Unwrapping Pretty Paper

“Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blue. Wrap your presents to your darling from you.” The familiar lyrics to Willie Nelson’s Christmas classic carry us back into the holidays year after year. Its delicate melody brings us, note by note, into a somber yet heartwarming scene.

Nelson wrote “Pretty Paper” in 1963 upon recalling a well-recognized figure in Fort Worth, Texas.

If you lived anywhere near Fort Worth up until the 70s you know about Leonard’s Department Store, an impressive blocks-wide shopping complex that attracted patrons from all across Texas. Willie and his sister Bobbie would travel from their hometown of Abbott to window shop and, later, when living in Fort Worth, Willie frequented the store. Bobbie, especially, was drawn to a blind couple who sang hymns outside the shop at Christmastime. Supporting community was important to Leonard’s. The owners always let people of all ilks linger outside – as long as they were spreading the good word or selling their own goods.

One of these special people on the outskirts was Frankie Brierton…the subject of the song.

“There he sits all alone on the sidewalk, hoping that you won’t pass him by.” During busy Christmas shopping seasons Willie, and many others, became familiar with a man who was hard to miss. Day in and day out, Brierton could be found pushing himself on a cart on hands and knees to park on the corner and peddle his pencils and paper.

Childhood spinal meningitis had put Brierton in this position, but his resolve to remain independent and provide for his family brought him back to the busy Leonard’s block each day.

“All these years, I’ve wondered about the man that inspired that song.”

Brierton’s sales pitch was memorable enough for Willie who, after moving from Fort Worth to Nashville, remembered his words and was inspired to write a song that would saturate holiday culture for years to come. “Pretty Paper” was pulled directly from sidewalk memory and turned into history…

In a mere few months after Willie wrote it, Roy Orbison recorded and released the song with great success. Nelson recorded it for the first time a year later. Since then, numerous artists — including Dolly Parton — have covered the classic, taking Bierton’s story all over the world.

The only thing is, Frankie Brierton never knew it was about him.