Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground

Nelson wrote and performed this song for his starring role as a Country singer in the movie Honeysuckle Rose (1981).

The origins of this song are a little murky. Some fans assume the title angel refers to the Hells Angels biker Charlie Magoo, a friend of Nelson's who was killed, though the singer won't confirm or deny it. He has hinted that it's about his former wife Connie Koepke - they were having marital problems around the time he wrote it. But its meaning is open to interpretation. "It's a pretty general theme that can be taken and applied to a lot of different situations," Nelson told the magazine Country Rhythms. "A lot of people have taken it and applied it to their own situation. You could relate it to someone who has died, love affairs or whatever... It has a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people who have no idea why I wrote that song."

During live performances, Nelson sometimes dedicates this song to his son Billy, the third child from his first marriage to Martha Matthews, who committed suicide in 1991.