's against you,
An' you tell everyone that you see.
Just suffer in silence, speak no bitter words.
The world offers no sympathy.
Though trouble surrounds you, an' you long to be heard,
I'll give you a lesson in living,
And I hope it stays with you a while.
You're the reason for all of your sorrows,
So just suffer in silence, and smile.
Just suffer in silence, speak no bitter words.
The world offers no sympathy.
Though trouble surrounds you, an' you long to be heard,
Just suffer in silence, like me.
The lyrics of the song "Suffering in Silence" by Willie Nelson talks about the idea of keeping one's pain and struggles to oneself instead of airing them out to the world. The singer of the song is telling a stranger that he understands that the stranger believes that the whole world is against him, and he tells everyone about it. However, the singer advises the stranger to suffer in silence, to speak no bitter words because the world offers no sympathy. He also informs the stranger that he is the reason for all of his sorrows, and if he wants to live a happier life, he should suffer in silence and smile.
The song is an insightful commentary on the nature of human suffering and the benefits of inner strength. It highlights that the world can be a cruel place, and sometimes, it may seem like no one is on our side. However, we need to understand that we are the architects of our happiness, and not external factors. The song encourages us to take control of our lives and find the inner strength we need to overcome challenges. Instead of expressing our pain to others, the song suggests that it is better to suffer in silence, smile, and take control of our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
I think I should speak to you, stranger.
I feel compelled to offer you advice.
Your problem is clear now to me.
I understand your situation.
You think that the whole world's against you,
You believe that everyone is working against you,
An' you tell everyone that you see.
And you vent your frustrations to anyone who will listen.
Just suffer in silence, speak no bitter words.
It's better to keep your troubles to yourself than to spread negativity.
The world offers no sympathy.
No one else is going to stop and care about your problems.
Though trouble surrounds you, an' you long to be heard,
Even though you feel overwhelmed and unheard,
Just suffer in silence, like me.
It's best to quietly endure hardship and not complain.
I'll give you a lesson in living,
Let me give you some advice on how to handle life.
And I hope it stays with you a while.
I hope my words will stick with you.
You're the reason for all of your sorrows,
Your actions and attitude are causing your problems.
So just suffer in silence, and smile.
Therefore, it's best to keep and optimistic attitude and endure quietly.
Just suffer in silence, speak no bitter words.
Once again, it's better to keep negative thoughts to oneself.
The world offers no sympathy.
No one else is going to feel compassion for you.
Though trouble surrounds you, an' you long to be heard,
Even though you feel burdened and unheard,
Just suffer in silence, like me.
It's still best to remain silent and endure.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Deborah Blades
JUST BEAUTIFUL SINGING
Billie Godfrey
my mama and daddy use to sing this and other old country songs to us while riding around in the car on sundays or when we went to fla to see my mamas sisters... Oh how i miss my mama an daddy and these old songs and good time...
Steve Charlemagne
2019 I'm still suffering in silence
Richard Carew
thanks for sharing this one...
walk in Beauty the Navajo say
ya aát eéh
all is well
Richard Carew
still suffering.. not quietly either..
l really hate being sick.. passing kidney stones is not actually being sick... so I hurt like hell for hours and hours.. then I'm fine... this particular brand of hell has been going on for a year... two years of other forms before that.. but I believe it is almost over... the very worst thing about all the pain of kidney stones is
. you know it's not fatal.. it just keeps going on and on... the very best thing.. for me is I have a much better understanding of what... forever ♾️ really means
TheNuklearMoose
which version is this? this isnt the one that is on my first pressing vinyl!
Ted Hobbs
Can't answer your question , but I believe4 this is the original version -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDnEa8sgGCw