Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road

by Willie Nelson

In Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, Willie Nelson muses about his greatest influences and the things that are most important to him, and celebrates the family, friends, and colleagues who have blessed his remarkable journey. Willie riffs on everything, from music to poker, Texas to Nashville, and more. He shares the outlaw wisdom he has acquired over the course of eight decades, along with favorite jokes and insights from family, bandmates, and close friends. Rare family photographs, beautiful artwork created by his son, Micah Nelson, and lyrics to classic songs punctuate these charming and poignant memories.

A road journal written in Willie Nelson’s inimitable, homespun voice and a fitting tribute to America’s greatest traveling bard, Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die—introduced by another favorite son of Texas, Kinky Friedman—is a deeply personal look into the heart and soul of a unique man and one of the greatest artists of our time, a songwriter and performer whose legacy will endure for generations to come.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Humor, Biography Memoir, Audiobook

Paperback

First published November 13, 2012

About the author

Willie Hugh Nelson is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the most beloved and notorious country music singers. He reached his greatest fame during the so-called "outlaw country" movement of the 1970s, but remains iconic, especially in American popular culture. In recent years he has continued to tour, record, and perform, and this, combined with activities in advocacy of cannabis, as well as a well-publicized 2006 arrest for cannabis possession, have made him the subject of renewed media attention.

Reviews

[Kath McStay · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Willie Nelson fan, read this book. If you are NOT a Willie Nelson fan, then you should be, and you will be if you read this book. Willie is a great man, poet, philosopher and family man. The book? Why the book is a work of art. There are lyrics, ( mostly his own) and illustrations by his son Micah.

We all know a lot of things about Willie Nelson, his music, his tribulations and his charity. I had no idea that he was a philosopher, or a man so loving that his patchwork family doesn't know or care who started where or why. That, in my opinion, is his greatest talent. He is an amazing and loving family man.

Scattered throughout the book you will find stories and thoughts about Willie, written by family and friends. They are a beautiful tribute. This book is not great literature, but it is great art, and great love.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay I read a fair chunk of this, but as much as I love Willie Nelson the singer, I'd had enough. I'm so glad I didn't buy this book. I checked it out from the local library on a seven day special. The book is well I don't know exactly, it's like Willie sort of dumped everything out on his keyboard in between tokes. Or if he was playing poker or dominos as he apparently does a lot, he had somebody else write or record some stuff. Speaking of weed, Willie lets us know that "I've never had trouble getting marijuana anywhere in the world. In the places where it's legal, the smart countries, they are making a profit. And where it's not legal, the only people making money are the criminals."

The references to weed are supplemented with random bits of stuff like " ... As someone said, 'Keep doing it wrong till you like it that way.' I think, I already said that, but it's important." Yes that really is there. Thankfully, the part where Willie talks about constipation and suppositories is mercifully brief. Then a bit later, Willie clears it all up for us: "Sometimes I think, Well ... Then again I don't know, but when you get right down to it, there it is." Yup, that pretty well sums it up.

Okay, before I abandoned this book I also learned that Willie had a lot of women and is surprised and pleased to find out he has kids he didn't know about like Renee that he had with Mary Haney ... And, well there was Martha he was married to until he met Shirley Collie and a blonde singer in Texas, then Connie and well Annie ... He may still be with her, but well who cares ... He'd rather be playing poker or maybe dominos.

Once again willie clears that all up, "If there is no solution, then there is no problem." That was on p. 86 and there was where I abandoned this book.

Again, I still like Willie. He is a gifted songwriter. Unfortunately, his gifts are not evident in this book. If I didn't like Willie I would have given this book the one star it has earned.

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the autobiography of Waylon Jennings, I ordered Willie Nelson's also, plus a couple of other books of his that I thought would be fun to read. This is one of them. And yep, it was fun!

As the subtitle says, this book is a 'musing from the road'. Journal notes in a way. Coming into some town for a show or leaving another town after a show. Memories that pop up, song lyrics, heartfelt thank you messages to various people Willie has had in his life over the years. And a few slightly raunchy jokes, all of which made me giggle so they were not crude, just a bit off-color.

Other members of the Nelson family added their thoughts also, and one son (Micah) illustrated the book with his own interesting artwork. Talented family!

Since I read this immediately after It's A Long Story (WN's autobio) I did notice some repetition of certain information and stories. And the book does ramble a bit, but for me that gave it a better sense of just sitting on the Honeysuckle Rose tour bus listening to the conversations swirling around me.

Reminded me of my Star Cowgirl days when we would all sit around the barn at the end of the day talking about any topic that came up and solving the problems of the world while we were at it.

So thanks, Willie, for this fun little book. I'm moving on to Letters To America now. See you there!

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not an autobiography, or even an "as told to." It's not a memoir. It's not even coherent. It is a collection of disconnected, repetitive maunderings of an aging stoner, filled out with "testimonials" from members of the Family (ie relatives, employees and friends). His sister's sycophantic comparison of Nelson's trademark red bandanna to the Crown of Thorns enraged me.

True, Nelson wrote some of the most memorable songs of the last forty-plus years in American country music (many of which most people aren't aware came from his pen.) That's why it's even sadder that a publisher decided to send this to press. It's basically a mixture of song lyrics, stupid "dirty" jokes, bathtub philosophy (like bathtub gin, of dubious provenance and quality), and Nelson's rants against tobacco and in favour of legalising marijuana. According to him, repeatedly, "marijuana never killed anybody." Well it may not cause lung cancer, but it certainly has Nelson down to his last brain cell, to judge by this text. I've read about half of it, but short as it is, I just can't take anymore. Besides, he'll probably just repeat what he's already said. Again. The only thing of value I gleaned from this mess was the knowledge that West is the name of a town in Texas, not a regional designation. All my life I've heard it as "west Texas" instead of "West, Texas." Ah. That makes a lot more sense. And it's the only thing in this...thing...that does.

There's a curious disconnect between the supposed Christian beliefs of many country-music singers and songwriters, and their lifestyle. Nelson gave us songs like "Family Bible" which would seem to uphold those values, and yet he sees no contradiction between those and the drinking, gambling, weed-smoking and multiple marriages/relationships (including a few backdoor babies he didn't hear about till long after they were born.) If he were under 40, he'd chirp "but it's all good!" every few paragraphs. He's apparently quite convinced of his own ability to walk on water, or at least biodiesel.

I hung out with stoners in my college years, and it's all so familiar; they know it all, and we should just listen to them. Well, I have other things to do.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth look at Willie Nelson's life is not what this book contains. Rather, it reminds me of a collection of random, probably baked thoughts that Willie had written down on coffee cups, rolling papers, cocktail napkins, and random set lists as the thoughts came to him. Did I feel like I got a good idea of what it's like to live in the mind of Willie Nelson for a few hours? Absolutely, and I wanted to cry, curl up in a ball, cuss, and then eat a bag of Cheetos. But once this book was over, I was strangely left wanting more and pondering what else ole Willie had to say on a further myriad of topics.

The inclusion of his song lyrics over the years nicely book-ended what was otherwise a big, rambling confusing, mess of 160 some odd pages. Candid and at times poignant recollections from various important players in his life were the best part of the book, and at times Willie seemed to get close to "waxing sentimental" but then would ruin it with a trail off into a random thought.

The best I can say about this book is, don't expect the Pulitzer Prize but do enjoy the ride!

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this so much. Great sense of humor, loving, casual and multi-faceted. Willie is a great example of living as full a life as possible.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, now, this was a little bit like reading Moby Dick in that the type of writing jumped around (in Moby Dick some of it is written like a script minus all directions, etc etc). It's more or less a memoir, but also a plug for some of his new music (to which he says bite me), includes positive bits by other people (since he wrote that, you know he isn't going to put negative bits by others), jokes, sayings, political ramblings, pro-marijuana rants, lyrics, etc. While he has some songs I liked, I really didn't end up caring for this book. I didn't give it one star because some of the jokes are really funny (but some crasser than I care for). Sometimes it was quite repetitive, where he gives very similar rants, stories, etc (as in the same ones but perhaps not worded exactly the same).

However, if you like books that appear to be written by a stoner (which he sort of is, since he only smokes weed, even if, as he claims, he basically smokes one joint per day--and what happened to the word toke? Is it outdated now?) and/or you are an ardent Willie Nelson fan, then you may like this better than I did.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

As my 2-star rating indicates, it was an okay book. I tend to avoid books by entertainers because they seem so shallow. Jimmy Buffett's might be an exception. However, this one was not. I picked it up because it seemed an easy read over Christmas break. I was not wrong. With all the testimonials by family and friends, perhaps Willie created this book to be used as a eulogy, or a missal, at his memorial service. If you have ever attended a memorial service where well-meaning relatives drone on and on about the accomplishments and effects of the deceased, you will understand the tediousness of this book. The prevalence of marijuana usage seemed evident by the lack of ability of most of the contributors to string together a coherent paragraph. Willie's eventual, actual memorial service should be a real hoot to watch.

(Note to myself: from now on, avoid books whose titles or sub-titles contain the word "musings".)

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted a quick read while between books for "book club", and it certainly is a quick read. The book is broken up with lots of snippets from family and friends, random memories and song lyrics. Nothing is really held together with a theme, except for the hero worship everyone had for him. This became pretty tedious, and I'm pretty sure his daughter Susie is bat-shit crazy. So some points like that are entertaining and Willie offered a nugget of insight here or there, but not really worth the read to glean those little nuggets of knowledge.

Perhaps if he laid off the ganga when he picked up the pen, the book would have been a little less of a train wreck and more fun of a ride. It sounds like he has interesting opinions on important topics. That would have been more interesting to me than the comparison two people made in the book to him and Jesus. (Both comparisons made by his daughters.)

[Heather(Gibby) · Rating 1 out of 5]

It appears this was thrown together to make some quick cash. It is like Willie Nelson and his family members threw a bunch of thoughts on scrap paper, and someone grabbed them to print into a book. Add in some song lyrics, photographs, and artwork and call it a book.

[Madighan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some one star review I read said it wasn’t a good book because it was the “musings of some aging stoner”. Kinda the point no? Read it for the vibes✌️

[Kimber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what the title advertises: Willie's musings from the road, including dated and undated diary entries, memories, dad (or more accurately in this case, grand-dad) jokes, thoughts about the environment, natural resources, wars, relationships, song lyrics, and stories. These are interspersed with guest-writings from Willie's wife, children, grandchildren, friends and colleagues. Willie talks about his favorite places, including Maui, Hawaii, and Abbott, Texas. He brags about his children and grandchildren and shares memories of how he got his start in music as a rebel who didn't take to the Nashville life so made his own country scene in Texas. I was surprised to learn about some of the famous songs he wrote for others!

Literary writing this book is not, but it's so full of warmth and love of family and friends (and everybody is family or friend) that it doesn't really matter.

I loved the old-timey, mischievous and sweet stories and sentiments. Willie's musings and those of his family members paint him as a kind, non-judgmental, gentle soul with a big heart who loves music, nature, animals, and pretty much everyone he meets.

[Dollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been listening to Willie Nelson's music for the last 35 years, so I enjoyed learning a bit more about him and his family, many of them involved with writing this short memoir. There are lots of photos and his son, Micah’s, illustrations. It brought back some childhood memories for me as I grew up listening to Roger Miller, who is mentioned, as well as Kris Kristofferson and other musicians I knew of. I also enjoyed the joke about the Christmas present for the mailman.

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically a repeat of a lot of stories told in It's a Long Story: My Life with additional reminiscences by other Nelson family members. And a lot of bad jokes. Felt like a way to make money off of the same material, but for people who don't want to commit to a longer book.

[Madison Goodyear · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Kind of rambly and disjointed, but still enjoyable! A sweet book. Willie is an old man sharing his memories of an incredibly interesting life. I’m glad I read it!

[Mike Troiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever wonder what it would be like to get high with Willie Nelson, and just listen to whatever he had to say? Check out Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die. The Subtitle is “Musings from the Road,” and that’s exactly what it is. No plot, no bio, no co-author… just whatever Willie wrote in his notebook in 2011 and 2012. The book is a brief collection of random memories, jokes, and song lyrics that I found pretty entertaining as a vacation read, in large part because it really gives some insight into who he is as a person and an artist.

A few favorites of mine:

“If everything fails, start over. Failure is not fatal. It’s inevitable…”

“Django’s Orchid Lounge is my little hideout on the ocean, with poker, chess, and domino tables. Our sign says, ‘LIQUOR UP FRONT-POKER IN THE REAR…’”

“Thought for the Day: If there is no solution, then there is no problem.”

“Earth is school for dummies. We keep coming here to prove why we need to keep coming here. If we get it right just one time, I don’t think we come back unless we want to. Knowing what we know, I don’t want to. It’s too hard. Living is hard enough, dying really sucks, and I don’t know, do the good times outweigh the bad? Fuck, I hope so.”

“If you want to be a star, you should start acting like one now, so that when you become one, you will already know how to behave, and maybe you won’t blow it. For instance, I don’t know anybody who is better drunk than sober. You might get by a while, but sooner or later it will take you down. I know. I tried it.”

“Work out, work out, work out. If saying it again would convince you, I would gladly say it again… Work out! Exercise, exercise, exercise, but don’t overdo it… Exercise is good medicine, so follow your body – it won’t lie. Do what it says. If it says move, then move. If it says rest, then rest. It’s not that hard; your body does not lie, it does not know how to lie. If it hurts, it complains; if it feels good, it says, ‘Give me more of this.”

“I like Obama a lot. I met him forst when he was a senator from Chicago. He came to the bus and we became friends… I think that once you become president, the first thing you realize is that you can’t do shit. I envision them getting the new president ina little round room and letting him know that he has no power and will do what he is told, just like Bill Hicks said, years ago.”

“We are on a break nd flying back to Maui… We are about three hours out now. Annie has her face covered because there’sa little kid coughing openly, really bad, and spreading her germs everywhere. So I just farted and sent it her way. That should kill all the germs on the plane. My farts have been known to kill johnsongrass six feet hight. My grandmother slapped a fart out of me one time that whistled like a freight train. It scared both of us really bad. She never hit me again.”

Finally, Willie cemented my love for him by quoting the big guy himself, Walt Whitman:

“’And I say unto any man or woman, let your soul stand cool and collected before a million universes. ~Walt Whitman’”

Good for you, Willie. Rock on, my brother.

[Lorca Damon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s one thing when a famous person happens to have a drug habit. It’s something else altogether when society—and the celebrity, for that matter—cannot figure out where the person stops being a person and becomes just another drug user.

In Willie Nelson’s third book, Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die, the reader is treated to a very sad forward by co-writer Kinky Friedman in which Nelson’s life is compared to the Virgin birth before sharing how the singer/songwriter wrote new lyrics on the discards of feminine hygiene supplies and vomit bags, as well as several attempts at bragging about how much marijuana Nelson uses. It quickly goes downhill once the singer himself begins to chime in.

The book is nothing more than a stream-of-consciousness spewing of random facts and memories, without any kind of flow or reasoning. The book looked almost like a fragmented notebook that was supposed to work its way into being an actual book, only the author must have gotten too tired—or high, if the foreword is any indication—to actually get around to writing it. We’re treated to five-sentence stories about Nelson picking his nose in church until he bled, or justifications for using drugs through profanity-laced recollections. The few touching memories are scattered too far apart in the story to hold the readers’ interests.

Unfortunately, the title is misleading: the Musings from the Road part never happened. There were the occasional name drops, but otherwise, the book was severely lacking in interesting anecdotes from the world of country music and seemed to be more about the anger of a bitter man who is far from washed up, but somehow seems like he wishes to be.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were looking for something mind blowing, or rock scientist mentality book this isn't it. What it is a musician telling you about bits and pieces in life, how he sees politics, the environment, the battle over legalizing marijuana and family. It is exactly as the cover says musings from the road, his journal with some commentary from family and friends but mostly Willie being Willie. Frankly, I am tired of hearing the politically correct spew their views.
I enjoyed it because I wanted something amusing to read and you can't go wrong with a title like Roll Me Up and Smoke When I Die. You have no doubt that inside something will amuse you or not. You may or may not be a Willie fan but one thing you will have to admit that at 79 he has seen a lot of things happen here in this country. His views on the environment and how we are always harming it in one way or other are spoken in clear simply direct Willie fashion are we really that dumb?
We've heard it from environmentalists, we've heard it from the science community and still have not made a commitment to improving our planet so why shouldn't Willie say it like it is.
How many times have we looked at the rising cost of prisons and the expense of battling drug smugglers? If you think about it once upon a time we wasted a ton of money chasing bootleggers too.
Reality is we are spending money our children can't begin to pay off, why not change our economic status. If you really want marijuana then you will pay the taxes and support the economy instead of the drug kings. It worked with cigarettes and alcohol, people paid for the right to use it. Something has to change and spending more money is not it!!!!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Willie Nelson is quite a character and you get to see that in this book. He jumps around a lot with no transition from one chapter to the next but it's classic "I do what I want and if you don't like it, piss off" outlaw style. There is a mixture of nostalgia, family, poems/songs, jokes, current journal entries, and plenty of his musings and insights into the world. He is a big family man and his wife, kids, and sister all have little snippets on what it was like growing up with him and what he has taught them along the way. I don't think I've ever finished a book as quickly as I finished this one. It will definitely remain on my book shelf to be picked up at anytime for a good laugh. Thanks, Willie.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite having read a few disparaging reviews about Willie's book, I liked it.

I've always liked Willie, and felt a curiosity about who he is, as a person. I know a little more about him, and my opinion is not lowered any.

If you want a quick read with random stories, a smattering of opinion, and some funny quips every once in a while, this is the book to read.

Alternatively, if you are the kind of person who tends to get your panties in a ruffle because;

1] people aren't like you,
2] you are offended by the occasional "F" bomb,
3] you disagree with people's right to self-determination, and
4] you are compelled by an incessant desire to tell others how they should live their lives,

then pass this book by. Life is too short to be an unhappy, self-righteous asshole.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was absolutely horrible. imagine some dude reading extensive album liner notes, family references and throwing in some "thoughts of the day." and this is what you get.

one stretch of the book was just an advertisement for sirius xm radio, as he listed off his show, and all the shows that he liked on whatever xm radio is. it was real lame.

i think willy might have dementia or a bad editor, because he repeated the same thing over and over again, and some of his family repeated things that he had also said.

or maybe this was an advertisement for maui? i dont know. i know that it was about as good as a fifth graders blog.

[Nanci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love the way Willie plays a guitar and the way he tells a story. This book had some of the same stories I've heard over the years in other books, but there is a new angle in this telling. Perhaps it's Willie's advancing age that puts things into a different perspective, but I loved reading this. Loved it. Made me laugh, made me weep, made me shake my head a lot, and made me even more grateful I've been touched by his genius.

[A'ndrea (Auni) · Rating 1 out of 5]

So very boring! That's all I've got, sorry Willie, I'll stick to listening to your music.

[Jack Eiselt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This lovey wrap-up of Willie Nelson’s life philosophy and his gratitude is a no-brainer read for the major Willie Nelson fan, but having read Me And Sister Bobbie last year, I found that he gets slightly repetitive in his memoirs — sometimes even telling the same story in the same book! Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die (possibly the greatest memoir title ever) is a fabulous tribute to a remarkable career and a novel, beautiful human being’s perspective. Much of this book, however, reads like an extended acknowledgements section, with brilliant nuggets of truth and insight sprinkled throughout. The book as a whole, as a representation of Willie’s being, is more iconic than any individual page of it. It’s still worth a read, however — where else would I have found inspiration like: “If there is no solution, there is no problem.” *chef’s kiss*

[erin manion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this while on tour of north america and it was silly amusing and enlightening. became a huge willie fan after reading this book, immediately felt a soul connection to his big heart. I feel like he says shit that makes no sense and then you go back and look again and suddenly you know exactly what the man’s saying. I relate to that a lot and I hope to be like him <3

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3K5...

made a playlist of all the songs mentioned :)

[Cory Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Willie is a national treasure.

He's loaded with aphorisms, great advice, plenty of jokes, and stories - lots and lots of stories.

The book is a fun ride on a train that often derails but manages to swing back onto the tracks at a later time. Maybe it's the pot, or maybe there is so much poetry and music clouding his brain. But, at 89 years old and still going, he must know something we don't.

Whether you're a fan or not, the book is as warm and entertaining as Willie. The world was blessed with this shaman, so take a moment to hear what he has to say, I'm rather sure something in there will connect with you - if not, you'll walk away with a few laughs and strange craving for Willie's music.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything I ever imagined to be true about Willie Nelson, is true. He's the righteous, amazing guy I thought and hoped he'd be.

His autobiography is a blend of poetry, jokes, retrospection, introspection, and bawdiness. His family members and friends express their two cents worth about Willie and what living with him entails.

Inspiring and intersting.

[Fredrik · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some valuable life lessons baked in here, as well as some facts about Willie and his life and jokes, but mostly it is just ramblings and doesn't have a coherency to it. That drags it down for me. Saw in on my audio-book app and hoped it would have been a bit "more" than it was.

[Vik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hahahaha, it’s like being in Willies head … and we all can only assume what it’s like in there. Learned some, cried some, copied a lot of jokes out of the book and sometimes skipped some musings. Overall definitely enjoyable

[Neysa Zurkammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a truly good read!

I will admit I am not much of a country music fan, but Willie has been one of the few that I do enjoy. This book is a memoir and an instruction on how to live a good life. I truly enjoyed it, and was especially taken with how he expressed his feelings about guns… I couldn’t have said it better. Bravo, Willie, and thank you for a good read.