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.
Time of the Preacher
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Though he tried and tried and tried
And the halls of his mem'ry
Still echoed her lies
And he cried like a baby
And he screamed like a panther
In the middle of the night
And he went for a ride
It was a time of the preacher
In the year of O-one
Now the lesson is over
And the killin's begun
The above lyrics are from Willie Nelson's song Time of the Preacher Theme. The song tells the story of a man who cannot forgive a woman for lying to him, and how he is unable to let go of his anger and pain. The lines "But he could not forgive her / Though he tried and tried and tried / And the halls of his mem'ry / Still echoed her lies" portray the man's struggle to come to terms with the woman's betrayal, and the difficulty of moving on from it.
The chorus of the song, "And he cried like a baby / And he screamed like a panther / In the middle of the night / And he saddled his pony / And he went for a ride," describes the man's emotional turmoil and his need to escape from his problems. The line "It was a time of the preacher / In the year of O-one / Now the lesson is over / And the killin's begun" suggests that the man's inability to forgive has led him to violent action, and that his internal struggles have spilled over into the outside world.
Overall, Time of the Preacher Theme is a poignant and powerful song that explores themes of forgiveness, betrayal, and the consequences of holding onto anger and resentment.
Line by Line Meaning
But he could not forgive her
He was unable to forgive her despite his efforts.
Though he tried and tried and tried
He attempted to forgive her repeatedly.
And the halls of his mem'ry
His mind was consumed by memories of her.
Still echoed her lies
The deceit she had inflicted upon him remained pervasive in his memories.
And he cried like a baby
Intense emotional distress led him to cry uncontrollably.
And he screamed like a panther
He roared with pain and anger like a wild animal.
In the middle of the night
This emotional turmoil happened during the darkness of night.
And he saddled his pony
He prepared to ride away on his horse in search of solace.
And he went for a ride
He rode away with the intent of escaping his emotional pain.
It was a time of the preacher
A period when religious sermons held special importance.
In the year of O-one
The year 2001.
Now the lesson is over
Whatever teachings that were imparted during the time they spent together has come to an end.
And the killin's begun
The situation has now escalated to violence and deadly confrontations.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Larry Sweeet
My first Willie album purchased and probably one of Country music’s best. Still a fan to this day ❤ Willie. GingerS
Jake Hudson
You can’t hear Willie’s voice and not love it! He is indeed one of a kind !
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Jakob Baker
Instant goosebumps. Legendary album.
Lila`s photos & videos
A great song I love Willie's powerful voice 🎤🎸
Carlos Alberto
Verdadeiro Hino...de amor,e,Liberdade..
Jake Hudson
Willie is indeed a terrific singer, you can’t hear him sing and not love him.
How long have you been a fan?
strakos66
Willi's songs always smelled of freedom. Every time I imagined myself wandering the west and meeting the first settlers. I hope to visit America one day.
Channel 10
This is one of my all time favourite CDs❤
Cynthia Stanley
Mine too!💖
Bob Fridell
Not a CD!! Vinyl record!!🇨🇱✌🏿