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.
Talk To Me
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm lonesome and oh, how I feel
As I sit here alone in my cabin
I can see your mansion on the hill
Do you recall when we parted?
The story to me you revealed
You said you could live without love, dear
I've waited all through the years, love
To give you a heart true and real
'Cause I know that you're living in sorrow
In your loveless mansion on the hill
The light shines bright from your window
And the trees stand so silent and still
I know you're alone with your pride, dear
In your loveless mansion on the hill
In your loveless mansion on the hill
Willie Nelson's song "Talk to Me" tells the story of a person who is lonesome and yearning for love while observing their former partner's luxurious life from afar. The first verse sets the scene of the valley and the cabin where the singer is sitting alone. They can see their former lover's mansion on the hill, emphasizing the contrast between their current living situations.
The second verse is a flashback to the last conversation the singer had with their former lover before they parted ways. The lover expressed that they could live without love and seemed content with their loveless mansion on the hill, despite the singer's hesitations. However, the singer has spent years waiting for an opportunity to give their ex a true and real heart, knowing they are living in sorrow in their loveless mansion on the hill.
The final verse describes the mansion in the night, with a bright shining light coming from the window and the trees standing still while the former lover treasures their pride over finding love. The singer does not denounce the mansion or the luxury, but only highlights the emptiness of a life without love.
In essence, the song is a plea for the former lover to talk to the singer and let them into their life once again so they can provide the love and connection the former lover needs. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the empty luxury that great material wealth can bring without companionship.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonight, down here in the valley
Right now, in this low-lying area
I'm lonesome and oh, how I feel
I'm lonely and it's overwhelming
As I sit here alone in my cabin
While I'm by myself in my small dwelling
I can see your mansion on the hill
I can view your large luxurious house from here
Do you recall when we parted?
Do you remember when we last separated?
The story to me you revealed
You shared with me your account
You said you could live without love, dear
You claimed you didn't need love, my darling
In your loveless mansion on the hill
Despite living in a grand estate, you lack romantic love
I've waited all through the years, love
I've been patient all these years, my love
To give you a heart true and real
To present you with a genuine caring spirit
'Cause I know that you're living in sorrow
Because I'm aware that you're dwelling in sadness
In your loveless mansion on the hill
Even though you live in an opulent mansion, you're missing out on affection
The light shines bright from your window
The illumination from your window is intense
And the trees stand so silent and still
The trees are standing motionless and quiet
I know you're alone with your pride, dear
I'm certain you're on your own with your self-importance, my love
In your loveless mansion on the hill
Within your stunning mansion on this hill, you're lacking romantic love
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAMES IV N ASHHURST, STEVEN L N DACANAY, MARTIN H FREDERIKSEN, XAVIER K N MURIEL, KEITH EDWARD N NELSON, JOSHUA LEROY N TODD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert Richard
I Love this song, thank you for posting it!!!!
BeMisty
Love it too, Robert! You're welcome! 😊
Tim Williams
Whats ya phone #?...and I will talk to ya!...😂😂😂...jk ya...nice choice good song gal as usual..👍
BeMisty
Thanks! Have great Weekend 😊
s.t. slone
bemisty that is a very nice song..
s.t. slone
U sparked a song.. ha
MrPetoffi
Not sure if you have the box set if you do could you post he sites at my table
BeMisty
I've uploaded it for you!