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.
To All The Girls i've Loved Before
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who traveled in and out my door
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the girls I've loved before
To all the girls I once caressed
And may I say, I've held the best
To all the girls I've loved before
The winds of change are always blowing
And every time I tried to stay
The winds of change continued blowing
And they just carried me a way
To all the girls who shared my life
Who now are someone else's wife
I'm glad they came along
I dedicate this song
To all the girls I've loved before
To all the girls who cared for me
Who filled my nights with ecstasy
They live within my heart
I'll always be a part
Of all the girls I've loved before
The winds of change are always blowing
And every time I tried to stay
The winds of change continued blowing
And they just carried me way
To all the girls we've loved before
Who traveled in and out our door
We're glad they came along
We dedicate this song
To all the girls we've loved before
To all the girls we've loved before
Who traveled in and out our doors
We're glad they came along
We dedicate this song
To all the girls we've loved, before
The song "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" is a heartfelt dedication to all of the women that the singer has loved in his life. The lyrics are reflective in nature, with the singer acknowledging that each relationship helped him to grow as a person. He expresses gratitude to all of the women who have shared his life and says that he will always hold a special place in his heart for each of them. The singer recognizes that the winds of change are always blowing and that sometimes relationships are not meant to last, but he still cherishes the memories of the time spent with these women.
Line by Line Meaning
To all the girls I've loved before
This song is dedicated to all the women the singer has loved in the past.
Who traveled in and out my door
These women came in and out of the singer's life.
I'm glad they came along
The singer is grateful for the presence of these women in his life.
I dedicate this song
The singer is dedicating this song to all the women he has loved.
To all the girls I once caressed
The singer is acknowledging that he has been intimate with these women.
And may I say, I've held the best
The singer feels that one or more of these women were the best he has ever been with.
For helping me to grow, I owe a lot, I know
The singer acknowledges that these women have helped him to become the man he is today, and is grateful for that.
The winds of change are always blowing
Life is constantly changing, and nothing stays the same forever.
And every time I tried to stay
The singer has tried to hold onto something, but has been unsuccessful due to the constant change.
And they just carried me away
The singer has been swept away by the changes in his life.
To all the girls who shared my life
These women were a part of the singer's life.
Who now are someone else's wife
These women are no longer with the singer, and are now married to someone else.
Who filled my nights with ecstasy
These women brought joy and pleasure to the singer's nights.
They live within my heart
The memories of these women remain with the singer.
I'll always be a part
The singer will always hold a special place in his heart for these women.
Of all the girls we've loved before
This song is not just about the singer's past loves, but about the collective loves shared by all of us.
We're glad they came along
We are grateful for the presence of these women in our lives.
To all the girls we've loved, before
This song is dedicated to all the women we have ever loved.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Albert Hammond, Hal David
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@viccaras3098
i only shared my life and my bed with one lady, my wife Shirley my entire life for 51 years. sadly she passed on May 19,2018 and i am now alone.....there will never be another lady to replace her!!
@lhdmadicto8677
Sorry. Best wishes, 😯👊.
@christinsri8432
I am so sorry.. But you are so cool Man.. 👍👍👍
@eire3215
Thats what you call true love💖...i hope the days are getting a bit easier for you, God Bless you.
@jwychau
That’s beautiful ..
@maxfrudd7666
God bless Sir..
@carolynadams5031
Who would even think that these 2 different men with entirely different voices could create such a beautiful duet. Definitely touches my heart.
@davidholton9667
How are you? So sorry for the infringe on your privacy. Beautiful song. How are you?
@davidholton9667
@Montañero Paisa I’m doing pretty good thanks. Nice to hear from you. Where are you from?
@davidholton9667
@Montañero Paisa I live in Mansfield Texas. How’s your city handling the pandemic over there?