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Willie Nelson / favorite song


bluesboy

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Willie Nelson is such a pillar in the music community. :bow:

I thought we could post a favorite song he does as an appreciation.

I'll start with...

Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground

If you had not fallen

Then I would not have found you

Angel flying too close to the ground

And I patched up your broken wing

And hung around a while

Tried to keep your spirits up

And your fever down

I knew someday that you would fly away

For love's the greatest healer to be found

So leave me if you need to

I will still remember

Angel flying too close to the ground

Fly on, fly on past the speed of sound

I'd rather see you up

Than see you down

Leave me if you need to

I will still remember

Angel flying too close to the ground

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I agree Jr, his version is very touching. :puppyeyes:

Other than "Always on My Mind" though I haven't heard a lot of Willie Nelson but I'd say one of my favorites is "Slow Down Old World":

Slow down slow down old world

There's no hurry cause

My life ain't mine anymore

I lived too fast

Now it's too late to worry

And I'm too blue to cry anymore

I once was a fool for the women

Now I'm just a fool nothing more

So slow down slow down old world

There's no hurry cause

My life ain't mine anymore

I once had a way with the women

Till one got away with my heart

So slow down slow down old world

There's no hurry cause

My life ain't mine anymore

Cause my life ain't mine anymore

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Thanks for this thread, BluesBoy. Willie is one of my all time favorite artists. Not only is he a talented singer and guitarist, but he's one of the best songwriters of all time, IMO. He's a true American poet.

You've already listed my absolute favorite song of his (Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground), but I have lots of others. I'm going to post two (sorry! - I really am restraining myself) one love song and one not. . .

Funny How Time Slips Away

Well, hello there

My, it's been a long, long time

How am I doing?

Oh, I guess that I'm doing fine

It's been so long now,

But it seems now, that it was only yesterday

Gee, ain't it funny, how time slips away.

How's your new love?

I hope that he's doin fine

I heard you told him,

That you'd love him till the end of time

Now, that's the same thing that you told me

Seems like just the other day

Gee, ain't it funny, how time slips away.

I gotta go now

I guess I'll see you around

Don't know when though

Never know, when I'll be back in town

But remember, what I tell you

In time your gonna pay

And it's surprising, how time slips away...

Write Your Own Songs (recorded w/Waylon Jennings)

You call us heathens with zero respect for the law

We are only songwriters just writing our songs and that's all

We write what we live and we live what we write is that wrong

If you think it is Mr. Music Executive

Why don't you just write your own songs

Chorus:

And don't listen to mine

They might run you crazy

They might make you dwell on your feelings a moment to long

We're making you rich

and you were already lazy

So just lay on your a$$ and get richer

or write your own songs

Mr. Purified Country

don't you know what the whole things about

Is your head up your a$$ so far that you can't pull it out

The world's gettin' smaller and everyone in it belongs

And if you can't see that Mr. Purified Country

Why don't you just write your own songs

Chorus

So just lay on your a$$ and get richer or write your own songs

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Thanks for this thread, BluesBoy. Willie is one of my all time favorite artists. Not only is he a talented singer and guitarist, but he's one of the best songwriters of all time, IMO. He's a true American poet.

You've already listed my absolute favorite song of his (Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground), but I have lots of others. I'm going to post two (sorry! - I really am restraining myself) one love song and one not. . .

You're Welcome Elvish.

Go ahead and post more if you want.

I'll likely post more too.

There's probably dozens we could post. :)

:thumbsup:

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Okay, Blues, if you insist! (Actually, I agree with you: just hitting the high notes - no pun intended - could make this a multiple page thread).

Chorus:

It's a Bloody Mary morning,

Baby left me without warning

Sometime in the night

So I'm flyin' down to Houston

Forgetting her's the nature of my flight

As we taxi toward the runway

With the smog and haze

Reminding me of how I feel

Just a country boy who's learnin'

That the pitfalls of the city

Are extremely real

All the night life and the parties

And temptation and deceit

The order of the day

Well it's a Bloody Mary mornin'

Cause I'm leavin' baby somewhere in LA

Chorus

Our golden jet is airborne

And flight Fifty cuts a path

Across the mornin' sky

And a voice comes on the speaker

Reassuring us flight Fifty

Is the way to fly

And a hostess takes our order

Coffee tea or something stronger

To start off the day

Well it's a Bloody Mary morning

Cause I'm leavin' baby somewhere in LA

Chorus

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I'll follow your lead Elvish,

Here's some early Willie (1962) album

c06420n2x25.jpg

Three Days

Three days I dread to see arrive

Three days I hate to be alive

Three days filled with tears and sorrow

Yesterday today and tomorrow

There are three days I know that I'll be blue

Three days that I'll always dream of you

And it does no good to wish these days would end

Cause the same three days start over again

Three days that I dread to be alive

Three days that I hate to see arrive

Three days filled with tears and sorrow

Yesterday today and tomorrow

There are three days...

Three days that I dread to see arrive...

Three days three days

btw - k.d. lang does a cover of this (1989)

that Just Tears It Up

man is it good

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Blues, it looks like it's just gonna be me and you!

I'm sure you've heard of Who'll Buy My Memories (aka - The IRS Tapes). It's a 2-disc set of all acoustic stuff - just Willie and Trigger (his quitar). They earned the nickname because part of the sales royalties went to repay Willie's debt to the government. This is an awesome collection and a must have for any Willie fan. Unfortunately it's out of print, but occasionally a copy will show up on ebay.

irstapes.jpg

There are some really great stripped down versions of some of his songs, and others that were never released before or since - like this one:

Remember the good times

They're smaller in number and easier to recall

Don't spend too much time of the bad times

Their staggering number will be heavy as lead on your mind

Don't waste a moment unhappy

Invaluable moments gone with the leakage of time

As we leave on our own separate journeys

Moving west with the sun to a place buried deep in our minds

Repeat first verse

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MUSICAL INTERLUDE:

"Ridin' on 'The City of New Orleans,

Illinois Central Monday morning rail.

Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,

three conductors and 25 sacks of mail.

All along the southbound odyssey,

the train pulls out at Kankakee,

Rolls along past houses, farms and fields.

Passin' trains that have no names,

freight yards full of old black men,

and the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

Good mornin' America how are ya,

don't you know me, I'm your native son.

I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,

and I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.

Dealin' card games with the old men in the club car,

penny a point ain't no one keepin' score.

pass the paper bag that holds the bottle,

feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor.

And the sons of pullman porters,

and the sons of engineers,

ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.

Mothers with their babes asleep,

are rockin' to the gentle beat,

and the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.

Good mornin' America how are ya,

don't you know me,I'm your native son,

I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans,

and I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.

Nighttime on 'The City of New Orleans',

changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.

Half way home, we'll be there by morning,

through the Mississippi darkness rollin' down to the sea.

And all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream,

and the steel rails still ain't heard the news.

The conductor sings his song again,

the passengers will please refrain,

this train has got the disappearin' railroad blues.

Good mornin' America, how are ya,

don't you know me,I'm your native son,

I'm the train they call 'The City of New Orleans',

and I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done."

I know Willie didn't write this one, but his version is the best.

:afro: :afro: :afro: :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

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crazydemo.jpg

From the liner notes:

Are You Sure

Written by Willie and steel legend Buddy Emmons after the two were cornered by an overly friendly drunk in a Nashville bar. As Emmons remembers, ?This fellow moved over close to us. I thought he knew Willie and Willie thought he knew me. Finally, I said ?Are you about where you want to be?? The drunk said, ?Yeah.? And I said ?Are you sure?? Willie looked at me and said, ?There?s a song title. I?ll write it and give you half.?? Emmons says he tried to talk Willie out of it, but Willie insisted, saying, ?an idea is as good as a song.? ?It shows you the kind of person Willie is, ? says Buddy. The song appeared on Ray Price?s classic 1962 album Night Life.

Oh, look around you

Look down the bar from you

The lonely faces that you see

Are you sure that this is where you want to be?

These are your friends

But are they real friends

Do they love you the same as me

Are you sure that this is where you want to be?

You seem in such a hurry to live this kind of life

You've caused so many tears and misery

Look around you, take a good look

And tell me what you see

Are you sure that this is where you want to be?

Don't let my tears persuade you

I had hoped I wouldn't cry

But lately, teardrops seem a part of me

Oh, look around you, take a good look

At all the lonely used-to-be's

Are you sure that this is where you want to be?

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f37437cpy8s.jpg

Another dynamite song that Willie does is

Help Me Make It Through the Night

an old Kris Kristofferson song

Take the ribbon from your hair

Shake it loose and let it fall

Laying soft against your skin

Like the shadows on the wall

Come and lay down by my side

Till the early morning light

All I'm taking is your time

Help me make it through the night

Well I don't care who's right or wrong

And I won't try to understand

Let the devil take tomorrow

Cause tonight I need a friend

Yesterday is dead and gone

And tomorrow's out of sight

And it's sad to be alone

Help me make it through the night

Well I don't want to be alone

Help me make it through the night

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g10286q2htv.jpg

(1978)

Willie shifted gears with this release

and gave us an album of American Standards

that only a few recording artists can pull off successfully.

One of those timeless cuts -

September Song

Oh, it's a long, long while

From May to december

But the days grow short,

When you reach September.

When the autumn weather

Turn leaves to flame

One hasn't got time

For the waiting game.

Oh the days dwindle down

To a precious few...

September, November...

And these few precious days

I'll spend with you.

These precious days

I'll spend with you.

Oh the days dwindle down

To a precious few...

September, November...

And these few precious days

I'll spend with you.

These precious days

I'll spend with you.

These precious days

I'll spend with you.

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  • 1 month later...

*BUMP*

They played this one for me on my last birthday. I was pretty much already drunk, which is probably why the DJ selected it! ::

Well I gotta get drunk and I sure do dread it

cause I know just what I'm gonna do

I'll start to spend my money callin everybody honey

and I'll wind up singin the blues

I'll spend my whole paycheck on some old wreck

And brother I can name you a few

Well I gotta get drunk and I sure do dread it

cause I know just what I'm gonna do

I gotta get drunk, I just can't stay sober

There's a lot of good people in town

Who like to see me holler, see me spend my dollar

and I wouldn't dream of lettin 'em down

There's a lot of doctors tell me

that I'b better start slowing it down

But there's more old drunks than there are old doctors

So I guess we'd better have another round

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