Willie Nelson - Willie Nelsons Letters to America

Willie Nelsons Letters to America

Copyright 2021 by Willie Nelson

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

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ISBN 978-0-7852-4155-3 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-4154-6 (HC)

Epub Edition April 2021 9780785241553

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021930698

Printed in the United States of America

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DEAR READERS,

Thanks for picking up a copy of my new book, a collection of fond memories, personal letters, good songs, and bad jokes. These are stories that start back when I was a kid in Abbott, Texas, and reach forward to the current pandemic, which has us locked up at home singing our own versions of Hello Walls.

Its been a long time since I wrote, Shotgun Willie sits around in his underwear, but it dont seem like all that much has changed. Just ask my wife, Annie. The song of the year for married couples ought to be How Can I Miss You When You Never Go Anywhere?

One good thing about the lockdown is this eighty-seven-year-old guitar picker has had time to write out a few of the stories that made me who I am, and to think about what Id like to say to people I love, and to some I loved who arent with us anymore. Ive also written to people Ive admired or whove inspired me along the way.

Ive always been a letter writer. I spent a lot of my life on the road, so I sent notes to family to say things I couldnt say in person. When I was young, I was taught to write thank-you letters. I could spend the rest of my life writing thank-you notes to friends, family, and my heroes, but Id still end up leaving out someone I love. So Ill say it now. Thank you. Every one of you. If youre wondering if I mean you, the answer is, Yes, I do.

There is nothing more important than family and friends, so this book is dedicated to all of you. I know you accept me as I am. For those who dont know me as well, if some of my thoughts dont hit a home run with you, you should at least know that they come from my heart. Differences are to be expected in life, especially in difficult times. Despite our differences, this is a time when remembering our common bonds and dreams has the power to bring us all back together again.

Ive done a fair amount of rough and rocky traveling, so I guess this is the good, the bad, and the funny. Like those jokes I mentioned, life is better when we dont take it too seriously.

Speaking of which...

What do you call a guitar player without a girlfriend?

Homeless.

If you dont think thats funny, you probably dont know many guitar players.

Okay, where was I? Oh yeah... letters! We all know the art of letter scribbling aint what it used to be. And grammar aint either. Back when you had to write or type something with your own hand, mail it halfway across the country, then wait for a reply, there was reason to invest a lot of thought into your letters. If you were good at it, those letters were like carefully crafted songs. That art has been replaced by the instant exchanges of texting, and even though Im a champion thumb-typer, there are some things that dont fit in the length of a tweet.

My songwriting and producer pal Buddy Cannon and I often write songs by text, sending verses and choruses back and forth like teenagers making plans for Saturday night. That may sound crazy, but dont knock success unless youve tried it. Its a system thats worked for us for years, and the lyrics to a few of those songs are in this book. Im also including lyrics for some of my classic songs and a few stories about how I wrote, sold, or recorded them.

Im working on a new song now, but so far I only have two lines:

If you dont leave me alone

Ill find someone who will

I dont know where that ones headed. But Ill keep you posted.

I once wrote a song called Wholl Buy My Memories? And I guess Im about to find that out. So, without any more jabber-jaw, here are my songs, my stories, and my letters to America. And a few bad jokes.

by Willie Nelson

A past thats sprinkled with the blues

A few old dreams that I cant use

Wholl buy my memries

Of things that used to be

There were the smiles before the tears

And with the smiles some better years

Wholl buy my memries

Of things that used to be

When I remember how things were

My memories all leave with her

Id like to start my life anew

But memories just make me blue

A cottage small just built for two

A garden wall with violets blue

Wholl buy my memries

Of things that used to be

This is your old friend, Willie, sending a note to see how youre doing and to say Im doing fine. Ive long believed in the positive idea of being fine and being committed to a goal of always moving forward. If Im backing up, its just to get a running start. Those are words you can live by.

But when times get tough for family and friendsand I like to think of everyone around the world as my family and friendsI sometimes look back on songs Ive written that might contain some wisdom or maybe a laugh that still applies today. I once wrote a country song called Three Days, about the three toughest days of heartbreakyesterday, today, and tomorrow. So I guess Im thinking now about lessons I learned yesterday that would apply today and tomorrow.

When the going gets tough and the tough need a little inspiration to get going, I think about another of my songs.

Lord, please give me a sign

For these are difficult times

These really are difficult times. As for me, Im getting bored to all hell sitting at home and wishing I was on the road making music with my friends. But my problems are small potatoes compared to many millions of people who dont know where their next paycheck is coming from or how theyre gonna feed their families.

I was born during your Great Depression of the 1930s, so I had some early experience with hard times. My sister, Bobbie, and I were raised by our grandparents. After my granddaddy died, times were even tougher. For Thanksgiving dinner one year, we split a can of soup! Some may not think of those as the good old days, but my grandmother, who we called Mama, was always there for us. It took love and faith and music to carry us through.

Even today, I can hear my grandmothers voice and her fingers on the piano keys as she played and sang Old Rugged Cross and Woody Guthries great anthem to America, This Land Is Your Land. The hard times made us strong, and the good times made us stronger. Together, they made me who I am.