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The Nation; COLUMN ONE; Always on His Mind; Willie Nelson once vowed that when his guitar, Trigger, was finished, so was he. Decades later, they remain inseparable.

Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif.
Jul 5, 2003
Scott Gold

(Copyright The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times 2003. All rights reserved.)

Slowly, the crowd began to file in, thousands of people, and the seats in front of Nelson began to fill up quickly. The Dead's drummer Mickey Hart and guitarist Bob Weir strolled into the wings of the stage to listen. Nelson seemed to sense the sudden commotion.

"Welcome to our part of the program!" he shouted into his microphone. He circled a red bandana around Trigger's neck, using the guitar as a brace to tie its ends into a knot. He placed the bandana on his head and jumped into a dizzying run of songs: "Crazy," "Angels Flying Too Close to the Ground," a tender version of Townes Van Zandt's ballad "Pancho and Lefty."

"Tunin' " Tom Hawkins has heard it all, thousands of times before.

Still, his work done for another night, he shook his head in appreciation as Nelson wrapped up his set and placed Trigger, gingerly, back on its stand.

"At this point, they play together. They know each other, and it's hard to imagine one without the other," Hawkins said. "There's only one Trigger. And there's only one Willie. And we've got to take care of them both. I think it can last forever."

Credit: Times Staff Writer

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