People Didn’t Start Calling Willie Nelson an ‘Outlaw’ Until His 40s — Even If He Disagreed

Willie Nelson is one of country music’s biggest outlaws. He earned his nickname “Shotgun Willie” and often wrote about his drinking and smoking habits. Even if people started calling the songwriter an “Outlaw” in his 40s, Nelson thinks his mischief started in his childhood, as noted in Letters to America. 

Where did Willie Nelson grow up?

He’s the artist behind “On the Road Again,” “Beer For My Horses,” “Always on My Mind” and other hits. Nelson was born in central Texas and found an interest in music at a young age, primarily due to his sister, Bobbie, who played piano. 

Nelson played guitar and joined his first band at only 10 years old. He later picked up music-related jobs as a teenager. He also earned a reputation for being an outlaw thanks to his music’s content and attitude toward hallucinogenic substances. (The musician continues to be an advocate for deep breathing and legalized marijuana.) 

Nelson said he was an ‘outlaw in training’ as a child 

The country artist’s full name is actually Willie Hugh Nelson, named after his grandfather William. Since debuting on the music scene, though, this artist earned several nicknames, even being described as an “outlaw” by fans and critics alike.

Nelson described a childhood of mischief in his book Letters to America. He spent time swatting bees with homemade paddles, subsequently getting stung until “our eyes swelled shut.” He and his friends would try to smoke cedar bark, coffee grounds, or corn silk to “break the rules.”

“People didn’t start calling me an outlaw till I was forty years old,” he wrote, “but I’m pretty sure that back in Abbott, I was an outlaw in training. That doesn’t mean I broke a bunch of laws, but I wouldn’t say I gave them a lot of thought either.”

The songwriter said when his friends weren’t causing trouble or playing sports, they were telling one another jokes. He noted that time of his life “was always good for a laugh.”

Willie Nelson also earned the nickname ‘Shotgun Willie’

The country legend has a few nicknames — Booger Red, the Red Headed Stranger, and The Ambassador to Weedville, among them. The artist is also known as “Shotgun Willie,” a nickname that came from him defending his daughter, Lana, against her abusive husband, Steve.

“Thinking Steve would come to Ridgetop to pick me off about dusk,” Nelson said (via Texas Hill Country), “I hid in the truck so he couldn’t tell if I was home… I had my M-1 and a shotgun.” 

When Steve drove by, “Shotgun Willie” emerged from the garage. Steve quickly retreated. 

“That’s when I shot his car and shot out his tire,” Nelson continued, according to the same website. Subsequently, Nelson released “Shoutgun Willie” and the 1973 album of the same title. Now, music by this artist is available on most major streaming platforms.