Willie Nelson is one of the most iconic names in country music. He was one-fourth of the legendary Highwaymen with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson and is continuing to release award-winning music. Our pigtailed, sky-high American treasure is a skilled songwriter who's written timeless hits in addition to songs for countless other artists. His name is pretty much synonymous with country music with recordings that stand the test of time, such as "Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground," "Always On My Mind" and "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" Of his many classics, "On the Road Again" has become one of his signature songs.
Outside of making music, the Red Headed Stranger has dabbled in Hollywood. His first starred in the film Honeysuckle Rose in 1980 in a role that hit pretty close to home for Nelson. The lead character, Buck Bonham (played by Nelson), is an aspiring musician who grapples with caring for his family while balancing fame and life on tour. Nelson's tour bus in real life was even named Honeysuckle Rose.
Honeysuckle Rose
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Shortly after signing his contract for the film, Nelson was on a plane with one of its executive producers, Sydney Pollack. They told him that they needed him to write a theme song for the movie, so he quite literally pulled out one of the barf bags from the seatback in front of him and quickly wrote out some lyrics. Nelson told Uncut that he wasn't really sure what to write.
"They were looking for songs for the movie and they started asking me if I had any idea," Nelson recalls. "I said, 'I don't know, what do you want the song to say?' I think Sydney said, 'Can it be something about being on the road?' It just started to click in my head. I said, 'You mean like, 'On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again'?' They said, 'That's great. What's the melody?' I said, 'I don't know yet.'"
To say the song was an instant success would be an understatement. Honeysuckle Rose's full album was solid but "On The Road Again" was something special. The song not only won a Grammy award for Best Country Song but earned an Academy Award nomination and a spot in the Grammy Hall of Fame. It's widely included on lists of the best songs of all time. This was one of Nelson's greatest crossover hits of the time, entering both the country and adult contemporary Billboard charts. The official audio of the song can be heard on Spotify. (Not to be confused with Canned Heat's bluesy boogie of the same name from the 60s...you can watch the full video of their Woodstock performance here.)
The song remains one of Nelson's greatest hits to this day. It's still being covered by other musicians and is widely used in popular culture and films like Forrest Gump as well as becoming a staple on road trip playlists. Nelson and Alanis Morissette released a duet of the song in 2021 and in 2016, "Forever Country" was a released which featured "On The Road Again" as a medley with Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" and John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads." Nelson even performed a duet of the song with old friend Merle Haggard.
The song, which was named one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011. Neil Young even recorded the song for his 2014 album A Letter Home.
On the Road Again" Lyrics
On the road again
I just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Like a band of Gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turnin' our way
And our way is on the road again
I just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again, break free
And I can't wait to get on the road again
READ MORE: How 'Blue Eyes Crying in The Rain' Saved Willie Nelson's Career
This story previously ran on Oct. 10, 2022.
