With poetic economy, Nelson spins a tale that blends heartbroken earnestness with scathing self-deprecation, sincere nostalgia with tragic pettiness. The three verses comprise only one side of the ensuing conversation. In essence, “Funny” depicts a jaded narrator running into an old flame. This creates a strikingly open field of interpretive possibilities, each of which changes the emotional impact and very meaning of the song. “Funny How Time Slips Away” has no authoritative, canonical version. He has performed “Funny” as a lovelorn serenade, a lonesome jazz ditty, an orchestral ballad, a brass-band tune, a blues duet, and more. Meanwhile, Willie has offered his own repeated reimaginings. To such esteemed company, one might also add Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones, Lyle Lovett, The Supremes, The Spinners, Leon Bridges, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and many, many others. An impressive cohort of artists subsequently reinterpreted the song in diverse styles: the too-cool croon of Elvis Presley the silky groove of Al Green the easy-listening of Perry Como the soulful R&B of Dorothy Moore the Beale Street blues of B. After early renditions by Billy Walker, Jimmy Elledge, and Nelson himself in the early 1960s, the song quickly transcended its country roots in the Nashville Sound. Since its first recording more than 60 years ago, the song has continued to evolve. What about this deceptively simple composition-a fairly basic chord structure, three unadorned verses, and no chorus to speak of-makes it so evocative and enduring, so endlessly adaptable across the divides of genre and generation? What does “Funny” reveal not only about the artistry of Willie Nelson, but also about the culture that venerates him? Rather, reflecting on his journey today, I’m struck by the enduring relevance of a single song: “Funny How Time Slips Away.” And anyway, judging by the small library of memoirs he has released, nobody can indulge such retrospection better than the man himself. But the beats and tribulations of his life have already been well covered in a lifetime of magazine profiles and biographies. Both a living legend and a relatable everyman, Willie turns 90 years old today, and it’s tempting to mark the occasion with yet another retrospective. Earlier this year, Willie Nelson was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, having already been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993.
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