Willie Nelson helped me write a song today

Almost all the television programs we watch any more are on streaming platforms.  I've finally figured out which ones suit us the best.  Of course we have Prime Video, since it comes with Prime.  We also have Paramount+ and Netflix.  Paramount has a Willie Nelson documentary we've been watching; we finished it tonight.

Writing songs is hard, even when they come to mind quickly.  If it weren't for Rhymezone.com, I don't know if I could write songs at all.  The first draft of the lyrics are never first rate, and I end up looking for synonyms for words I can't rhyme, which often changes a whole line or two and takes a whole different turn.  But you don't care about that.

In the last segment of the documentary, there was talk about Willie Nelson's oldest son, Billy.  He committed suicide on Christmas day in 1992, when he was thirty-three years old.  He was an alcoholic.

In 1987, Willie and his son Billy began the process of working on an album of gospel music together.  Billy also occasionally joined his father on stage to sing gospel songs.

With the death of his son, Willie shelved the project for a time. Once he could focus again on that particular project, Willie completed and released the album "Peace in the Valley" in 1994. Included among the cuts was a special duet between father and son, with Billy singing lead vocals, "My Body's Just a Suitcase for My Soul." The album saw a re-release in 2015.

I found it on Youtube and listened, but wasn't really impressed by the song.  However, that "suitcase for my soul" title reminded me of a statement made by a lady at the church I attended long ago:  "I am a spirit; I have a soul; I live in a body."

And suddenly my mind said, "That sounds like it could be a song."

This morning I worked on it, then spent about an hour this evening trying to make it more poetic.  I read the words to Cliff, and he was impressed, for what that's worth.  I have a vague idea what the tune will be, but haven't even tried it out yet.  We'll see what happens when I get around to it.  If the tune doesn't work, it'll be a poem.  Wish me luck.

I'll dedicate it to Willie.  Ha!  

By the way, neither Willie or Billy wrote "My Body's Just a Suitcase for My Soul".  Mae Axton, the same woman who wrote Heartache Hotel for Elvis, wrote it after seeing the Vietnam Memorial.