Beat writer Jack Kerouac, pictured in 1965, cultivated the myth that On the Road came to him in a three-week rush, but the truth is he wrote, rewrote and revised again. The song On the Road Again was written by Willie Nelson and was first recorded and released by Willie Nelson in 1980. They next performed the song in acoustic sets in the last few months of 1980 and, mainly in electric sets, during the 1981 to 1984 period. It reached the top ten on the Top 40 popular music charts and appeared on their 1968 album Boogie with Canned Heat as well as the 1969 compilation The Canned Heat Cookbook. On The Road Again was performed a few times by the Grateful Dead in 1966 having been in the repertoire of the pre-Dead group Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. 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. It was covered by Rock n' Roll Baby Lullaby Ensemble, 8 Bit Arcade, Guitar Dreamers, Home Free and other artists. As Robert Earl Keen walked off of the stage of the Ryman Auditorium this past fall, the audience remained firmly in the famous church pews. Nelson’s 1980 hit, “On The Road Again,” was written aboard an airplane—on a barf bag. Such is the case for Willie Nelson's timeless anthem, "On the Road Again," penned for the 1980 film Honeysuckle Rose which Nelson also starred in as the leading role of Buck Bonham. "On the Road Again," a song by the blues group Canned Heat, was released as a single in August 1968. About “On the Road Again” Released in 1968 on the aptly titled album Boogie with Canned Heat , “On the Road Again” is a psychedelic blues song about rambling down the path of life. "On the Road Again" is a song written and made famous by American country music singer Willie Nelson.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. About On the Road Again "On the Road Again" is a song written and made famous by country music singer Willie Nelson. Friend comes by, says he's looking for his hat Wants to know where's your husband's at Say I don't know, he's on the way to the pen Come on pretty momma let's get on the road again The familiar-from-the-first-beat song went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1981. It was then dropped from the repertoire. On The Road Again Lyrics: Traditional Music: Traditional A song played by the Dead in 1966 (and before that in Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions), then dropped until it was reintroduced for a spell in the early 1980s, primarily in acoustic sets. She's on the road again, sure as you're born Natural born eastman on the road again (note 2) She's on the road again, sure as you're born. "On the Road Again" became Nelson's 9th Country & Western No.