Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From the Road by Willie Nelson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die is a road journal that has the feel of Reader’s Digest and the faint aroma of ganja. Half road diary, half autobiography, half lyrics reprints, this ManBearPig tome can be read anywhere. The jokes, thoughts (including some on Occupy Wall Street), and memories range from the wry observations (“do it wrong until it feels right”) to enlightened advice (a vaporizer is better on a singer’s lungs than smoking marijuana).
Yes, Willie beats the re-legalization and Farm Aid drums (as well he should) and also waxes wistful about a spiritualized Christianity and how things were better when he was young. But, even in this mode, Willie never sounds like an old man telling stories. However, he does repeat himself, as on poker with Ziggy Marley and Woody Harrelson in Edenic Maui.
Many of the vignettes that introduce us to Willie’s family and organization are written by others, which adds variety and often seem to shed more light on Nelson than he himself will reveal. Introduced by Texas troubadour Kinky Friedman, this small whimsical and wise review of Willie’s greatest influences (Django Reinhardt!) and journey will fit in the smallest room of your house for regular reading.
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