Willie Nelson shares how he wrote 'On the Road Again': 'The story of my life' (exclusive)

Willie Nelson is a stone-cold music legend, writing and performing hits for more than seven decades.

Now 90, he remains as active as ever, touring, recording and, on the cusp of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 3, releasing a new book. Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind by My Songs, on sale Oct. 31, finds a reflective, unfiltered Nelson looking back through his career and candidly sharing the stories behind 160 of his greatest hits and favorite deep cuts.

Among those included is arguably Nelson's best-known track: "On the Road Again," the tune he wrote for the 1980 film Honeysuckle Rose dedicated to the touring life — and his de facto theme song. Below, in Yahoo Entertainment's exclusive excerpt from Energy Follows Thought, Nelson reveals the origin story behind the earworm that won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Take it away, Willie...

Willie Nelson notebook cover (Courtesy of The Wittliff Collections, Texas State University/Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)

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If someone asked me to write an anthem, I'd freeze. That's way above my pay grade. An anthem is too serious for me. I think of "The Star-Spangled Banner" or "America the Beautiful." And yet...

In 1980, I got top billing in a movie, Honeysuckle Rose. I had no illusions about my acting chops. Slim Pickens, one of the costars, said it best: "No one plays Willie Nelson better than Willie Nelson."

At one point during the production, I was on a private plane with producer Sydney Pollack and director Jerry Schatzberg.

"The movie needs a song," said Sydney.

"A love song?" I asked.

"It'd be better to write something about being on the road."

Off the cuff, I scribbled down some words and read them out loud: "On the road again ... can't wait to get on the road again.

Willie Nelson reads the newspaper on the tour bus. (Michael Abramson/Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)

Sydney didn't look thrilled. "Where's the melody?" he asked.

"Just around the corner," I said. "It'll be here in no time."

Sydney still wasn't thrilled. A week later, though, when the melody showed up, Sydney was satisfied

The song got so big that when Honeysuckle Rose aired on TV, they retitled the film On the Road Again.

Without knowing or trying, in a few little lines I'd written the story of my life.

Watch the opening of Honeysuckle Rose with Nelson and band performing "On the Road Again":

Excerpted from Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs by Willie Nelson with David Ritz and Mickey Raphael, published by William Morrow. Copyright © 2023 by WN Family Partnership, Ltd. Reprinted courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.

Energy Follows Thought is available Tuesday, Oct. 31 at Amazon and other booksellers.

(Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers)