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 Maker
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Black and cold like the night
I stand with arms wide open,
I've run a twisted line
I'm a stranger in the eyes of the Maker
I could not see for the fog in my eyes
I could not feel for the fear in my life
In the distance I saw a light
Saw Jean Baptiste's walking to me with the Maker
My body is bent and broken
By long and dangerous sleep
I can't work the fields of Abraham and turn my head away
I'm not stranger in the hands of the Maker
Brother John, have you seen the homeless daughters
Standing there with broken wings
I have seen the flaming swords
There over east of eden
Burning in the eyes of the Maker
Burning in the eyes of the Maker
Burning in the eyes of the Maker
Oh, river rise from your sleep
The song "The Maker" by Willie Nelson contains powerful religious imagery and themes, with Nelson expressing his feelings of being a stranger in the eyes of the divine. The opening lines describe the deep waters as black and cold as the night, and Nelson's posture as standing with open arms while running a twisted line. He presents himself as a stranger to the Maker, emphasizing his sense of displacement and vulnerability. The fog in his eyes and the fear in his life make it difficult for him to see or feel anything. However, across the great divide, he sees a light and Jean Baptiste walking towards him, representing hope and a potential connection to the Maker.
Nelson then sings about his body being bent and broken after a long and dangerous sleep, preventing him from working the fields of Abraham. He acknowledges that he cannot turn his head away from the Maker, signifying his faith and acceptance of a divine presence. Nelson also references Brother John and the homeless daughters with broken wings, evoking compassion and concern for the vulnerable and marginalized. He then alludes to the flaming swords over east of Eden, which could be interpreted as a biblical reference to expulsion from paradise or a metaphor for the destructive forces that threaten to undo the world. In any case, the Maker is depicted as having burning eyes, suggesting either wrath or intense passion.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, oh deep water,
The beginning of a journey that presents a challenge.
Black and cold like the night
The obstacles ahead of the journey are intense and suffocating.
I stand with arms wide open,
Courageously and willingly taking on the challenges.
I've run a twisted line
Past difficulties were overcome through morally ambiguous tactics.
I'm a stranger in the eyes of the Maker
The mistakes of the past have estranged the artist from the higher power.
I could not see for the fog in my eyes
The singer is feeling lost both physically and mentally.
I could not feel for the fear in my life
Anxiety and doubt is crippling to the singer's progress.
And from across the great divide,
Despite feeling distant from the higher power, there are still glimmers of hope and guidance.
In the distance I saw a light
A symbol of hope and new beginnings that will guide the artist to redemption.
Saw Jean Baptiste's walking to me with the Maker
Jean Baptiste is seen as a manifestation of the Maker and potentially a guide towards salvation.
My body is bent and broken
The physical toll of past actions has left the singer feeling beaten down.
By long and dangerous sleep
The artist's past actions have created a negative cycle that feels inescapable.
I can't work the fields of Abraham and turn my head away
The singer cannot ignore the consequences of past actions and must face them head on.
I'm not stranger in the hands of the Maker
While the singer may feel estranged from the higher power, it is still possible to reach redemption with their help.
Brother John, have you seen the homeless daughters
A call for compassion towards those who are vulnerable and in need.
Standing there with broken wings
The artist sees those in need as having been hurt and broken.
I have seen the flaming swords
The obstacles in the way towards redemption are intense and fierce.
There over east of eden
A reference to the biblical Eden, implying that redemption comes after accepting responsibility for one's actions.
Burning in the eyes of the Maker
The higher power sees everything, and it is possible to be judged for past actions.
Burning in the eyes of the Maker
Emphasizing the judgement that comes with redemption.
Burning in the eyes of the Maker
Repeating the idea that the higher power sees everything, highlighting the importance of accountability.
Oh, river rise from your sleep
Asking for a new beginning that can only come from the higher power.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: DANIEL LANOIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind