The Willie Nelson Ballad That Became a Regular on ‘Monday Night Football’ by the 1970s

Shortly after Willie Nelson moved to Houston, Texas, in the 1950s to work and hit the music scene in the area, he tried to sell some of his songs for $10 each to Larry Butler, the house band singer at the popular venue the Esquire Ballroom. Instead, Butler helped Nelson by giving him a $50 loan to rent an apartment in nearby Pasadena and a regular singing gig at the club.

During his commutes to work, Nelson wrote “Night Life,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” and Patsy Cline‘s 1961 hit “Crazy.”

While performing at the Esquire Ballroom, Nelson would also close the night with another fitting song he wrote during this period, “The Party’s Over.” Before Nelson could record the song himself, his friend and guitar instructor Paul Buskirk presented it and several others to singer Claude Gray (“The Tall Texan”), who recorded it and released it as a single in 1959.

Gray also recorded three additional songs by Nelson during the session, including “Leave Along,” “Night Life,” and “Family Bible,” the latter of which went to No. 7 on the Country chart for the singer.

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‘Turn Out the Lights, the Party’s Over’

By 1966, Nelson had finally recorded his version of “The Party’s Over,” which became the title track of his sixth album (The Party’s Over and Other Great Willie Nelson Songs). His version went to No. 24 on the Country chart.

Nelson’s lyrics tell the end of a regular shindig that plays on repeat night after night and also the end of a relationship—But look at me, I’m almost crying,’ but that don’t keep your love from dyin’ / Misery ’cause for me, the party’s over.

Turn out the lights; the party’s over
They say that all good things must end
Let’s call it a night; the party’s over, and tomorrow starts the same old thing again

Too much partying ultimately ends in heartache: Broke her heart so many times, had to have my party wine.

What a crazy, crazy party never seen so many people
Laughin’, dancin’, look at you you’re havin’ fun
But look at me, I’m almost crying,’ but that don’t keep your love from dyin’
Misery ’cause for me, the party’s over

Once I had a love undyin’ I didn’t keep it, wasn’t tryin’
Life for me was just one party and then another
Broke her heart so many times had to have my party wine
But one night, she said Sweetheart, the party’s over

[RELATED: The Story Behind the Debut Single Willie Nelson Wrote When He Was 12]

Monday Night Football

In 1970, when former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith, nicknamed “Dandy Don,” started hosting Monday Night Football on ABC, he often sang the opening two lines of Nelson’s “The Party’s Over” whenever there was a team in the lead.

Turn out the lights; the party’s over
They say that all good things must end

In 1982, Nelson re-recorded “The Party’s Over” and released it as a B-side to his chart-topping “Always on My Mind” from his No. 1 album of the same name.

Photo: Willie Nelson performs onstage at the Palomino Club on May 8, 1970, in Los Angeles, California. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)