Roll Me Up is an odd joint of a book. Childhood memories and stories about people in the music industry compete with thoughts on karma and God and song lyrics and politics and road diaries. There are also endless homage notes from family members and employees, giving the tome a faint whiff of hagiography. Willie drops names and f-bombs and off color jokes. Lacking any cohesive narrative (and repeating some themes), it’s almost more of a scrapbook/time capsule than anything else. It’s a bit of a chore.
Politically, Nelson is (brace yourself) for the legalization of marijuana. He supports gun control laws. He’s not a big fan of America’s global military empire. He reflects on FarmAid as being somewhat of a Sisyphean exercise, but he’s glad he made the effort. Nelson remains popular culture’s antidote to Ted Nugent. He still loves Texas, even though the outlaw spirit he galvanized has been replaced by corporate fundamentalism.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is the influence the church had on Nelson, both musically and spiritually. Raised by music loving grandparents, Nelson started performing on the Methodist stage at the age of five and he’s never lost those roots. Even today his older sister Bonnie plays piano in Willie’s band in a style reminiscent of the church tradition. I recently overheard a noted Texas writer describe Willie as a “contrarian” and a “true believer.” You’ll see both of these aspects of his personality in Roll Me Up.
A few years ago, I saw Nelson give one of the most stunning concerts I’ve ever seen. It sounds pretentious, but as he went through the best songs in his catalogue and mined gems from other artists, it was almost like he was saying, “I am America. Here is our music.” I was not expecting to see such an artful display of virtuosity at an Oklahoma casino gig. When someone follows their artistic muse and intuition as deeply as Willie does, not every performance/album/book will work for everyone. Nelson is American treasure, but this book isn’t. I’d give it an alternate title – Scattershot Willie.
Grade – C
Willie Nelson, "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" Book Review
