The Deeper Meaning of Willie Nelson’s 1971 Hit “Yesterday’s Wine”

Willie Nelson is one of the few legendary country artists who had a long journey through their career. In his song “Yesterday’s Wine,” we will look back on the journey he had.

If you’re the kind of person who lived for a long time, what are the things you have learned? We all discover ourselves through our journey. Willie Nelson comes up with a smart comparison of our journey to that of wine. We age and through this, it is expected that we become better through time.

willie nelson, wine — Image from Willie Nelson’s official Facebook page

Willie Nelson Wants Us to Age like a Fine Wine

Aging like a fine wine is a goal in life. The longer the wine is kept, the better the quality. That is expected of us. We should age like a fine wine because, in every experience, there is a lesson learned. Some people do learn but some do not. The track gives importance to the journey that we all go through, and an end goal that we should have.

What do we want to achieve in life? Just like wine, if we are given a long time to live our lives then we should make the most out of it. As was stated above, everything is a learning experience. We should take it as a challenge and be a better person than yesterday. I remember one of the greatest lines I’ve heard from a movie:

“There is nothing noble to being superior to your fellow man. True nobility is being superior to your former self.”

I use this quote to better myself. I use this to remind myself that I am in competition with no one besides myself. If we continue the path of comparing ourselves with other people, then we will never be happy. Finding your own happiness is all about knowing yourself and doing the best that you could do. Your best may not be the same as other people. Why would you want to do what they are doing? Be happy with the journey that you have and be satisfied with the things that you have achieved.

We all go through the same journey but the big difference is how we take it. Just like Willie Nelson, we can all make it if we focus on ourselves before thinking about other people.