Pretty Paper

Pretty Paper is a 1979 album by country singer Willie Nelson. His first Christmas album, it was also his last release of the 1970s.

The album reunited Nelson with producer/arranger Booker T. Jones, with whom he had collaborated on the acclaimed Stardust album released the year before. Some vinyl releases will have the song Pretty Paper as the last song on Side 2.

The self-composed title track had been a hit Christmas song in 1963, when it was recorded by Roy Orbison.

Track listing

Pretty Paper (song)

"Pretty Paper" is a song written by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson in 1963. After being signed to Monument Records, Nelson played the song for producer Fred Foster. Foster pitched the song to Roy Orbison, who turned it into a hit. Nelson recorded his own version of the song in November 1964.

Content

Written by Willie Nelson, the song tells the story of a street vendor who, during the holiday season, sells pencils and paper on the streets. In October 1963, while walking in his farm in Ridgetop, Tennessee, Nelson was inspired to write the song after he remembered a man he often saw while he lived in Fort Worth, Texas. The man had his legs amputated and moved with rollers, selling paper and pencils in front of Leonard's Department Store. To attract the attention of the people, the man announced, "Pretty paper! Pretty paper!"

In 2013, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified the man as Frankie Brierton, of Santo, Texas. Brierton refused to use a wheelchair, choosing instead to crawl, as he learned to move while growing up after his legs were affected by a spinal disorder. Brierton sold pencils in Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston.