Willie Hugh Nelson was born on this day in 1933 in Abbott, Texas. His parents had moved there from Arkansas in 1929 amidst the Great Depression to look for work. Willie is 83. Ain’t it “Funny How Time Slips Away.”
What does this have to do with bass tournament fishing? Consider the lyrics of his song “Crazy,” which Patsy Cline made famous in 1961 and dozens of artists have covered since. Substitute the sport of bass tournament fishing for the idea of a lover in the song:
I’m crazy for crying,
I’m crazy for trying,
I’m crazy for loving you.
Makes all the sense in the world. Happy birthday, Willie! Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, and it’s guaranteed he’s got ‘em. (Highly, pardon the pun, recommended is Nelson’s memoir, It’s a Long Story: My Life, which was published last year.)
Footnote/afterword: Exactly a week ago today it was noted here it was the late Roy Orbison’s birthday, and during a songwriting session with Bill Dees, Orbison asked his wife if she needed any money for an upcoming trip. Dees said, “Pretty woman never needs any money.” Forty minutes later, Orbison’s most famous hit, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” had been written.
I noted then, while we were in Mountain Home, Ark., that there wasn’t much of a link between Roy Orbison, the song, “Oh, Pretty Woman” and bass fishing. Later that day, I got a text message from Rick Pierce, the president of BassCat Boats and a Mountain Home resident. He stated that Bill Dees was a longtime neighbor who died in Mountain Home in 2012. There’s your link.