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.
Will You Remember Mine
Willie Nelson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And when you've heard all the songs of love will you remember mine
Gone are the times that I walked with you and held your hand in mine
Now when you hold another's hand will you remember mine
I have sat 'neath the trees while the cool summer breeze
Blew away the sands of time
Gone are the times when I held you close and pressed your lips to mine
Now when you kiss another's lips will you remember mine
I have sat neath the trees
while the cool summer breeze blew away the sands of time and thought of the times when the singer had the opportunity to hold the person they love closely and expressed their love physically. However, now the person they love has moved on and is with someone else, and the singer is left to wonder if they still hold a place in their heart. The lyrics paint a poignant picture of a love that has been lost, and the singer's desperate attempt to hold onto memories and question if those memories mean anything to the one they love.
The song, "Will You Remember Mine," is a melancholic ballad that was originally recorded by Willie Nelson in 1961. The song became one of his earliest hits and has since been covered by numerous artists over the years. The lyrics were written by Hank Cochran, who collaborated with Willie Nelson on many of his early recordings. The song has a simple melody that complements the lyrics and creates a feeling of nostalgia and longing.
Line by Line Meaning
Sweet is the song when the song is love love that has stood the test of time
Love that has lasted through the years produces the sweetest melodies in our hearts.
And when you've heard all the songs of love will you remember mine
After hearing many love songs, will my love still hold a special place in your heart?
Gone are the times that I walked with you and held your hand in mine
Those moments of walking hand in hand with you are not to be relived.
Now when you hold another's hand will you remember mine
When holding someone else's hand, I wonder if you will still remember the times you held mine.
I have sat 'neath the trees while the cool summer breeze blew away the sands of time
In a moment of solitude, I contemplate the fleeting nature of time and reminisce about our past together.
And thought of days when you were near remembering when you were mine
Thinking back to the days when we were together, I am transported to a time when you were mine.
Gone are the times when I held you close and pressed your lips to mine
Those moments of intimacy are no longer present in our lives.
Now when you kiss another's lips will you remember mine
When you are kissing someone else, I am left wondering if my kisses are still remembered.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lightlyoked Sands
Anyone here after watching her June'22 AGT golden buzzer performance? So beautiful!!
Jamie Gambrell
Yep, just watched it. What a voice
Edward Coss
Blown away. Willie can pick em.
Svenia Gibson
🤚 me
Ryne Vories
сладкий медвежонок thanks to her being on America’s Got Talent and people searching for her, this video has more views and attention. People are watching this video now for her. It’s that simple. Maybe silly people like you should approach more positively instead of the nonsense you’re spouting now if you really wanted Farm Aid to get support.
Audrey L
Yes. Had me in tears 😢 Her voice touches you
AVCStereo
Geez, just now came across this after viewing her on AGT from months ago! WOW! How'd we all miss out on this talent for so many YEARS!!!???????
Mark Johnson
She will be a star. She already is. Beautiful soul
TennesseeChic
Willie you voice is awesome & Lily Meola yours is incredible!
Laurie Lukes
Incredible ❤