“It Sparked My Career”: Lukas Nelson Reflects on the Song He Wrote at 11 That Was Recorded by Willie Nelson and Praised by Kris Kristofferson (Exclusive)

Last Friday (June 20), Lukas Nelson released his debut solo album, American Romance. Nelson shared writing credits on four songs and wrote the other eight solo. The album closes with a beautifully sad song titled “You Were It.” Some may be surprised to learn that he has been carrying that song around for more than two decades.

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Last week, Nelson sat down with American Songwriter to discuss his new album and the beginning of his career as a solo artist. During the conversation, he revealed that he wrote “You Were It” when he was just 11 years old. It was more than the first song he wrote, though. It was the song that started him on the path to where he is today.

[RELATED: Lukas Nelson Discusses the Beginning of His Solo Career and ‘American Romance’ (Exclusive)]

Lukas Nelson Reflects on the Importance of “You Were It”

“You Were It” sounds like it was written after the end of a particularly toxic breakup. So, we asked Lukas Nelson who inspired him to write it. That’s when he revealed the incredible history of the song and how important it has been to him as a songwriter.

“It was the first song I ever wrote,” Nelson reveals. “So, I thought it would be fitting to finally put it out. I wrote it when I was 11, and my dad heard it and put it out on his album at the time. It gave me a confidence to be a songwriter because I knew he wouldn’t have put it on his album if he didn’t actually like it and he wasn’t blowing smoke up my ass,” he says.

Willie Nelson included “You Were It” on his 2004 album It Always Will Be. However, he wasn’t the only legendary songwriter who saw potential in the younger Nelson after hearing “You Were It.”

“Kris Kristofferson came to me when I was that young and said, ‘You’re going to be a songwriter. You don’t have a choice. This is really good songwriting.’ It gave me a lot of inspiration at a really young age, and it holds up,” Nelson recalls.

“I don’t think I’ve written anything that I can say is better than that. I think I’ve written songs that are as good or different,” Nelson says of the song. “It just really kind of reminds me that songwriting is circular. It’s not a linear thing where you get better or worse over time. It’s just whether you’re open to the muse bringing you inspiration or not, and I was very open at the time.”

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