Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pretty Paper

By: Willie Nelson
Narrated by: W. Brown, David Ritz
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.50

Buy for $13.50

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A perfect Christmas gift for music lovers, Pretty Paper is Willie Nelson’s inspiring Christmas fable, based on his holiday classic “Pretty Paper”.

More than 50 years ago, Willie Nelson’s beloved Christmas song “Pretty Paper” first hit the airwaves. And for all these years, Willie has wondered about the real-life Texas street vendor, selling wrappings and ribbons, who inspired his song. Who was this poor soul? What did his painful trials say about our loves, our hopes, our dreams in this holiday season - and in the rest of our lives?

It’s the early '60s, and Willie Nelson is down and out, barely eking out a living as a singer-songwriter. The week before Christmas, he spots a legless man on a cart, selling wares in front of Leonard’s Department Store in Fort Worth, Texas. The humble figure, by the name of Vernon Clay, piques Willie’s curiosity, but Vernon is stubbornly private and - despite Willie’s charming queries - has no interest in telling his story. Willie is tenacious, though, and he eventually learns that Vernon is a fellow musician, a fine guitarist and singer.

When Vernon disappears, he leaves behind only a diary, which tells an epic tale of life-altering tragedies, broken hearts, and crooked record men, not to mention backroad honky-tonks, down-home cooking, and country songwriting genius. Deeply moved and spurred on by Vernon’s pages, Willie aims to give the man one last shot at redemption and a chance to embody the holiday spirit.

©2016 Willie Nelson (P)2016 Penguin Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“This is a touching, well-crafted, hard-knocks tale that earns its bittersweet ending; it stays with you like a mournful melody you can't quite shake.” (Jocelyn McClurg, USA Today)

Pretty Paper has an It's a Wonderful Life quality.” (David Martindale, The Dallas Morning News)

“Always a fine songwriter and poet, Nelson now fictionalizes one of his songs.... It reads like a chapter out of Nelson’s life.” (The Roanoke Times)

What listeners say about Pretty Paper

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Pretty Damn Good!

Very good storyline, sad and moving but also has a positive energy in the storytellers point of view and warm hearted spirit.easy to identify with even though I'm not a musician or writer. Should be made into a movie 😌

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One Awesome Book

This is the best book I've ever listened to. I always admired Willie's music but now I admire his character more than ever. I don't know what happened to Vernon after the end of the book, but I imagine he died a much happier man than much of the life he lived. God bless Vernon Clay and all who loved him and helped him along the way. Especially Willie Nelson and the Family of Jill and Cynthia.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!