Country singer Willie Nelson speaks to The Telegraph about "Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die", President Obama and the end of the world.
Singer Willie Nelson's memoir "Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die" went straight up to New York's Top 10 Best seller as soon as it was released.
The 79 year old country singer is currently busy touring and looks well in shape. He reveals to the Telegraph that keeping fit at this age is important to him.
Nelson says: "I have always been interested in keeping fit and doing boxing and wrestling. As a youngster, I loved Charles Atlas, Bruce Lee and Kung Fu. But when I lived in Nashville I switched to doing Taekwondo. Last year, at the age of 78, I got my second degree black belt. And singing is the best exercise - two hours a day will keep you in pretty good shape. I think it's very important to learn from your own body. It doesn't lie to you. If it feels good, do it. If it don't feel good, don't do it."
The book revolves around the struggles of ordinary American and farmers, environmental problems, music, anecdotes and politics. Talking about the American president, Barrack Obama, Nelson tells the Telegraph: "He has been good for America and I knew him from when he was a young politician in Chicago. But when you get elected President I think the first thing they do is take you in a room and say you know you're not gonna do sh-t. Your hands are tied and Congress have the whole thing locked down and we all get screwed. But Obama will do better this time. There are so many things going on in the world that he will be kept real busy with some major decisions."
Addressing the recent chaos of the Doomsday Theory that the world is coming to an end, Nelson says people shouldn't worry about the end of the world. "Well, I really do believe that you can't worry about yesterday or dwell on mistakes. There is a lot to worry about if you choose to. The doom-and-gloom people are out there. Only this week I was reading about how many people believe the world's coming to an end this December 21st. But I see reasons for optimism. It's like my song, It's Always Now. Look for the hope."