Whiskey River, take my mind...

[Bouncy Ball]

Whiskey River, take my mind
Don't let a memory talk to me
Whiskey River, don't run dry
You're all I got, take care of me
I'm drowning in a Whiskey River
Bathing my memory's mind in the wetness of its soul
Feeling the amber current flowing from my mind
To warm an empty heart you left so cold

Willie's got a message for reich-wingers:



Happy Belated Birthday, Red Headed Stranger. 72 years young. And a true original.

[Swede]

1. You were always on my mind

Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should have
Maybe I didn't love you
Quite as often as I could have
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Maybe I didn't hold you
All those lonely, lonely times
And I guess I never told you
I'm so happy that you're mine

If I made you feel second best
Girl I'm so sorry I was blind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died
Give me, give me one more chance to keep you satisfied, satisfied

Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind

[Bouncy Ball]

3. Oh.

Bringing back memories for me with that one. I can even hear his voice singing it....

[Swede]

4. His take on the song is the best there is.

Well maybe equal to Elvis'.

[Bouncy Ball]

5. I heard Willie's version LONG before I heard anyone else's.

So his is the definitive version to me.

Did you know he has six kids and one is deceased?

[Swede]

6. No. Anecdote here.

My nephews god-father makes low-budget movies and they were making one with Willie. Willie smoked dope from sun up til sun down but he was a real pro. Always on time,always on the mark and had the crew in stitches.

[Bouncy Ball]

14. He IS rumored to like the ganja a bit.

:D

[jswordy]

11. It beat Elvis' version. I have them both. There is feeling in Willie's...

...voice that Elvis never had. I thnk Willie Nelson actually lived that song, or else he is so great a performer that he can get away with creating the illusion that he did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIE!

[alarimer]

2. What would Willie do?

I was lost in trouble and strife
I heard a voice and it changed my life
Now it's a brand new day
And I ain't ashamed to say

You're not alone when you're down and out
I think you know who I'm talking about
When I don't know how I'll get through
I just ask myself
What would Willie do?


Great tribute to Willie by Bruce Robison.

Willie Nelson is a great American.

[RagingInMiami]

7. One of my favorites, reminds me of when I lived in New Mexico

Livin on the road my friend, is gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron
Your breath as hard as kerosene
You weren't your momma's only boy, but her favorite one it seems
She began to cry when you said goodbye
And sank into your dreams
Pancho was a bandit boy, his horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel
Pancho met his match you know on the deserts down in Mexico
Nobody heard his dyin words, ah but that's the way it goes
All the Federales say, they could've had him any day
They only let him slip away, out of kindness I suppose
Lefty he can't sing the blues all night long like he used to
The dust that Pancho bit down south ended up in Lefty's mouth
The day they laid poor Pancho low, Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go, there ain't nobody knows
All the Federales say, they could've had him any day
They only let him slip away out of kindness I suppose
The boys tell how old Pancho fell, and Lefty's livin in cheap hotels
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold
And so the story ends we're told
Pancho needs your prayers it's true, but save a few for Lefty too
He only did what he had to do, and now he's growing old
All the Federales say, they could've had him any day
They only let him go so long, out of kindness I suppose
A few gray Federales say, they could've had him any day
They only let him go so long, out of kindness I suppose

[Bouncy Ball]

8. I love that song....

My stepfather had Stardust and Red-Headed Stranger and he'd have us put the albums on too late at night and we'd sit and sing with him. We knew every word of every song.

[SnohoDem]

23. Townes Van Zant wrote that song

but Willie's version is great.

Weird - it reminds me of NM, too. I was living in Santa Fe and going to tech school (NNMCC) up in Los Alamos. I used to play Emmylou Harris' version all the time. It's on Luxury Liner, and is beautiful.

[RagingInMiami]

24. I lived down in Deming where I wrote for a newspaper

It's about 30 miles from Columbus where Pancho Villa entered the U.S. from Mexico and attacked in 1916. Pancho Villa is big around those parts, just like Billy the Kid is.

[jswordy]

9. Sigh....Willie Nelson, an American original. The man is awesome.

The red-headed stranger from Blue Rock, Montana,
Rode into town one day.
And under his knees was a ragin' black stallion,
And walkin' behind was a bay.
The red-headed stranger had eyes like the thunder,
And his lips, they were sad and tight.
His little lost love lay asleep on the hillside,
And his heart was heavy as night.
Don't cross him, don't boss him.
He's wild in his sorrow:
He's ridin' an' hidin his pain.
Don't fight him, don't spite him;
Just wait till tomorrow,
Maybe he'll ride on again.

A yellow-haired lady leaned out of her window,
An' watched as he passed her way.
She drew back in fear at the sight of the stallion,
But cast greedy eyes on the bay.
But how could she know that this dancin' bay pony,
Meant more to him than life.
For this was the horse that his little lost darlin',
Had ridden when she was his wife.

Don't cross him, don't boss him.
He's wild in his sorrow:
He's ridin' an' hidin his pain.
Don't fight him, don't spite him;
Just wait till tomorrow,
Maybe he'll ride on again.

The yellow-haired lady came down to the tavern,
An' looked up the stranger there.
He bought her a drink, an' he gave her some money,
He just didn't seem to care.
She followed him out as he saddled his stallion,
An' laughed as she grabbed at the bay.
He shot her so quick, they had no time to warn her,
She never heard anyone say:

"Don't cross him, don't boss him.
"He's wild in his sorrow:
"He's ridin' an' hidin his pain.
"Don't fight him, don't spite him;
"Just wait till tomorrow,
"Maybe he'll ride on again."

The yellow-haired lady was buried at sunset;
The stranger went free, of course.
For you can't hang a man for killin' a woman,
Who's tryin' to steal your horse.
Tthis is the tale of the red headed stranger,
And if he should pass your way,
Stay out of the path of the ragin' black stallion,
And don't lay a hand on the bay.

Don't cross him, don't boss him.
He's wild in his sorrow:
He's ridin' an' hidin his pain.
Don't fight him, don't spite him;
Just wait till tomorrow,
Maybe he'll ride on again.

[Bouncy Ball]

12. Every time I read these lyrics, I get goose bumps.

I swear I need to get his albums on CD. I don't have any of them, I don't think.

Sigh.....like I said, truly an original.

[Shell Beau]

10. Big Willie!

I saw him in concert. He's pretty good and he played Whiskey River twice since it was the crowd fave! :headbang:

[Bouncy Ball]

13. My stepdad went to the Willie Nelson Fourth of July picnic

EVERY year for years. Those were his most worn-out t-shirts.

This year it's in Ft. Worth, I believe. I might look into how much tickets are, who knows?

[Don Claybrook]

16. I'm going to see him on June 29

with Bob Dylan, no less. And the really cool thing is that kids get in free. When's the last time you saw that at a headliner concert? Looking forward to it.

One of my favorite Willie Nelson songs has no lyrics for me to post here, but it's Bandera, from Red Headed Stranger.

[jswordy]

18. Do it Bouncy. He's 72...you may not get another chance.

[Shell Beau]

22. Wow, I didn't realize he was that old.

He's lived hard, but he still sounds good!

[Bouncy Ball]

25. My husband thought he was 80!

Snarf! I said "don't age the guy!"

I hope he lives to be 103. I love him.

Yeah js, I am going to go. I don't want to say I never saw him play in person.

[Spacemom]

15. Happy Birthday Willie

I took two CDs with me to the hospital to have my second child. James Taylor's Greatest Hits and Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger.

There will never be another Willie.

[Bouncy Ball]

17. Wow, we have the same taste.

I adore James Taylor. A lot of people sniff their nose at his music, but it's always been so comforting to me.

[jswordy]

19. Take to the highway won't you lend me your name

Your way and my way seem to be one and the same

Mamma don't understand it
She wants to know where I've been
I'd have to be some kind of natural born fool
To want to pass that way again
But I could feel it
On a country road

Sail on home to Jesus won't you good girls and boys
I'm all in pieces, you can have your own choice
But I can hear a heavenly band full of angels
And they're coming to set me free
I don't know nothing 'bout the why or when
But I can tell that it's bound to be
Because I could feel it, child, yeah
On a country road

I guess my feet know where they want me to go
Walking on a country road

Take to the highway won't you lend me your name
Your way and my way seem to be one and the same, child
Mamma don't understand it
She wants to know where I've been
I'd have to be some kind of natural born fool
To want to pass that way again
But I could feel it
On a country road

Walk on down, walk on down, walk on down
Walk on down, walk on down a country road
country road
Walking on a country road

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

20. He's the Frank Sinatra of country music

His timing and phrasing are unique. Nobody sings a Willie Nelson song the way he can.

[jandrok]

21. Willie IS the man.

Pick up this book if you have any serious interest in learning more about Willie and his cohorts in the Texas outlaw country scene:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0292701977/qid=1116599196/sr=8-7/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i6_xgl14/103-7877592-8439822?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock is a fantastic look at the whole Austin music scene, and it has a great chapter on Willie.

I don't know about the guy who reviewed it, though. He looks suspicious.