Willie Nelson at the time of writing this book is 82 and he seems to be writing right from his heart. He covers a lot of his experiences, feelings and thoughts; but what might be of most interest to his many fans are his descriptions of how he wrote many of his songs. He wants to tell his story and he most certainly does. A song is a short story and he has used them to tell much of his life but here are the fine points.
I like his music, but have never seen him perform (but now I have tickets for this summer) and didn't know much about him, other than some things I have read in newspapers and his legal troubles. Those are covered in here and how he keeps on going. He relates much of his life to his music and he covers his childhood to the present in these pages.
He does begin with his IRS troubles. He is blunt in his language and his attitude. He writes as he speaks and yes there is profanity in here. That is just how some talk and his writing is seemingly as honest as his manner.
He does tell about downing huge quantities of whiskey and wine, experimenting with LSD and of course his ongoing love affair with pot.
If anything else his song writing is amazing. He has written some of country music's greatest classics: Crazy, Pretty Paper, Funny How time Slips Away among others. He tells how they came into being and how they and others were recorded.
Despite all this, what is overriding is his love for family, friends, even his different wives, women, and his faith. This might be old hat for his tried and true fans, but these are his personal stories and his look on life and the background of his music, his songs and how his recordings came to be.
This is a book for Willie Nelson fans and when you read it you will have more of an appreciation for this man and his music. It might even make new fans for the man and his songs.
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