You Asked, We Checked: Did Willie Nelson Really Write “On the Road Again” on an Airplane Barf Bag?

Country music, like any other genre, is full of legendary figures and the lore that surrounds them. Take, for instance, Willie Nelson. He has been touring and writing songs since the 1960s. Moreover, he has written songs that have transcended “hit” or “classic” status to become cultural touchstones. The origins of many of those songs are also steeped in stories that may or may not be true. One curious reader wanted us to shine some light on one of those tales. Did he really write “On the Road Again” on an airplane barf bag?

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“On the Road Again” is one of those aforementioned songs that has become a cultural touchstone. Nearly everyone, whether or not they’re a fan of Nelson or country music, recognizes the song. It was also incredibly successful upon its release. It topped the country chart and won the Grammy for Best Country Song. He wrote the song for the 1980 film Honeysuckle Rose. While the movie wasn’t a hit, “On the Road Again” was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar that year.

It seems impossible that an Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning, No. 1 hit that became a legendary artist’s signature song could have been written in a few minutes on an airplane barf bag. That’s what happened, though.

Willie Nelson Tells the Story Behind “On the Road Again”

The rumor about Willie Nelson writing “On the Road Again” on a barf bag has been going around for decades. In 2015, readers of Uncut Magazine submitted their questions for a crowdsourced interview. One of those readers asked Nelson if the story was true.

“Yeah,” he wrote in reply. He had to make do with what he had on hand at the time.

“I was on an airplane with Sydney Pollack and Jerry Schatzberg, who was the director of the movie Honeysuckle Rose. They were looking for some songs for the movie, and they started asking me if I had any idea. 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,” Nelson recalled.

Less than ten minutes later, Nelson had finished the lyrics. He created the melody for the song a week later, when he was ready to record it.

Nelson Reflects on “On the Road Again”

Willie Nelson wrote about “On the Road Again” in his book Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs.

“If someone asked me to write an anthem, I’d freeze,” he began. “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,” he added before telling the story behind the timeless tune.

“Without knowing or trying, in a few little lines I’d written the story of my life,” he concluded.

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