Half a Man up. Nelson reached for the cigarette with his other arm, and imagined how it would be to only have half of his body. The song told the story of a man that declared that if he would have lost a part of his body, he would resemble the "half a man" that lost love turned him into. "Half a Man" was recorded during a December 1962 session, produced by Tommy Allsup. Recorded at Bradley's Barn, Nelson was backed by steel guitarist Tommy Jackson; and guitarists Jerry Kennedy, Wayne Moss, and Fred Carter, Jr. . The chorus of the song was
A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by numerous companies. The book was eventually first published in 2013, with an initial print run of 1000 copies, by Galley Beggar Press of Norwich, England. Mr Layte, of Galley Beggar Press recalled that the unusual writing-style led him to take up the novel where others had overlooked it:I thought this was one of the most important books I had ever read. It had the same effect on me as when I first read Samuel Beckett. It was a game-changer as far as what could be done.In 2014, rights for a trade paperback were sold to publishers Faber and Faber.