Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs

For the first time ever, and to help celebrate his 90th birthday in 2023, American icon Willie Nelson provides the stories behind the lyrics of 160 of his favorite songs, along with a dynamic assortment of never-before-seen photos and ephemera.

From his earliest work in the 1950s to today, Willie looks back at the songs that have defined his career, from his days of earning $50 each to his biggest hits, from his less well-known songs (but incredibly meaningful to him) to his concept albums. Along the way, he also shares the stories of his guitar Trigger, his family and "family," as well as the artists he collaborated with, including Patsy Cline, Waylon Jennings, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Dolly Parton, and many others.

Willie is disarmingly honest — what do you have to lose when you're about to turn 90? — meditating on the nature of songwriting and finding his voice, and the themes he's explored his whole life — relationships, infidelity, love, loss, friendship, life on the road, and particularly poignant at this juncture of his life: mortality.

Revealing, funny, whimsical, and wise, this book is an enduring tribute to Willie Nelson's legacy.

"In a wry narrative shot through with a loopy, stoner spiritualism, the great songwriter and outlaw country artist takes a ramble through his back pages. . . . A lively accompaniment to Nelson's sprawling, genre-crossing, delightful catalog of recordings." Kirkus Reviews

Willie Nelson is one of the most popular, prolific, and influential songwriters and singers in the history of American music. He has recorded more than one hundred albums over six decades, appeared in several films, and written two New York Times bestsellers: Willie: An Autobiography and The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes.

Micah Nelson is a musician, visual artist, and videographer, and plays regularly with his father Willie Nelson.

David Ritz is the author of the acclaimed novels The Man Who Brought the Dodgers Back to Brooklyn and Blue Notes Under a Green Felt Hat. He is the only four-time winner of the Gleason Book of the Year Award. He's also cowritten the memoirs of many celebrities.