Willie Nelson, born on April 29, 1933, in Abbott, Texas, is an iconic American country music singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. With a career spanning over six decades, Nelson is known for his unique voice, poetic songwriting, and distinctive guitar-playing style. He rose to prominence in the 1970s with albums like “Red Headed Stranger” and “Stardust,” showcasing his versatility across various musical genres. Nelson’s timeless hits include “On the Road Again,” “Always on My Mind,” and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” His contributions to country music have earned him numerous awards, including multiple Grammy Awards, and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Beyond music, Nelson is recognized for his activism, particularly advocating for farmers, the environment, and cannabis legalization. Despite his age, he continues to tour and record music, maintaining his status as a beloved and influential figure in American music history.
Willie Nelson Quotes
1. “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”
— Willie Nelson
2. “What goes around, comes around.”
— Willie Nelson
3. “Be here. Be present. Wherever you are, be there.”
— Willie Nelson
4. “I live one day at a time, one day at a time. Yesterday’s gone and tomorrow is blind, so I live one day at a time.”
— Willie Nelson
5. “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
— Willie Nelson
6. “Just can’t wait to get on the road again.”
— Willie Nelson
7. “The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”
— Willie Nelson
8. “There is only one map to the journey of life and it lives within your heart.”
— Willie Nelson
9. “Be gentle with your words – you can’t take them back.”
— Willie Nelson
10. “If you really want to get along with somebody, let them be themselves.”
— Willie Nelson
11. “The biggest killer on the planet is stress and I still think the best medicine is and always has been cannabis.”
— Willie Nelson
12. “The life I love is making music with my friends.”
— Willie Nelson
13. “You will never find happiness until you stop looking for it.”
— Willie Nelson
14. “America, to me, is freedom.”
— Willie Nelson
15. “Freedom is control in your own life.”
— Willie Nelson
16. “Three chords and the truth – that’s what a country song is.”
— Willie Nelson
17. “Fortunately, we are not in control.”
— Willie Nelson
18. “We create our own unhappiness. The purpose of suffering is to help us understand we are the ones who cause it.”
— Willie Nelson
19. “If you can be content right now, then you’ll always be content, because it’s always right now.”
— Willie Nelson
20. “You’ll never get ahead by blaming your problems on other people.”
— Willie Nelson
21. “I got along without you before I met you and I’ll get along without you a long time after you’re gone.”
— Willie Nelson
22. “Love is like a dying ember, only memories remain.”
— Willie Nelson
23. “I take it not only a day at a time, but a moment at a time, and keep it at that pace. If you can be happy right now, then you’ll always be happy, because it’s always in the now.”
— Willie Nelson
24. “There’s a freedom you begin to feel the closer you get to Austin, Texas.”
— Willie Nelson
25. “I believe that all roads lead to the same place – and that is wherever all roads lead to.”
— Willie Nelson
26. “Nothing lasts forever, but old Fords and a natural stone.”
— Willie Nelson
27. “Oh, I think it’s definitely spiritual. All music is. I think it’s maybe one of the highest forms of spirituality.”
— Willie Nelson
28. “I’m from Texas, and one of the reasons I like Texas is because there’s no one in control.”
— Willie Nelson
29. “Be careful what you dream: soon your dreams will be dreaming you.”
— Willie Nelson
30. “In the twilight glow I see her, blue eyes crying in the rain. As we kissed goodbye and parted, I knew we’d never meet again.”
— Willie Nelson
31. “I like myself better when I’m writing regularly.”
— Willie Nelson
32. “Little things I should have said and done I just never took the time You were always on my mind.”
— Willie Nelson
33. “Ninety-nine percent of the world’s lovers are not with their first choice. That’s what makes the jukebox play.”
— Willie Nelson
34. “I’m crazy for trying, crazy for crying, and I’m crazy for loving you.”
— Willie Nelson
35. “When you hear me, you know it’s me, regardless of the song.”
— Willie Nelson
36. “I’m drowning in whiskey river.”
— Willie Nelson
37. “I started writing cheating songs when I was too young to have any idea what I was writing about – broken hearts and things like that. I just think it was something I already knew, something I had experienced in another lifetime.”
— Willie Nelson
38. “There’s so many things going on in the world, Babies dying. Mothers crying. How much oil is one human life worth. And what ever happened to peace on earth.”
— Willie Nelson
39. “Small family farmers are the only things that can save us because they take care of the land. Future farmers of America are going to be our heroes. Same with biodiesel, either way we need small family saustainable and organic farmers.”
— Willie Nelson
40. “If you wait for tomorrow to follow your dreams, by the time that you get there they’re gone.”
— Willie Nelson
41. “My doctor tells me I should start slowing it down – but there are more old drunks than there are old doctors so let’s all have another round.”
— Willie Nelson
42. “You know why divorces are so expensive? They’re worth it.”
— Willie Nelson
43. “God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere.”
— Willie Nelson
44. “I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?”
— Willie Nelson
45. “If you’ve made your own hell, then only you have the power to escape it.”
— Willie Nelson
46. “I wanted to connect all people who are thinking about peace on Earth.”
— Willie Nelson
47. “I’m an old fashioned joint smoker ya know.”
— Willie Nelson
48. “I smoke pot every day, and I love it!”
— Willie Nelson
49. “Positive thoughts lead to positive actions.”
— Willie Nelson
50. “Marijuana is like sex. If I don’t do it every day, I get a headache. I think marijuana should be recognized for what it is, as a medicine, an herb that grows in the ground. If you need it, use it.”
— Willie Nelson
51. “How would you like to bite that in the ass, develop lock jaw and be dragged to death?”
— Willie Nelson
52. “Just take what you need from the ladies and leave them.”
— Willie Nelson
53 “A lot of country music is sad. I think most art comes out of poverty and hard times. It applies to music. Three chords and the truth – that’s what a country song is. There is a lot of heartache in the world.”
— Willie Nelson
54. “If you’re not crazy there’s something wrong with you. Willie Nelson.”
— Willie Nelson
55. “Rather than trying to put an end to Eminem or some other rapper, politicians should think about why they’re rapping. It’s easier to try to censor some kid who’s swearing about poverty than it is to stop the poverty.”
— Willie Nelson
56. “I just enjoy both working and not working.”
— Willie Nelson
57. “It doesn’t hurt to feel sad from time to time.”
— Willie Nelson
58. “Just because she’s leaving, don’t start believing, that your rock and roll days are gone.”
— Willie Nelson
59. “I been a long time leaving but I’m going to be a long time gone.”
— Willie Nelson
60. “A lot of country music is sad.”
— Willie Nelson
61. “When songs fall from the sky, all I can do is catch them before they hit the ground.”
— Willie Nelson
62. “You could try to live monogamously. Good luck.”
— Willie Nelson
63. “When it’s on us, seems like the storm will never pass. But it always does.”
— Willie Nelson
64. “Waylon Jennings and I had a lot of fun recording together.”
— Willie Nelson
65. “As long as there’s a few farmers out there, we’ll keep fighting for them.”
— Willie Nelson
66. “I don’t smoke as many joints as I used to.”
— Willie Nelson
67. “A frozen river is not a dry one, it’s just a still river on the surface but is still moving, and so am my winter writing.”
— Willie Nelson
68. “There are more old drunks than there are old doctors.”
— Willie Nelson
69. “Air you breathe is bad for your lungs so you’ve got to careful and don’t overdue any bad air. Too much pot, too much anything is not good. Your lung is a piece of flesh, a piece of bone. You can injure it.”
— Willie Nelson
70. “Gay or straight? So what? It doesn’t matter to me. We have to be concerned about other people regardless.”
— Willie Nelson
71. “If you got the money honey I got the time and when you run out of money honey I run out of time.”
— Willie Nelson
72. “You can’t hang a man for shooting a woman who was trying to steel his horse.”
— Willie Nelson
73. “I learned some invaluable lessons in Nashville that apply to both farming and show business: Do not corner something you know is meaner than you; keep skunks of all kinds at a distance; if you forgive your enemies, it messes up their heads.”
— Willie Nelson
74. “The older I get, the more I realize it’s never too early to start appreciating the people in your life. If you love your family, it’s essential that you tell them. They need you and you need them. If you can make someone feel better with just a few words, why wouldn’t you want to use them? Speaking for fathers everywhere, this is the best I can offer. Go hug your daddy. It ain’t too late to save him.”
— Willie Nelson
75. “My wife actually got worried about my drinking so much regular milk, you know, so she got me into rice milk and now soy milk, which I greatly enjoy. A soy mocha’s a fine thing.”
— Willie Nelson
76. “Heard you told him that you’d love him ’til the end of time. Now that’s the same thing that you told me.”
— Willie Nelson
77. “I am not a pig farmer. The pigs had a great time, but I didn’t make any money.”
— Willie Nelson
78. “Well, it’s a Bloody Mary morning, my baby left without warning.”
— Willie Nelson
79. “We’re still here trying to get the word out that 330 farmers are quitting every week.”
— Willie Nelson
80. “All I do is play music and golf – which one do you want me to give up?”
— Willie Nelson
81. “I would like to see more airplay for all artists, no matter what age. I think there’s a lot of money being spent toward the young guys, but a lot of the older guys are the ones who blazed the trail for those young guys.”
— Willie Nelson
82. “Well the country songs themselves are three-chord stories, ballads which are mostly sad. If you are already feeling sorry for yourself when you listen to them they will take you to an even sadder place.”
— Willie Nelson
83. “My granddaddy died when I was about 6 years old, I think. And my grandmother took a job cooking in the school lunchroom. So she did great. She made $18 a week.”
— Willie Nelson
84. “Indecision may or may not be our biggest problem.”
— Willie Nelson
85. “Memories remind us that every moment of our lives, even the most tragic, have contributed to our strength. We’ve gotten through. We’re still here.”
— Willie Nelson
86. “Vaporizers are good for your lungs. Cigarette smoke will kill you. I never heard of anybody dying from marijuana smoke. Vaporizers I think are smarter.”
— Willie Nelson
87. “I never pretended to have a great voice. It works and I can carry a tune. If you have a good song, that’s about all that’s required.”
— Willie Nelson
89. “I got in at 2 with a 10, and woke up at 10 with a 2.”
— Willie Nelson
90. “I think most art comes out of poverty and hard times.”
— Willie Nelson
91. “There’s a great enthusiasm for good country music all over the world.”
— Willie Nelson
92. “More and more people are finding out the benefits of it – hemp and marijuana. The more they delve into it and research it, the more they realize, Hey wait a minute, we should give this another look.”
— Willie Nelson
93. “If you go to a magic show, you don’t want to see logic.”
— Willie Nelson
94. “Where I grew up, Bob Wills and his western swing was very popular. And western swing is not that far from jazz and blues.”
— Willie Nelson
95. “There are more serious problems in life than financial ones, and I’ve had a lot of those. I’ve been broke before, and will be again.”
— Willie Nelson
96. “Songwriters might write cynical, world-wise lyrics and constantly talk about money, but most of us are downright naive when it comes to business.”
— Willie Nelson
97. “I’m drinking doubles now that you’re running around single again.”
— Willie Nelson
98. “I think innately knew that music draws people together and that good music is liked by almost everybody.”
— Willie Nelson
99. “It was and is always nice to work with the kids.”
— Willie Nelson
100. “Most of the stuff I’ve read about me has been true.”
— Willie Nelson
101. “You don’t have to be poor to need something or somebody.”
— Willie Nelson
102. “I never gave up on country music because I knew what I was doing was not that bad.”
— Willie Nelson
103. “I was influenced a lot by those around me – there was a lot of singing that went on in the cotton fields.”
— Willie Nelson
104. “I don’t believe in adhering to any rules I don’t support and I didn’t vote for. To hell with what people think. Just be who you are and you’ll be happy.”
— Willie Nelson
105. “One thing I learned is that the mind, rather than being the master, should be the servant of the heart.
— Willie Nelson
106. “There are just certain sounds, music, that sort of you know people are going to like it.”
— Willie Nelson
107. “I like to play small clubs.”
— Willie Nelson
108. “Sometimes there is a 36-piece orchestra going off in my stomach.”
— Willie Nelson
109. “I think I’m basically the same guy I always was. Maybe I’ve learned, through experience, to rein in some of the anger and temper they say redheads normally have.”
— Willie Nelson
110. “A lot of guns there’s no need for civilians to own those those are for military.”
— Willie Nelson
111. “I think the best exercise that I do is singing for an hour-and-a-half out on the stage, because, yes, I use the lung, the biggest muscle in your body.”
— Willie Nelson
112. “The first time I got onstage was when I was about 5 years old. It was at a church social, and I had a poem to recite.”
— Willie Nelson
113. “If a song was ever good, it’s still good.”
— Willie Nelson
114. “Inside every cowboy there’s a lady who’d love to slip out.”
— Willie Nelson
115. “Writing books is fun because after I do a show for a couple of hours, I’m in a bus for 22 hours. It’s not hard for me to look out the window and tell a joke here and there.”
— Willie Nelson
116. “If you start out looking at somebody, wondering whether he’s good or bad, I think you’re starting out in the wrong direction. I think we’re all good and we’re all bad.”
— Willie Nelson
