The Story Behind the Debut Single Willie Nelson Wrote When He Was 12

When Willie Nelson was 12 he played in a local polka band in Abbott, Texas, and wrote what would become one of his first two singles, “The Storm Has Just Begun.” His woeful ballad was a story of heartbreak set against a stormy night.

“That’s kind of looking on the dark side for a 12-year-old kid,” said Nelson in a 1991 interview about his pre-teen dating years and how he wrote the song. “I had some real young girlfriends, so it wasn’t unusual for me to think about writing love songs. But to come up with the words that I did come up with at that early age was a little baffling. A little unusual for a kid.”

Years later, while working as a DJ at KBOP in Pleasanton, Texas in the mid-’50s Nelson used the radio station equipment to record two songs, including the one he had written so many years earlier.

[RELATED: 6 Songs Willie Nelson Wrote Made Famous by Other Artists]

Using reel-to-reel tapes, the original recording of “The Storm Has Just Begun” was run over a farm market report.

“The Storm Has Just Begun,” along with When I’ve Sung My Last Hillbilly Song,” were the first two songs Nelson ever recorded.

The Storm

At first, Nelson’s recordings were turned down by several labels, but years later he was able to rerecord “The Storm Has Just Begun” during his first session with D Records. In 1959, it was released as the B-side to “Man with the Blues” and credited to Willie Nelson and the Reil Sisters.

On the surface, “The Storm Has Just Begun” chronicles a raging tempest that darkens the night. Nelson’s lyrics also speak to a particular love and the darkness he feels without it. The storm is within him as he faces life without his love.

I realize the storm has just begun

Each night the raging storm clouds take away the moon above
And each day the same clouds take away the sun
My world is filled with darkness and I’m lost without your love

And I realize the storm has just begun

Can’t you see the lighting flashing can’t you hear the thunder roar
She’s gone she’s gone the damage has been done
There’s a storm within my heart that keeps me crying night and day

And I realize the storm has just begun

Country singer Billy Walker also recorded and released a cover of “The Story Has Just Begun” as “The Storm Within My Heart” in 1959.

[RELATED: The Rocky Outlaw “Marriage” of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings]

1976 Version

In 1976, Nelsom rerecorded ‘The Storm Has Just Begun” for his album The Longhorn Jamboree Presents: Willie Nelson & His Friends.

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images