Willie Nelson isn’t known for being too strange. However, America’s favorite outlaw country singer has had a few unconventional moments throughout his career. Let’s take a look at just a few strange (but fantastic) Willie Nelson songs that you may have never heard before! A couple of these strange tracks are true hidden gems.
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1. “Waltz Across Texas”
When one thinks of Willie Nelson, waltzes and polkas don’t exactly come to mind. However, Nelson is actually a huge polka fanatic. He recorded a version of “The Beer Barrel Polka” back in 1983 for Tougher Than Leather. He’s worked on several occasions with polka superstar Jimmy Sturr, notably for the Bob Wills classic “Big Ball’s In Cowtown”.
Just as well, he produced his own polka classic called “Waltz Across Texas”. This odd but incredible piece of work bridges the divide between Texas and Eastern Europe, and it’s an easy song to love.
2. “Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die”
When you’ve got dozens upon dozens of albums under your name, it only makes sense that you’d have an experimental phase. That was the case for Willie Nelson, who decided to give reggae music a try, as well as a host of other non-country genres.
“Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die” is very much a country song, but the addition of Snoop Dogg was quite unexpected and a bit on the experimental side. Kris Kristofferson and Jamey Johnson also make an appearance on this ode to good ol’ marijuana. It’s weird at face value, but if you know anything about Willie Nelson, you know that this 2012 song was inevitable.
3. “Heartland”
Who knew that two radically different voices could sound so good together? Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan once came together for the 1993 song “Heartland”. The tune was written as a sympathetic ode to the United States’ community of family farmers. Nelson has always been a big advocate for helping small farms in the US, and Dylan always seems to make it to Farm Aid to perform.
It only makes sense that these two would come together for a song about the struggle between small farmers and big banks. However, one can’t deny that their voices are very different from each other, and it’s a small miracle that it worked out.
Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/WireImage
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