It's a Long Story

My Life

By: Willie Nelson, David Ritz - contributor

Narrated by: Christopher Ryan Grant

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Willie Nelson shares his life story in this "heartfelt" best-selling memoir of true love, wild times, best friends, and barrooms (Washington Post).

"Unvarnished. Funny. Leaving no stone unturned"...So say the publishers about this audiobook I've written. What I say is that this is the story of my life, told as clear as a Texas sky and in the same rhythm that I lived it. It's a story of restlessness and the purity of the moment and living right. Of my childhood in Abbott, Texas, to the Pacific Northwest, from Nashville to Hawaii, and all the way back again. Of selling vacuum cleaners and encyclopedias while hosting radio shows and writing song after song, hoping to strike gold. It's a story of true love, wild times, best friends, and barrooms, with a musical sound track ripping right through it. My life gets lived on the road, at home, and on the road again, tried and true, and I've written it all down from my heart to yours. Signed, Willie Nelson.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2015 Willie Nelson (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Wow

Honestly I never really listened to Willie Nelson before and I picked up this book because of the title. I've always known who he was, my dad is a fan, but never did I truly know his story.

This audio book is like sitting on the back porch with your grandfather and listening to his unbelievable but true life. It was beautifully told and the accent gave me the comfort of home.

Willie is a remarkable man whose story is well worth listening too. He has had a life time worth telling full of riches, success, and determination and yet is still humble and down to earth. I would have finished this book sooner if I didn't stop every single chapter to listen to whatever song he had mentioned.

Uplifting, Inspiring, Thought Provoking

Would you listen to It's a Long Story again? Why?

Yes...I found it inspiring.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Willie, of course

What about Christopher Ryan Grant’s performance did you like?

His overall tone and delivery were reminiscent of Willie's.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and no. Like another reviewer, I found myself stopping to listen to songs as they were mentioned throughout the book. That made it more fun though.

Any additional comments?

Toward the beginning of his book, Willie says, “If you like it, tell somebody and if you don’t, don’t say a damn word.” Well...there was much to like, thus the ensuing many words. I write this to share my reflections and to endorse a really good read. I’ve been an Audible member buying multiple audio books a month for the last few years. It’s an addiction, but totally worth it if it’s a good listen. I depend on the reviews of others..because it’s a big letdown to spend money on a title and then discover it’s…”meh”...or worse. So now it’s my turn to contribute. This is my first review ever...and I’m pretty inspired, so it’ll likely be a little on the long side...but then again, that should be ok because…(lame pun intended), “It’s a Long Story.”

To start with, this book found its way to my Audible cart for several reasons, not the least of which was the fact that, like most of the population around my age, I’ve been a fan since I was a teenager in the early ‘70’s. At that time Willie suddenly appeared out of nowhere and delivered music that was loved by just about everybody...and after forty years, that sentiment seems to have remained true for not only my age group, but for subsequent generations as well. I wondered why, and I hoped his book would answer this question. I’m happy to report that it did...but not in any way I would have expected.

Not that I had any defined expectations other than the fact that I figured it would be good...almost all of the reviewers had rated it highly. If anything my thoughts were that the book would be reminiscent of his movie, “Honeysuckle Rose” which I vaguely remembered as being about a “Willie-like” character who had one big party on his tour bus. The party bus...I mean tour bus was definitely mentioned as well as many of his other colorful experiences, but that really didn’t seem to be the main focus. What came through over and again was a portrayal of a deeply spiritual man whose heartfelt goal is to share happiness through his music. I’m sure most would agree he’s pulled this one off. He’s shared much happiness over the years and with so many. When his name comes up in a group of people there are always positive reactions...no matter what age or background, there are always lots of smiles...good feelings and warm memories.

So...I wondered...what creates this magic? I believe a big part of it has to do with his stories. In the book, Willie talks about his songs as being little stories. He brings up the concept of stories often and, indeed, he is a masterful storyteller himself in both his songs and in his book. His words touch a chord in our hearts...likely because the tone of his writing is delivered in a way that resonates with a deeper part of us.

Maybe it’s because his words are sometimes old fashioned...creating richly textured visual images, yet always elegantly simple. For some reason, this has an almost magical way of touching the listener. To hear Willie sing one of his songs is to be reminded of something reassuringly familiar. There’s a core of calm that runs through his melodies and an authentic resonance in the words he shares. His sense of time and phrasing is flexible, and yet that may be one of the most compelling pieces to the puzzle of his effect on the listener. He seems to wander in and around the music as if it were a hologram with a maze he knows how to navigate, knowing when and where he can stretch a beat and insert a lyric...yet he doesn’t even do it the same way every time. He plays with the where he’ll decide to jump in...and besides creating interest, this sends the message that he’s not in a hurry...and that there’s plenty of time. Plenty of time to let life unfold at a slower pace...plenty of time to love and care about the people around you, and plenty of time to just flow along with a good story. We listen and calm down...enjoy the ride...and allow ourselves to be taken to a place far away from our everyday concerns. Simply put, his songs convey love and connection.

This underlying message unfolds at a relaxed pace. Through engaging stories Willie chronicles how his musical and spiritual growth often intertwined. This isn’t spelled out verbatim. The message is subtly woven throughout the telling of his life story, which is one of the many reasons it’s such a great book. There are clues about this along the way which allow the reader to gradually discover what inspired and motivated him to develop into such a unique singer and songwriter. He goes back to the beginning, starting with his childhood where he grew up in a small Texas town, surrounded by music and raised by grandparents who served up love and music as a part of everyday life. His early musical connections were also deeply rooted in his little church where he sang while his sister Bobbie played the piano.

His love of music grew and expanded with every experience, and early on, he made the decision he wanted a career in this area, which, at best had to have been an extraordinarily difficult path to pursue. At times when most would have become discouraged and thrown in the towel, he allowed his spiritual nature and expanded learning to lead him through. When Willie talked about a discouraging time when he was riding alone in a boxcar, he said, “...for hours on end, I meditated on love. I prayed that love would see me through.”

Well...that must have worked, because he did see his way through, and because of this, we as fans are the real winners. But love alone can only go so far, and then faith has to come along for the ride. This is where it gets really inspiring because he kept the faith in this area under some pretty terrible circumstances. One particularly low point was when he had no work, no money, and a young family who needed his support. He shares how some of his greatest songs came from what had to be one of the worst kinds of experiences...a time when he was living in the petro-chemical southeast side of Houston and driving around the ship channel area looking for work. As a native Texan, I can vouch for the fact that this has to be one of the most depressing areas known to man outside of a third world country. This alone would have sent most people running for the hills screaming, but his faith kept him going.

Wow! This has gotten really long...but don’t worry...these aren’t spoilers...just an enthusiastic review, but even a wordy review can’t come close to what the book offers. So count my vote in with the opinions of almost every other reviewer. This is a book to uplift and inspire. Enjoy!




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A beautiful life!

The life of Willie Nelson is an important element of Americana and its folklore. Willie's thoughtful tale of his larger than life journey is not to be missed. He tells his story so well that you feel it is being personally read to you. The narration is outstanding.

Solid. A little formulaic towards the end

It’s really great to hear the story of Willies life before he made it big and to see what drives him. The story is framed in a way that sort of becomes episodic and formulaic when you get towards the end of it as if to fit the theme more than the story. The narrator was good but not great. Worth the listen and purchase.

Not a huge Willie fan but LOVED LOVED this book!!!

I have not been a huge Willie fan but always enjoyed his music. This book seemed to get good reviews so I thought I would give it a go. I loved it. So interesting! Learned so many cool things about this man. If you enjoy the history of country music at all, this is a must read/listen. I love that the entire story of his life was done. He didn't seem to leave much out and that made it so fascinating. It made me go back and explore his early stuff which has been pretty cool. If you love country music, you will love this. Also... although Willie did not narrate this book, Christopher Ryan Grant did an amazing job.

More chapters to come

It is a long, long story that will make you laugh, cry, cringe, and sometimes just shake your head in dis-belief. A man that has lived life his own way, on his own terms, and not afraid to admit it!

My favorite autobiography

I had no idea Willie Nelson was so awesome! He's humble, transparent, and incredibly sincere. I'm so glad that I chose to get this book. I'll be listening to all his songs now.

Fantastic Story

Excellent audio.....
When I started listening to this audio it was light out sign come when I stop, it was dark. it was absolutely fantastic what goes on, Willy wrote an absolutely Fantastic inside working Story of the Country music scene!
couldn't stop listening til it was over!
If you like country music this is a must listing!

Mr. Wonderful

I have always loved listening to Willy sing, but what a wonderful audio to listen to....I truly enjoyed it very much and loved his honesty about how his behavior affected his life as a younger man....such a good audio!!

Reliving my youth

It’s everything I thought it would be. Every story every song took me back. I was raised on traditional country music however the outlaw country was all mine. Thanks.