Like anyone who grows up in the entertainment industry, Nelson has had a close-up view of fame and its pitfalls. On American Romance, he details his skepticism and reckons with his desire to achieve more. “Born Running Out of Time,” which evokes Tom Petty’s melodic jangle, describes the exhaustion of that never-ending quest. “I've always wrestled with that impulse—the ambition versus the ability to appreciate what I have,” he says. “Nothing you ever get will be good enough and nothing you ever achieve will fill that hole, so you must be able find peace now. Whatever comes is just icing on the cake.”

Likewise, in “The Lie,” Nelson looks at the way those flawed lessons about constant striving get handed down to younger generations. “Without a spiritual center, ambition can be dangerous,” he says. “You can hustle, as long as you understand that it's a game. What's more important is coming home to your family and treating the people around you with kindness.”

American Romance undoubtedly shows Nelson as he is now, but in grand storytelling fashion worthy of a Steinbeck novel, it circles back to the beginning in the final track. The classic country ballad “You Were It,” which closes the album, was the first song he ever wrote when he was 11 years old. It caught the ear of the late Kris Kristofferson, who said, “You’re going to be a songwriter. You don’t have a choice.” It set Nelson on the road to a career in music. 

“When I get asked the question, what's it like being Willie Nelson's son? Well, I was in on the school bus and this song came to me,” he recalls. “My dad saw it and loved it so much that he put it on his own album. That inspiration and validation came really early for me. I was able to find my purpose in life at a young age.”

As such, the prolific Nelson always tries to keep his senses open for the muse and let her speak through him, lest she up and leave him. “If I were more closed off or if I ignored her, she'd probably move on to another guy,” he says. “At the same time, I never want to keep her to myself and I never try to ask her for more than she's willing to give.”

It goes back to Nelson’s conception of feeling like he has enough and of his unique experiences supplying him with abundant inspiration. American Romance is a stirring story about the place that made it possible, playing out like a series of chapters from his life. “The heartache that America has brought me and the joy that it has brought me,” he muses, “It's all led to where I am right now.”