Willie Nelson: Willie Nelson: National Treasure, World Class Composer/Musician/Singer, Iconoclast, Weed Lover

Willie Nelson: National Treasure, World Class Composer/Musician/Singer, Iconoclast, Weed Lover

Featured on World Cafe interview with Raina Douris, July 8, 2020

10 ET - 11 ET

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/08/889063221/willie-nelson-inhabits-the-songs-of-others-on-first-rose-of-spring

For my money, Willie Nelson is the Voice Of America. Born April 29, 1933, he learned to play guitar from his grandfather and at the age of 10 was performing at local dances. The Voice Of America began broadcasting in 1942, a year before Willie got a band going. They both represent America in their own distinct ways. Willie is probably better known and listened to more often.

Nelson is a man of few words. Whether consciously or not, he's the laconic cowboy, his mind in the saddle, heading to a destination that will unfold as he rides. You're more likely to learn what he's thinking by listening to the verses in his songs. In conversations with a well-prepared interviewer like Raina Douris, he makes his words count.

Willie inhabits a song as naturally as he breathes. A couple of lines into one his songs and you instantly recognize the voice, high pitched, vaguely nasal, and beautifully in tune. A few more bars and you recognize the sounds he strums from his trusty guitar "Trigger." No one picks a guitar like Willie, a mix of south of the border riffs he heard growing up in Abbott,Texas, punctuated by licks inspired by Django Reinhardt.

Raina Douris, host of World Cafe, sets up the first 20 minutes of tonight's show.

"Willie Nelson’s 70th studio album, First Rose of Spring, came out last Friday – And just a few days before its release, the country music legend spoke with host Raina Douris. Willie shares about following his instincts when choosing songs to record, the advice he gives his kids Lukas and Micah as musicians, and how he feels about growing older in country music. Plus, we’ll hear about the new memoir he’s working on with his sister, who was Willie’s music teacher as a kid, and we’ll listen to some of the songs from First Rose of Spring.

She's interviewing Willie by phone because of the virus. He's on one of his ranches outside of Austin where his 47th annual July 4 party will be live streamed online. "If we musicians don't play, we go a little crazy so we really needed to do this."

Willie's songs have been sung by countless others. His ballads about love range from wistful, melancholy, tender, vulnerable, personal and universal, often within the same stanza. There may be a handful of people in America who have not heard Patsy Cline sing Nelson's "Crazy." Raina chooses it to get the show going on solid footing.

"First Rose of Spring," released on July 3, is Willie's 70th, gulp, album. He's only written a few songs on it, the rest are covers of songs he loves. Douris cues up the title song, "First Rose of Spring."

Here's Willie sing-talking, his guitar strumming to underpin the emotion of the song, a man recalling a first moment with a woman, a softly poignant memory Nelson is so good at exploring. From Willie's first words, you intuit emotionally that it's going to touch your heart so you just surrender and lean into the song. Fragments of memories of my past float to the surface. The beauty of Nelson's songs is that his lyrics always leave a space for us to add our own.

"I like songs that tell stories," he says. 'Don't Let The Old Man In,' written by Toby Keith is one of  those."

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8490429/toby-keith-clint-eastwood-inspired-dont-let-the-old-man-in-the-mule-interview

"There's a line in there that really floored me. 'Many moons I have lived, my body's withered and worn, but ask yourself how old you'd be if you didn't know the day you were born.'"

Douris plays the song. Willie's voice is steady and true. His trademark guitar licks shine like a neon light that marks the entrance to the roadhouse you've been looking for after a long haul on the highway.

I love "Don't Let The Old Man In." I'm not too many years behind Willie. We know we're closer to the end of the trail than the beginning. The affirming lyrics are a map with signposts reminding people getting on in years how to blaze the trail. I can't sing a lick but Willie and I are on the same page. That old man ain't gonna be darkening our doors any time soon.

This is a man comfortable in his own skin, no pretension, an introspective man who taps into his experiences with a memory sharp as a tack.

Raina Douris sets up the next thread. Willie's writing a memoir with his sister Bobbie, two years older, who taught him to  play the piano "as soon as my legs were long enough to touch the floor. I listened to her play Stardust, Moonlight In Vermont, Down Yonder and all those great songs... and learned to play music from her."

"We're going to write it together and make an audio book, maybe make some money from that," says Willie, ever the one to keep an eye on the bottom line.

"Me and little sister are old friends, we take care of each other. She learned music before I did and taught it to me."

"Is there a song you both like that we could put on next?"

"Down Yonder, an instrumental, is one of her favorites, she plays it at the end of our show every night,"  says Willie.

Raina was ready. In five seconds comes a rousing rollicking instrumental, Bobbie pounding  those keys. probably keeping time with her feet. You can find it on Willie's 1975  'Red Headed Stranger' album. I could just about see it being played on a dilapidated saloon piano. That album changed the course of country music.

https://www.wideopencountry.com/the-fascinating-story-behind-willie-nelsons-red-headed-stranger/

"What are your sons up to?" asks Raina.

"I tell them to follow their art, follow their instincts, if someone tells you you can't do it, that's a good reason to show them that you can." Sounds like the Red Headed Stranger to me.

"Lukas is making an album of Roger Miller songs, Micah and I have helped him cut a couple of tracks already. Micah has a band. It's great to be working with your kids, especially when they're good," says Willie.

Raina heads back to the "First Rose Of Spring" album.

"I want to play 'We Are The Cowboys' by Billy Joe Shaver in 1981. Nelson cut the song with Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Shavers in 2002. Why did you want to put this song on  'First Rose of  Spring'?"

"I love the song and I love Billy Joe and I thought it was an appropriate song to do in these times," Willie replies.

"Why?"

" 'Cowboys are average American people, Cowboys are Texicans and Mexicans, blacks and Jews,' that line that covers a whole string of people. Cowboys have the same mentality. We like wide open spaces, like to sing and pick for folks, Billy Joe feels the same way."

"It's  been 40 years since it was recorded. What is the cowboy in 2020 America?"  asks Douris.

"In this particular time, there's a line in there 'we can get the job done'. I think that applies to all of us, cowboys and cowgals. We're all doing what we can to help our country and make it better."

Hard to tell if his audience will interpret that line the way he does but no denying that he's reading the news, thinking about what's ahead for the country, and that we’ll get the job done.

LYRICS

Texans are gathered up in Colorado
The kid with a fast gun ain't with them today
The cowboys are riding tall in the saddle
They shoot from the heart with the songs that they play

There's a right handsome woman on up around Boulder
They got slick hardwood floors and a pot belly stove
She swears I am someone she can believe in
She's the best Colorado gal I've ever known

We are the cowboys the true sons of freedom
We are the men who will get the job done
We're picking our words so we won't have to eat them
Were rounding them up and then driving them home

Cowboys are average American people
Texicans mexicans black men and jews
They love this old world and they don't want to lose it
There counting on me and there counting on you

The world will breathe easy when we stop the bleeding
The fighting will end when all hunger is gone
There's those who are blind so we'll all have to lead them
It's everyone's job till we get the work done

We are the cowboys the true sons of freedom
We are the men who will get the job done
We're picking our words so we won't have to eat them
Were rounding them up and then driving them home
Were rounding them up and then driving them home.

I smell sagebrush, smoke wafting from a pot next to a chuck wagon, and cool breezes rolling across the prairie as night falls.

"There seem to be two themes in this album, getting older and beautiful love songs," says Douris.  "I wonder if you  would talk about 'Love Just Laughed'".

Willie quotes the first lines.

'She said, "Please don't let me go"
I said, "I gotta let you go"
And love just laughed.'

"That's pretty much the whole story. Love does what it does, it doesn't ask us what we want."

Willie's a deft impressionist painter with words. His purposeful brush strokes strike a chord with moments we've lived, emotions we've felt, people we've loved and maybe lost. Love just laughed. No judgement. Just a fact.

Douris plays the song.

Last question. "Music today trades on youth. Do you think you've been able to grow old with country music?"

"Well, I don't know how other people feel about it but I'm tired!" says Willie with a chuckle. "I like to do what's easy. Music is easy. Playing with my boys is easy. The everyday living and breathing, sometimes that can be difficult."

Douris defuses that admission. "Well, you don't seem tired," and laughs with surprise.

Willie's answer was revelatory. He now appears more comfortable riding in the corral than on the prairie and acknowledges it in a lighthearted but telling exchange. It's part of Willie's charm. He'll tell you what he's thinking, no filter necessary.

"I'd like to finish with 'I'm The Only Hell That Momma Ever Raised'."

Willie's raspy chuckle tells you he's good with that.

"It's one of my favorites on the album. It was written by some Nashville writers several years ago. Johnny Paycheck had a big hit with it. I've always loved the song and decided to put it in the album. During our last tour, I ended each show with the song... I  thought heck let's record it."

The song is a clone of Merle Haggard's "Momma Tried, " an anthem that Willie's Texas crowd loves.

World Cafe's interview is coasting to a close. The Red Headed Stranger still rides tall in the saddle.

 

Comments

[Rebeccca Wilson]

This is great! I love the man and his music. I was afraid when I saw you’d written out him that we’d lost him. Thank goodness that’s not the case!

[Bernard Ussher]

Thanks for sharing!
You too are The Muse with quite the way with words
Ciao
Bernardo

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Thank you, sir.

Willie Nelson songs are as at home in Lafayette. LA, as they are in Austin and every music loving saloon, dance hall, and dive bar in America and beyond.

He’s written 337 songs (some co-written)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_written_by_Willie_Nelson

He’s covered songs by Hogie Carmichael, Irving Berlin, Ray Charles, Kaye Ballard, Chuck Berry, Gerome Kern, Cole Porter and The Muppets!

He does it all... country, jazz, pop, R&B and gospel.
https://www.setlist.fm/stats/covers/willie-nelson-33d6dcc5.html
https://www.songhall.org/profile/Willie_Nelson

I honestly don’t know of any singer with Nelson’s capacity and curiosity to stretch into so many genres and do it so damn effortlessly and well.
The Voice of America indeed!

[Sarah Cross Mills]

Oh, Willie! He's always been one of my very favorites. Thanks so much for this, Paul!

[Myke Farricker]

Great job Paul!

[Susan M Bennett]

Wonderful piece PT! Love Willie’s music.

[Susan M Bennett]

I spent a good long time enjoying Willie today at the camp. His songs are so different from Country Western. Thanks for bringing him to my mind again.

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

This warm, understated video gives you a sense of the man and his guitar

https://thirtyroses.com/2015/02/13/new-rolling-stone-documentary-chronicles-willie-nelsons-journey-back-to-austin/

[Paui A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Willie has idealized his cowboys way back since "Mamma, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys." Independent, self-sufficient, loners or comfortable with like minded men attuned to an unspoken moral code and way more comfortable looking at a horizon instead of a wall.

[B'man]

Thanks, Paul. This was great. I'm a great fan of his. Hope you're doing well and staying healthy! In these so so crazy times!!
Your msg reminded me of a clip of Willie's that I'm sending along...

https://tinyurl.com/hjtufve

[Paul A. Tamburello,Jr. aka pt at large]

Hey B'man,
Willie has his very own place in American music, i don’t think they have a figured out a category for it yet other than exceptional and American.
I went to Nashville last year for a big birthday bash where a bunch of singer songwriters honored him, one of the most memorable shows I've ever experienced.
https://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2019/01/willie-life-and-songs-of-an-american-outlaw-the-setting.html

Thanks for that video…perfect setup, laughed out loud at the last scene!

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr aka pt at large]

B'man,
This is an all time fave video, Willie performing 'How Time Slips Away' to a bunch of fellow musicians in Austin. It is definitive Willie, phrasing, pacing, gorgeous blend of Django and Mexicali finger picking and the deep honey tinged resonant signature sound of his battered guitar that sticks in your memory for hours after you listen to it. Willie's solo at the 1:35 mark...the man and the guitar disappear into each other in a rich cascade of notes up and down the frets, all 6 gut strings base to treble, a chorus backing up the singer's honeygritty nasal baritone sweet enough to swing open the pearly gates even if St Peter notices the joint tucked over Willie's ear.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/willie-nelson-funny-how-time-slips-away-austin-738679/

[Chantelle Trahan]

PT,
Thank you for reminding us of what it means to be a staple in this lifetime, like Willie Nelson and his classic guitar, "Trigger." When I think of Willie Nelson, what immediately comes to my mind is his signature braided ponytails and the bandana, along with the hits, "On The Road Again," "You Were Always on My Mind," and "Seven Spanish Angels." Oh, and I almost forgot to include his love for weed! It is very refreshing to reflect on his soul-stirring music and lyrics at this time, especially when a need for relationships is key. I love that your writings always tend to inform and leave us with a sense of self reflection going forward.

[carole blossom]

Paul, once again, you hit the nail on the head, as the saying goes...Willie lives on, fortunately, in spite of Mother Time. Seeing your article today gave me a startle, thinking....oh no, he left us, another legend of our time gone...but he fooled us...he refuses to let the old man in. Reading what you wrote reminds me of how much I love Willie's music. I had a rare opportunity of hearing him sing in person, strumming on Trigger at a small venue in an obscure town where I lived in the 90's. I was mesmerized. He's a one-of-a-kind rare American treasure. I enjoyed the links and stories you wrote about Willie, bringing him full circle and embracing his history, still so full of life in a once in a lifetime way. Thank you, Paul! Much love.

[Paul A, Tamburello, Jr aka pt at large]

Carole,
Willie and I ride together with the same motto: "Don't let the old man in!" These days more than ever, his persona, songs that always have at least one thread that somehow touches emotions we've had, are a comfort... backed up by the unique picking that is as instantly recognizable as his voice.
Thanks for adding perspective to the story.
Sending the love right back!
Paul

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Chantelle,
Willie represents so much to so many. His rebooting himself as the 'outlaw' after leaving Nashville, and yes those braids, that guitar, and that immediately recognizable voice. And what that voice says to us, tapping into our dreams and disappointments and delights.
I love Horace's rendition of "Seven Spanish Angels." I first heard him sing it at La Poussiere on a Sunday afternoon when you were there with your daughter - and remember asking you about the song that Horace sang with such intensity, backed up by the Ossun Express. Willie certainly would have tipped his cowboy hat to that version.
https://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2017/12/horace-trahan-at-la-poussiere-breaux-bridge-la.html#comments

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. aka pt at large]

Willie's cowboys were noble, independent, had a moral streak to do the right thing,were married to the range.
One observer's definition: "Cowboys are my heroes and always have been. They are a complex mixture of compassion, honesty, integrity, and bluntness. They're not the simple folks they project and deep thinking often takes place behind the unblinking eyes."