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 Party's Over
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The party's over
They say that all
Good things must end
Call it a night
The party's over
And tomorrow starts
The same old thing again
What a crazy crazy party
Never seen so many people
Laughing dancing
Look at you, you're having fun
But look at me
I'm almost cryin'
But that don't keep her love from dyin'
Misery 'cause for me the party's over
Turn out the lights
The party's over
They say that all
Good things must end
Call it a night
The party's over
And tomorrow starts
The same old thing again
Once I had a love undyin'
I didn't keep it wouldn't try it
Life for me was just one party
And then another
I broke her heart so many times
I had to have my parting wife
Then one day she said
Sweetheart the party's over
Turn out the lights
The party's over
They say that all
Good things must end
Call it a night
The party's over
And tomorrow starts
The same old thing again
And tomorrow starts the same old thing again
In "The Party's Over," Willie Nelson sings about the end of a lively event that he seems to have enjoyed in the moment, but now feels regret as he watches others having fun. In the song, he emphasizes the importance of the people and activities we surround ourselves with to get us through life's highs and lows. He makes it clear that all good things must come to an end, and the moment we've enjoyed will soon be replaced by life's same old routine. He explains that he once had love that he didn't value and constantly indulged in partying and breaking hearts. However, when that love is lost, even the most fun-filled gatherings lose their luster, and the lights have to be put out.
The lyrics are melancholic, and Nelson's delivery reinforces the forlorn sense the song elicits. There's no question that "The Party's Over" is an anthem for people who have had certain moments in life that were so full of joy they could never be replicated or forgotten. However, even the happiest of times must come to an end, and we should cherish the memories but know when to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Turn out the lights
The good times are over, and it's time to go home. It's a metaphorical way of saying that the relationship is over and there's nothing to celebrate anymore.
The party's over
The good times are over, and it's time to part ways. In this song, the lyrics talk about a relationship that has come to an end.
They say that all
It's a common belief that all good things will eventually come to an end.
Good things must end
It's a sad truth that good things don't last forever. This line reflects that everything has an expiration date- be it relationships, happiness or other things.
Call it a night
It's time to go home now. It's an indication that the time for celebration has ended and it's time to move on.
And tomorrow starts
A new dawn is waiting, and it's time to bid farewell to the past and start anew.
The same old thing again
Although things may end, life goes on. The phrase means that life might get boring or monotonous without the good times, but one has to move on and embrace it.
What a crazy crazy party
The song portrays the irony that all things come to an end, no matter how wild and crazy the party may have been.
Never seen so many people
It's a reminiscence of the good times when people come together to have fun.
Laughing dancing
It's what people do when they're happy- dance and laugh in merriment.
Look at you, you're having fun
This line is an observation of how people can have fun and enjoy life together, but it also means that everything has an end.
But look at me
The lyrics shift to the perspective of the person who's not having fun.
I'm almost cryin'
The person is not happy and is almost crying.
But that don't keep her love from dyin'
Despite the person's unhappiness, it doesn't stop the other person from moving on and ending the relationship.
Misery 'cause for me the party's over
The end of the relationship brings misery to the person in question.
Once I had a love undyin'
The song then talks about the past when the person had undying love, but that too has come to an end.
I didn't keep it wouldn't try it
The person did not keep the love and did not try to keep the relationship going.
Life for me was just one party
The person's life was all about partying and having a good time till the relationship ended.
And then another
The pattern of partying continued with one relationship ending, and another starting.
I broke her heart so many times
The lyrics talk about how the person broke the other person's heart many times- signifying the mistakes they made that led to the end of their relationship.
I had to have my parting wife
After breaking up numerous times, the other person finally gave up, which led to a more permanent separation.
Then one day she said
The song then talks about the day the other person decided to end the relationship for good.
Sweetheart the party's over
The other person tells that the party is over- meaning the end of their relationship.
Lyrics © GLAD MUSIC CO.
Written by: Willie Nelson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@thomaspick4123
Willie is such a great song writer. I enjoy his words. His delivery is uncanny, what phrasing. Great voice. Such a range of material and different bands. My favorite is still Hello Walls. It is such a tender story.
@PabluchoViision
Can’t remember if it was Willie who told the story about Faron Young who had a huge hit with it and used to joke “Hello doormat, hello can opener, hello toilet”
@rosemaryjonston8529
Only one Willie Nelson.. you cannot mistake that voice.. I’ll never forget the first time I heard him sing.. Mr Record Man💕💕💕💕💕💕💕love this guy😊
@tboudreau5239
One of my all time Willie favs. Got him to sing it at a movie rap party in the 80s I asked he laughed and just started singing it. Gawd what a pro and sooooo nice
@danielmoore8894
Great song, great songwriter, great singer!
@t4texastomjohnnycat978
Bill Caputo
AND, don't forget, one HELL of a guitar picker.
@brucecratty
Written by Gene Watson, not Willie. One of very few songs that he didn't write!
@beekapoo252
@Bruce Cratty You are confusing this great Willie song with Gene's "Farewell Party" which pales in comparison to Bob Gibson's song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClswGf7mRw8
@anelladambrosio2513
@@brucecrattyciao Bruce!🙋😊😘💘🌅
@MichaelRHull-wy7wg
Remember this song so well as a kid. Sounds great today and would Love to see it re-covered again.