The Poem That 6-Year-Old Willie Nelson Wrote That Launched His Songwriting Journey

Willie Nelson knows his way around the guitar better than anybody else in country music. In addition to his musical talents, he also has a way with words that rivals some of the greatest songwriters of all time. Frankly, he is one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and he received that unofficial title not by luck. Rather, he received it by being dedicated to the craft ever since he was a young boy. For Nelson, this journey has been a lifetime in the making.

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Becoming one of the best singers, musicians, and songwriters of all time does not happen solely through luck. Instead, it takes years and years of practice, failure, and reinvention. This is the exact paradigm Willie Nelson followed, as he first started practicing his craft when he wrote his first ever poem at six years old. It wasn’t a masterpiece by any means, but it got Nelson drinking the artistic and literary Kool-Aid.

The Poem That Kick-Started Willie Nelson’s Lyrical Expedition

Willie Nelson has more songs than one can count, and frankly, more than one can remember. However, once you hear Willie Nelson’s first poem, you will never forget it. Not because it’s necessarily catchy or hypnotic, but because it’s his first one. The first of many, and the first one that turned this ball of a dream into a boulder of an illustrious career.

In his interview with AXS TV, Nelson revealed the simple yet honest lines of his first poem. He read the poem out loud during the interview:

“Why you looking at me for?
I ain’t got nothing to say
If you don’t like the looks of me
Then just look the other way.”

A simple couplet, yes, but an impressive one given that it came from a six-year-old. Willie Nelson patted himself on the back regarding that fact.

“Not bad for a six-year-old,” Nelson said.

In the grand scheme of Willie Nelson’s career, these four lines are just a snippet of his thousands upon thousands of others. Though with a different perspective, these are the four lines that seemingly foreshadowed what was to come of Nelson’s life and work.

Also, thanks to the apparent structure in this small poem, it seems Nelson always had a knack for meter and rhyme. In other words, he was seemingly always destined to grace the world with lyrical and literal music. And thanks to that poem, he has.

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