On the Road Again (Willie Nelson song)

"On the Road Again" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Willie Nelson.

"On the Road Again"
UK release picture sleeve
Single by Willie Nelson
from the album Honeysuckle Rose
B-side	"Jumpin' Cotton Eyed Joe" (Johnny Gimble)
Released	August 1980
Recorded	Fall 1979
Studio	Enactron Truck, Hollywood, California
Genre	Country
Length	2:38
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Willie Nelson
Producer(s)	Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson singles chronology
"Midnight Rider" (1980) "On the Road Again" (1980) "Family Bible" (1980)
Audio video
"Willie Nelson - On The Road Again (Official Audio)" on YouTube

The song, about life on tour, came about when the executive producer of the film Honeysuckle Rose approached Nelson about writing the song for the film's soundtrack.^[1] "On the Road Again" became Nelson's 9th Country & Western No. 1 hit overall (6th as a solo recording act) in November 1980, and became one of Nelson's most recognizable tunes. In addition, the song reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart.^[2] It was his biggest pop hit to that time and won him a Grammy Award for Best Country Song a year later.

Background and writing

In 1980 Nelson starred in his first leading role in the Jerry Schatzberg film Honeysuckle Rose, about an aging musician and his relationship with his family, who also are part of his band that travels throughout the United States while playing in different venues.^[3] Shortly after signing the contract, Nelson was approached during a flight by Schatzberg and the executive producer of the movie, who requested him to write a song about life on the road to use as the theme song.^[4][5] Nelson quickly wrote the song on a barf bag.^[6] The tune featured a "train beat".^[7][8]

Release and reception

The song was released with Nelson's 1980 album Honeysuckle Rose, reaching the first position on Billboard's top country albums, while it ranked twenty on the Billboard Hot 100.^[9] Nelson received a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, while he was nominated for Best Original Song during the 53rd Academy Awards.^[10] In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 471 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[11] In 2011, "On the Road Again" was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Legacy

The song has also featured in several other films and TV series including South Park, Shrek, Shameless, Family Guy, Forrest Gump, The Big Green, The Littlest Hobo, Monk, Open Season 3, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, Dumb and Dumber To, Nomadland, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife^[12]

A live version of the song is featured in 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour, while the studio version was released for Rock Band via the Rock Band Country Track Pack.

• Conan O'Brien performed the song as "My Own Show Again" during his 2010 Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, changing the lyrics to reflect how he could not wait to return to hosting a television series after leaving The Tonight Show earlier in the year.^[13]
• "Forever Country", a promotional single released in 2016, features the song as a medley with "I Will Always Love You" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads".^[14]
• First Aid Kit released a cover of "On the Road Again" as a single in 2020. Proceeds from the song sales were donated to Crew Nation in order to support the members of crew who were forced off the road and out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[15]

Charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
Australian Kent Music Report[16]	64
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	2
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	3
US Billboard Hot 100[17]	20
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[18]	1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[19]	7
US Cashbox Top 100	22

See also

• Whitburn, Joel, Top Country Songs: 1944–2005, 2006.
• Whitburn, Joel, Top Pop Singles: 1955–2006, 2007.