In addition to Hopkins, Bob Dylan was a major formative influence on Van Zandt's songwriting, especially The Times Are A-Changin', which the singer described in a 1995 Danish television interview as "a collection of very serious songs that make your mind work with a guitar and vocal."

"Indian Cowboy" was written by musician Joe Ely who, in the 2004 biopic Be Here To Love Me, recalls first crossing paths with Van Zandt in Lubbock, Texas when he picked the singer up hitchhiking back to Houston from San Francisco in 1971.

Van Zandt was carrying only his guitar and a backpack stuffed with records and, as a means of thanking Ely, gave him a brand-new copy of his second album Our Mother the Mountain.

Van Zandt had also been performing Peter La Farge’s "Ira Hayes" and the Rolling Stones classic "Dead Flowers" for many years.

Van Zandt's affinity for traditional folk music is represented on Roadsongs as well, with the singer performing "Texas River Song", "Wabash Cannonball" and "Cocaine Blues".