Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground - Wikipedia Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground `` Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground '' Single by Willie Nelson from the album Honeysuckle Rose B - side `` I Guess I 've Come to Here in Your Eyes '' Released January 1981 Genre Country Length 4 : 27 Label Columbia Songwriter ( s ) Willie Nelson Producer ( s ) Willie Nelson Willie Nelson singles chronology `` On the Road Again '' ( 1980 ) `` Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground '' ( 1981 ) `` Mona Lisa '' ( 1981 ) `` On the Road Again '' ( 1980 ) `` Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground '' ( 1981 ) `` Mona Lisa '' ( 1981 ) `` Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground '' is a 1981 single from the film Honeysuckle Rose. `` Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground '' was written and performed by Willie Nelson. The single was Willie Nelson 's seventh number one on the country chart as a solo artist and stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country chart. This song is commonly believed to have been written about Charlie `` Magoo '' Tinsley, a good friend of Nelson 's who happened to also be a member of The Hells Angels. This has never been confirmed or denied by Nelson who usually says he 's not going to argue with a load of bikers. He did once claim the song was about his wife Connie. Charts Chart ( 1981 ) Peak position US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) Canadian RPM Country Tracks Cover versions Bob Dylan covered the song during the recording sessions for his 1983 album Infidels. The song appeared as the B - side to four different international single releases in support of the album. Cross Canadian Ragweed covered the song on their tenth album, Happiness and All the Other Things. Raul Malo covered the song on his 2006 album You 're Only Lonely. The Smoking Popes included a cover of the song on the re-issue of their 1995 album Born to Quit. The King of the Hill soundtrack included a version of this on which Nelson duets with Mark McGrath. Oddly enough, the original, not this version, appeared in `` Wings of the Dope '' ( the episode in which Luanne 's deceased boyfriend reappears as an angel ). Alison Krauss recorded a cover of the song and included it on the Target Corporation exclusive version of her 2017 release Windy City. References Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits : 1944 - 2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 245. Jump up ^ `` Willie Nelson Chart History ( Hot Country Songs ) ''. Billboard. Preceded by `` Guitar Man '' by Elvis Presley Billboard Hot Country Singles number - one single March 21, 1981 Succeeded by `` Texas Women '' by Hank Williams, Jr. Preceded by `` Southern Rains '' by Mel Tillis RPM Country Tracks number - one single March 21 - March 28, 1981 Succeeded by `` Guitar Man '' by Elvis Presley Willie Nelson singles discography 1950s and 1960s 1957 `` No Place For Me '' / `` Lumberjack '' 1959 `` Man With the Blues '' / `` The Storm Has Just Begun '' 1960 `` What a Way to Live '' / `` Misery Mansion '' `` Nite Life '' / `` Rainy Day Blues '' 1961 `` The Part Where I Cry '' / `` Mr. Record Man '' 1962 `` Willingly '' / `` Chain of Love '' `` Touch Me '' / `` Where My House Lives '' `` Wake Me When It 's Over '' / `` There 's Gonna Be Love In My House '' `` You Dream About Me '' / `` Is This My Destiny '' 1963 `` Half a Man '' / `` The Last Letter '' `` Take My Word '' / `` Feed it a Memory '' 1964 `` How Long is Forever '' / `` You Took My Happy Away '' `` Am I Blue '' / `` There 'll Be No Teardrops Tonight '' `` River Boy '' / `` Opportunity to Cry '' `` I Never Cared For You '' / `` You Left Me ( A Long Time Ago ) '' `` Pretty Paper '' / `` What A Merry Christmas This Could Be '' 1965 `` She 's Not For You '' / `` Permanently Lonely '' `` Healing Hands of Time '' / `` One Day at the Time '' `` I Just Ca n't Let You Say Goodbye '' / `` And So Will You, My Love '' 1966 `` One In A Row '' / `` San Antonio Rose '' `` Colombus Stockade Blues '' / `` He Sits at my Table '' `` I 'm Still Not Over You '' / `` I Love You Because '' 1967 `` The Party 's Over '' / `` Make Way for a Better Man '' `` Blackjack County Chain '' / `` Some Other World '' `` San Antonio '' / `` To Make a Long Story Short '' 1968 `` Little Things '' / `` Sweet Memories '' `` Good Times '' / `` Where Do You Stand '' `` Johnny One Time '' / `` She 's Still Gone '' 1969 `` Bring Me Sunshine '' / `` Do n't Say Love or Nothing '' `` I Hope So '' / `` Right or Wrong '' 1970s 1970 `` Once More With Feeling '' / `` Who Do I Know in Dallas '' `` Laying My Burdens Down '' / `` Truth Number One '' 1971 `` I 'm a Memory '' / `` Fire and Rain '' `` Yesterday 's Wine '' / `` Me and Paul '' 1972 `` Words Do n't Fit the Picture '' / `` A Moment '' 1973 `` Shotgun Willie '' ( mono ) / `` Sad Songs and Waltzes '' `` Stay All Night ( Stay a Little Longer ) '' / `` Devil in a Sleepin ' Bag '' `` I Still Ca n't Believe You 're Gone '' / `` Heaven and Hell '' `` Bloody Mary Morning '' / `` After the Fire is Gone '' ( with Tracy Nelson ) `` Sister 's Comin ' Home '' ( mono ) / `` Pick Up The Tempo '' `` Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain '' / `` Bandera '' 1976 `` Remember Me ( When the Candle Lights Are Gleaming ) '' / `` Time of the Preacher '' `` I 'd Have to Be Crazy '' ( mono ) / `` Amazing Grace '' `` If You 've Got the Money I 've Got the Time '' / `` The Sound in Your Mind '' 1977 `` Uncloudy Day '' / `` Precious Memories '' `` I Love You A Thousand Ways '' / `` Mom and Dad 's Waltz '' 1978 `` Georgia on My Mind '' / `` On The Sunny Side Of The Street '' `` Blue Skies '' / `` Moonlight in Vermont '' `` All of Me '' / `` Unchained Melody '' 1979 `` Whiskey River '' / `` Under the Double Eagle '' `` September Song '' / `` Do n't Get Around Much Anymore '' `` White Christmas '' / `` Blue Christmas '' 1980s 1980 `` Help Me Make It Through the Night '' / `` The Pilgrim, Chapter 33 '' `` My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys '' / `` Rising Stars '' `` Midnight Rider '' / `` So You Think You 're A Cowboy '' `` On the Road Again '' / `` Jumpin ' Cotton Eyed Joe '' ( performed by Johnny Gimble ) 1981 `` Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground '' / `` I Guess I 've Come to Live Here in Your Eyes '' `` Mona Lisa '' / `` Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star '' `` I 'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter '' / `` Over the Rainbow '' `` Heartaches of a Fool '' / `` Uncloudy Day '' 1982 `` Always on My Mind '' / `` The Party 's Over '' `` Let It Be Me '' / `` Permanently Lonely '' `` Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning '' / `` Old Fords and a Natural Stone '' `` Little Old Fashioned Karma '' / `` Beer Barrel Polka '' `` Why Do I Have to Choose '' / `` Would You Lay with Me ( In a Field of Stone ) '' `` Take It to the Limit '' / `` Till I Gain Control Again '' `` Without a Song '' 1984 `` City of New Orleans ( Unedited version ) '' / `` Why Are You Pickin ' On Me '' 1985 `` Forgiving You Was Easy '' / `` You Would n't Cross the Street '' `` Me and Paul '' / `` I Let My Mind Wander '' 1986 `` Living in the Promiseland '' / `` Bach Minuet in G '' `` I 'm Not Trying to Forget You '' / `` I 've Got the Craziest Feeling '' `` Partners After All '' / `` Home Away From Home '' `` Heart of Gold '' / `` So Much Like My Dad '' `` Island in the Sea '' / `` There Is No Easy Way '' `` Nobody There But Me '' / `` Wake Me When It 's Over '' `` Spanish Eyes '' ( with Julio Iglesias ) / `` Ole Buttermilk Sky '' `` Twilight Time '' / `` Ac - Cent - Tchu - Ate the Positive '' `` Nothing I Can Do About It Now '' / `` If I Were a Painting '' `` There You Are '' / `` Spirit '' `` Is The Better Part Over '' / `` Mr. Record Man '' 1990s `` The Highway '' / `` Spirit '' `` Ai n't Necessarily So '' / `` I Never Cared For You '' ( `` Ai n't Necessarily So '' also on CD Single ) 1991 `` The Piper Came Today '' / `` ( I Do n't Have a Reason ) To Go To California Anymore '' ( `` The Piper Came Today '' also on CD Single ) `` Ten With a Two '' / `` You Decide '' `` Graceland '' `` Still is Still Moving to Me '' / `` Valentine '' 1995 `` Turn Me Loose and Let Me Swing '' 1998 `` I Never Cared for You '' 2000s and 2010s 2002 `` Mendocino County Line '' ( with Lee Ann Womack ) / `` Maria ( Shut Up and Kiss Me ) '' ( Both single tracks released on CD and 7 '' record ) 2003 `` Wurlitzer Prize '' ( with Norah Jones ) `` Beer for My Horses '' ( with Toby Keith ) 2005 `` I 'm a Worried Man '' ( with Toots Hibbert ) `` The Harder They Come '' 2006 `` You Do n't Know Me '' `` Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other '' 2008 `` Gravedigger '' `` You Do n't Think I 'm Funny Anymore '' 2011 `` The Scientist '' 2012 `` Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die '' `` Just Breathe '' `` Come On Back Jesus '' 2013 `` From Here to the Moon and Back '' ( with Dolly Parton ) `` Grandma 's Hands '' ( with Mavis Staples ) `` It Wo n't Be Long '' ( with The Secret Sisters ) `` Somewhere Between '' ( with Loretta Lynn ) 2014 `` The Wall '' `` Bring It On '' `` Laws of Nature '' `` Who 'll Buy My Memories '' `` Summer of Roses '' / `` December Day '' 2015 `` It 's All Going to Pot '' `` Alice in Hulaland '' 2016 `` Lay Me Down '' 2017 `` Still Not Dead '' 2018 `` Last Man Standing '' Book : Willie Nelson Category : Willie Nelson This 1981 country song - 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You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angel_Flying_Too_Close_to_the_Ground&oldid=821040005 '' Categories : 1981 singles Willie Nelson songs Bob Dylan songs Songs written by Willie Nelson Billboard Hot Country Songs number - one singles RPM Country Tracks number - one singles Country ballads Songs written for films Columbia Records singles 1981 songs 1981 country song stubs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2014 Singlechart usages for Billboardcountrysongs Singlechart called without song All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 18 January 2018, at 02 : 14. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who wrote angel flying to close to the ground
Answer: Willie Nelson