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.
The Hill Country Theme
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The hill country of Texas
The hill country
The country that I love
Where wild wings fly
Above the peaceful valleys
And the Pedernales
The hill country
The hill country of Texas
It knew my folks, my family
And my friends
The boy who rode his pony in the sunlight
The man who prayed at midnight
And gave him strength
To carry on again
And when the night falls
And when my God calls
Where wild wings fly
Above the peaceful valleys
And the Pedernales
Flows lazily beneath the Texas skies
And when the night falls
And when my God calls
Where wild wings fly
Above the peaceful valleys
And the Pedernales
Flows lazily beneath the Texas skies
Willie Nelson's The Hill Country Theme is an ode to the tranquility and beauty of the Texas Hill Country. The lyrics are a tribute to the land that he loves and the memories that it holds. The Texas Hill Country is an area of central Texas characterized by rolling hills, rural landscapes, and small towns. The opening lines of the song pay homage to the breathtaking views of the wild birds flying above the peaceful valleys, and the Pedernales River flowing lazily beneath the Texas skies. The song speaks about the profound connection of the artist to the land of his ancestors and how it has been a constant support system throughout his life.
In the second verse, the song speaks about the people who have lived in the Texas Hill Country. It speaks about the people who have made it their home, their sanctuary, and their inspiration. The lyrics highlight the life of the people who have been able to connect with the land and the harmony of the surroundings, the boy who rode his pony in the sunlight, and the man who prayed at midnight, and found the strength to carry on again.
The song goes on to speak of the comfort and solace that the land provides. It's a place where he feels close to his God, and where his spirit is free. The song speaks to the simplicity of the Texas Hill Country, where one can come to find peace and the strength to carry on.
Line by Line Meaning
The hill country
Referring to the geographic region of hills in Texas
The hill country of Texas
Specifically talking about the hill country in Texas
The hill country
Repeating the first line emphasizing the importance of the place/topic
The country that I love
Expressing love and affection for the hill country of Texas
Where wild wings fly
Referring to the wild birds flying above in the sky
Above the peaceful valleys
Describing the scenery where the birds are flying over calm, tranquil valleys
And the Pedernales
Referring to the Pedernales River which flows through Texas hill country
Flows lazily beneath the Texas skies
Describing the leisurely flow of the river under the vast stretch of Texas sky
The hill country
Reiterating the focus on the region talked about in the song
The hill country of Texas
Stating clearly the specific region and state referred to in this song
It knew my folks, my family
The region is personified as if it has memories of Nelson's loved ones who lived there
And my friends
The place was also familiar with Nelson's friends who lived there
The boy who rode his pony in the sunlight
Talking about a young boy who rode his horse around in the daylight
The man who prayed at midnight
This line mentions a man who prayed late at night
And gave him strength
That his prayers gave the man strength
To carry on again
So the man can continue with his struggles and daily life
And when the night falls
Talking about when the night comes and it gets dark
And when my God calls
Nelson talking about when he hears his God calling him
Where wild wings fly
Repeating the line about wild birds flying over the hills
Above the peaceful valleys
Reiterating the image of peaceful valleys lying beneath the sky
And the Pedernales
Again mentioning the river which runs through the hill country
Flows lazily beneath the Texas skies
Using the same line to emphasize the same image
And when the night falls
Repeating the line to indicate the end of the day
And when my God calls
Repeating the line but with the same meaning: when Nelson hears his God calling him
Where wild wings fly
Reiterating the image of birds flying over the calm valleys
Above the peaceful valleys
Again emphasizing the tranquility of the valleys beneath the open sky
And the Pedernales
Once again mentioning the river that snakes through the hills
Flows lazily beneath the Texas skies
Using the same words to convey the same image
Contributed by Ruby S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Johnnie R. Johnson
The Hill Country will always be a part of my life even though I've lived in Seattle most of my life. My Mom was born in Bandera County and still have alot of Family there. It's been 30+ years since I've been home and I miss and think of Texas daily. I hope that someday I will come back home before the good Lord calls me to his table. I found the "Texas In My Soul" album in a small record store in Seattle when I was around 13 and couldn't wait to get it home to play for my Mom. She started crying when she heard "The Hill Country Theme" and I asked her if she was OK and she told me it reminded her of home. This was my Mom's favorite song on the Album and mine.
Leslie Aldred Lambert
Beautiful video! I feel lucky to call the hill country home!!
Howard James
God blessed the Hill Country.
Long live Bandera and Kerrville.
Grover Barham
Howard James Gig 'Em
cameraman655
Never knew there were lyrics to this, always thought it was an instrumental.
Naomi W
Lovely. My brother, husband and I listened when he visited on February 3, 2012.
DrOlds7298
On Earth,as it is in TEXAS!
James Tepera
I saw willie in '97 and he was old then
Tisatio
Nice song, nice video, Waldo. And I will try to get a willie nice day.:d Hug
ItsWaldo (Walter Brinkman)
@lesliealdred Thanks Leslie.....you're welcome :-)