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.
Truck Drivin' Man
Willie Nelson Lyrics
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A little place called Hamburger Dan
I heard that old jukebox started playin'
THe song about a 'Truck Drivin' Man'
Well the waitress then brought me some coffee
And I thanked her and called her again
I said, "That old song there sure does fit me
So pour me another cup of coffee
For it is the best in the land
And put another nickel in the jukebox
And play that 'Truck Drivin' Man'
And I climbed back aboard my old semi
Again like a flash I was gone
I heard them old truck wheels start rollin'
I'm on my way down to San Antone
Oh so, pour me another cup of coffee
For it is the best in the land
And put another nickel in the jukebox
We gonna play a little 'Truck Drivin' Man'
Almost play that 'Truck Drivin' Man'
Come on and play that 'Truck Drivin' Man'
The lyrics of Willie Nelson's "Truck Drivin' Man" tell the story of a trucker who stops at a roadhouse called Hamburger Dan somewhere in Texas. As he sits and drinks his coffee, he hears an old jukebox playing a song about a truck driving man. The song speaks to him and he realizes that it could be about him because he too is a truck driving man. He asks the waitress for another cup of coffee as he listens to the song and reflects on his own life as a trucker. When the song is over, he heads back to his truck and continues his journey down to San Antone.
The lyrics of the song are simple yet reflective of the life of truckers who spend most of their time on the road. The loneliness and isolation of the trucker's life are captured in the way the song's protagonist finds comfort in the song and the road. The song also highlights the camaraderie that exists among truckers as they share a love for the open road and the truck driving lifestyle.
The song "Truck Drivin' Man" was written by songwriters Terry Fell and Jimmy Martin and was recorded by several artists, including Ferlin Husky, Buck Owens, and Glen Campbell, before being made famous by Willie Nelson. The song's popularity among truckers prompted the creation of a sub-genre of country music known as "trucker country" in the 1960s and 1970s. The song has been covered by numerous artists over the years and remains a favorite among truckers and country music fans alike.
Line by Line Meaning
I stopped at a roadhouse in Texas
I took a break at a place called Hamburger Dan's
A little place called Hamburger Dan
A small, humble establishment that serves food and drinks
I heard that old jukebox started playin'
I noticed the classic jukebox activate and start to play tunes
The song about a 'Truck Drivin' Man'
It was playing the country ballad that tells the tale of a truck driving man
Well the waitress then brought me some coffee
A server came with coffee, and I thanked them for their service.
And I thanked her and called her again
I was courteous and polite in my dealings with the server.
I said, 'That old song there sure does fit me
I commented on how well the lyrics of the song aligned with my life as a truck driver.
'Cause I'm a truck drivin' man'
I identified myself as a person who makes a living driving trucks.
So pour me another cup of coffee
I requested another serving of coffee.
For it is the best in the land
I was complimentary of the quality and flavor of the coffee.
And put another nickel in the jukebox
I asked for someone to drop a coin into the jukebox's slot.
And play that 'Truck Drivin' Man'
I requested that the same song be played again.
And I climbed back aboard my old semi
I returned to my trusty, familiar truck.
Again like a flash I was gone
I left quickly, like a bolt of lightning.
I heard them old truck wheels start rollin'
I listened to the sound of my vehicle's wheels as I started to move again.
I'm on my way down to San Antone
I was en route to San Antonio, Texas.
Oh so, pour me another cup of coffee
Once again, I requested a refill of my coffee cup.
We gonna play a little 'Truck Drivin' Man'
I asked that the song 'Truck Drivin' Man' be played once more.
Almost play that 'Truck Drivin' Man'
I was eager to hear the song again.
Come on and play that 'Truck Drivin' Man'
I repeated my desire to hear the song once again, urging the person in charge to play it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TERRY FELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind