Willie Nelson – There You Are

About the song

Few voices in American music are as instantly recognizable—or as enduring—as Willie Nelson’s. With a career that spans more than six decades, Nelson has carved out a singular space in the landscape of country music, one that blends storytelling, tenderness, rebellion, and a quiet kind of wisdom that comes from a life fully lived. “There You Are” is a lesser-known gem in his sprawling catalog, but one that reveals so much of what makes him special as both a songwriter and a vocalist.

Released in the early 1980s, during a particularly prolific period in Nelson’s career, “There You Are” is a song that captures the bittersweet essence of longing, memory, and unexpected presence. It’s not a barnburner or a hit designed for stadiums; rather, it’s a quiet, thoughtful ballad that finds its strength in subtlety. The lyrics speak to that universal experience of suddenly being caught off guard by a memory, a scent, a song—some small moment that brings a person back to you, even when you thought you’d moved on. “There you are,” Nelson sings with his trademark phrasing—gentle, slightly behind the beat, as if he’s not in a hurry to let the moment go.

The instrumentation is spare, but that’s exactly what makes it work. A soft steel guitar sighs in the background, the piano is understated, and Nelson’s acoustic guitar provides the heartbeat. It’s a perfect example of the “less is more” philosophy that so often defines the best of country music. And, of course, there’s Nelson’s voice—weathered, intimate, and unmistakably human.

What’s striking about “There You Are” is its emotional maturity. This isn’t a song about heartbreak in the dramatic, overwrought sense. It’s about acceptance, about how certain people become part of the fabric of your life whether you like it or not. They appear in the quietest places, often when you least expect them, and their presence is no less real for being a memory.

In many ways, this song reflects the deeper current running through much of Willie Nelson’s work: an acknowledgment that life is complex, that love doesn’t always end neatly, and that the past has a way of finding us. “There You Are” may not top his list of radio hits, but it remains a poignant example of his gift for finding beauty in the ordinary and the emotional weight in the seemingly small moments of life.

Video

Lyrics

It might be in the middle of the afternoon,
Maybe somewhere in the middle of night
I might not be thinking anything at all
And a perfect stranger’s face
Catches a certain light
And my heart jumps
’cause all at once

There you are
Standing right in front of me
There you are
As lovely as you’ll always be
And Here I go
Back into those memories
Where you are
Still in love with me.

I know I’ll never hold you in my arms again
I know I’ll never hear you speak my name.
I look around this lonely room and I can see
Your memory’s the only thing that hasn’t changed
I close my eyes
And every time

There you are
Standing right in front of me.
There you are
As lovely as you’ll always be
And here I go
Back into those memories
Where you are
Still in love with me.

Where you are
Still in love with me