Download    Willie Nelson is not only a famous country singer and consummate “outlaw bad boy”, he is quite the actor as well.  In 1980, he played a country singer struggling to find national fame in the film Honeysuckle Rose.  Willie did a really decent job playing his character, Buck Bonham, which shocked the heck out of me.  I just recently saw the film and was pleasantly surprised at Willie’s expertise, even though the story line was so predictable I could have written it myself.  Very entertaining… check it out if you haven’t seen it.

The executive producer approached Nelson on a flight to Hollywood and asked him to write a theme song for the movie.  Well, no grass grows under Willie’s feet – he immediately jotted down the lyrics to “On the Road Again” on a barf bag.  That’s a rather inauspicious beginning to one of Willie’s best songs, but it is what it is.

Willie wanted a “train beat” to be the driving force behind the song and his drummer complied with rapid 16th notes on the high hat.  I guess that sorta mimics the sound of a train on the tracks, but I used a muted guitar to get the same effect.  Besides, why a train?  They’re “on the road again”.  Don’t understand Willie’s reasoning on that one – but when’s the last time I won a Grammy?  Uh… never.

[On the Country List]