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.
What Was It You Wanted
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me again so I'll know
What's happening in there
What's going on in your show?
What was it you wanted
Could you say it again?
I'll be back in a minute
You can get it together by then
You can tell me, I'm back
We can start it all over
Get it back on the track
You got my attention
Go ahead, speak
What was it you wanted
When you were kissing my cheek?
Was there somebody looking
When you give me that kiss
Someone there in the shadows
Someone that I might have missed?
Is there something you needed
Something I don't understand?
What was it you wanted
Do I have it here in my hand?
Whatever you wanted
Slipped out of my mind
Would you remind me again
If you'd be so kind?
Has the record been breaking
Did the needle just skip?
Is there somebody waitin'
Was there a slip of the lip?
What was it you wanted?
I ain't keepin' score
Are you the same person
That was here before?
Is it something important?
Maybe not
What was it you wanted?
Tell me again, I forgot
Whatever you wanted
What could it be?
Did somebody tell you
That you could get it from me?
Is it something that comes natural?
Is it easy to say?
Why do you want it?
Who are you anyway?
Is the scenery changing?
Am I getting it wrong?
Is the whole thing going backwards?
Are they playing our song?
Where were you when it started?
Do you want it for free?
What was it you wanted?
Are you talking to me?
The lyrics to Willie Nelson’s song “What Was It You Wanted” seem to address someone the singer knows well, who has asked for something but hasn’t been very clear about what it is that they actually want. The singer is telling this person to repeat themselves, to explain exactly what they need or want, and to get the singer back on the same page. The repetition of “What was it you wanted?” throughout the song underscores the frustration and confusion of the singer, who is struggling to understand and help.
The lyrics contain questions and references to something that has just happened between the two people, including a kiss, possible secretive behavior, and a slipped word or phrase. The singer is trying to connect with the listener but is struggling to understand the situation. By asking questions and probing for information, the singer is trying to understand the circumstances and the other person’s desires, even though they might not be articulated clearly.
Overall, the song suggests the importance of communication in relationships and the frustration and confusion that can arise when people are unclear or reticent about their intentions.
Line by Line Meaning
What was it you wanted?
Willie Nelson asks the person what they wanted to communicate with him about.
Tell me again so I'll know
Willie requests the person to repeat what they wanted to communicate to him so that he can understand better.
What's happening in there
Willie asks the person to disclose what's going on in their head or what they are feeling at the moment.
What's going on in your show?
Willie asks if there is something happening in the person's life that he should be aware of.
Could you say it again?
Willie asks the person to repeat what they want to communicate to him so that he does not miss anything.
I'll be back in a minute
Willie informs the person that he will be away for a short period before coming back.
You can get it together by then
Willie gives the person time to organize their thoughts and come up with their message while he is away.
You can tell me, I'm back
Willie informs the person that he has returned and is ready to listen to what they want to communicate.
We can start it all over
Willie suggests that they can start afresh if the person has not been able to convey their message effectively.
Get it back on the track
Willie suggests that they can make things right by communicating effectively.
You got my attention
Willie lets the person know that he is paying attention to what they have to say.
Go ahead, speak
Willie gives the person the go-ahead to speak their mind.
When you were kissing my cheek?
Willie questions the motives behind the person's friendly gestures towards him.
Was there somebody looking
Willie asks if someone else saw the person kissing his cheek.
Someone there in the shadows
Willie speculates if someone else was present but not visible while the person was expressing their affection.
Something I don't understand?
Willie questions if there is something about the person's actions that he is missing or does not comprehend.
Do I have it here in my hand?
Willie questions whether he possesses something that the person needs or wants.
Slipped out of my mind
Willie admits that he forgot the message due to his inability to retain the information.
Would you remind me again
Willie asks the person to repeat their message once more so that he can remember it.
Are you the same person that was here before?
Willie asks if the person who approached him is the same person he met before.
Is it something important?
Willie wonders if the message is significant or has any value to him.
Maybe not
Willie acknowledges that the message may not be important after all.
What could it be?
Willie is curious about what the message might be and is open to hearing it.
Who are you anyway?
Willie is puzzled about the person's identity and their motives for communicating with him.
Do you want it for free?
Willie asks if the person expects something in return for communicating with him.
Are you talking to me?
Willie confirms that the message is directed towards him.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind