“Nothing I Can Do About it Now”
Willie Nelson
Written by Beth Nielsen Chapman
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
September 16, 1989
Willie Nelson went from being the top singles artist of the eighties to being a non-entity on country radio in the nineties, yet “Nothing I Can Do About it Now” was still an indication of where the genre was going in the following decade.
The song was written by Beth Nielsen Chapman, who had some success as a singer and songwriter in the eighties but would really break out in the nineties as an AC artist and a powerhouse country songwriter of multiple No 1. singles, including “Five Minutes,” “This Kiss,” and “Happy Girl.” It’s a credit to her talent as a writer that this sounds like a self-penned Nelson hit, with that perfect mix of a clear-eyed realism about the present and hopeful aspirations for the future. It sends the message that regrets are inevitable, but dwelling on them is a distraction from what is still within your control.
Nelson’s A Horse Called Music album was led off by “Nothing I Can Do About it Now.” The second and final single, “There You Are,” became his final top ten hit to date as a a solo artist. He’d only visit the top twenty one more time on his own, with “Ain’t Necessarily So” in 1990. However, a critical renaissance was on its way, with Nelson’s best albums of the decade – Across the Borderline, Spirit, Teatro – rivaling his legendary run of seventies concept albums. He became a presence on country radio again in the aughts, and we’ll be covering his longest-running No. 1 single to date when we get to that decade.
“Nothing I Can Do About it Now” gets an A.
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It had to have been a good three years since the Red-Headed Stranger last topped the chart by the time this one came around. I definitely would have figured this one was self-penned and so much about the lyrical set-up was Willie-esque. It’s an okay song but I feel like I need to hear another artist’s take on it to pick up on its essence. Willie’s version sells me with his usual Tex-Mex stylings, especially that zippy accordion, but the delivery lacked the vitality and urgency that I think a female artist might bring to it. I’m definitely glad he was able to close out the decade with a final #1 now. There’s getting to be a lot of grave markers in that 1989 cemetery at this point!
Grade: B