Someone get me 32 yards of bubble wrap and an isolated cabin ASAP because we need to protect Willie Nelson at all costs.
The 93-year-old outlaw country icon, who is somehow still touring shows like it ain’t no thang, recently sat down to remember his longtime friend and fellow duet partner, Dolly Parton, and my heart already can’t handle the thought of losing another legend. Following the passing of country music’s queen last month on August 25, Nelson voiced his condolences in a simple post on social media.
He shared a throwback video of the two dear friends singing their 1988 duet, “Everything’s Beautiful (In Its Own Way),” and let the music speak for itself without any caption. And somehow, the performance ended up being one of the internet’s most beautiful tributes, with the clip capturing the two embracing warmly at the end.
Now, nearly a month after the turbulent news of the world’s iconic loss, Nelson spoke out about the “Here You Come Again” singer, reminiscing on their long-lasting friendship. In an interview captured by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, he was able to sit down with the double-braided legend ahead of his show in Bridgeport, Connecticut, this past Tuesday, September 22.
The two led into the conversation topic with Nelson offering a blunt realization about mortality, saying, “It’s part of life, you know it’s, we all go through it. If we’re gonna live, we’re gonna die; you gotta accept it.” Cooper then expanded on the statement, asking what his late duet partner, Dolly, was like.
Nelson promptly responded, “Oh, she was great I loved her, all the way back to the Porter and Dolly Show, you know?” Adding, “I was a big fan of that show.”
Then the Highway Man shared that, like many others, he wasn’t even aware she was sick at the time: “I had no idea. I did an interview with her shortly before that, and she seemed fine.” Cooper continued by bringing up some previous remarks Dolly had made about Willie, stating how well they worked together but that he was hard to catch sometimes: “Trying to figure out where he is in the song, he’s trying to go, is a big job.”
Nelson, letting out a gritty laugh that surely sounds like it has 93 years of experience behind it, admitted, “my phrasing is a little crazy, and I don’t do it the same way every time, so that’s…difficult.” Cooper ended by reflecting on Willie’s own death that he wrote about in his recently released book, The Last Leaf: Reflections on Late-Life Creativity—and My Longest Love Affair, to which he admitted he believes life doesn’t stop.
In fact, he affirms, “I believe in reincarnation, and you know, we leave; we’ll be right back, don’t go nowhere.” Nelson fittingly says that in his next life he hopes he comes back as a rodeo cowboy.
While I don’t even want to think of the day Nelson departs this world, at least there’s some hope that we can be on the lookout for a future rodeo star someday. With his 94th birthday just a few months away in April 2027, for now he says he’s “chasing 94 and dragging 93.”
This Saturday, September 26, Willie and his friends will take the stage at Farm Aid Festival in Virginia Beach for its 41st annual benefit supporting American farmers. Airing live on farmaid.org starting at 11:30, on SiriusXM, and broadcast by CNN at 7 pm ET, he’ll be joined by a stacked lineup including Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Margo Price, Turnpike Troubadours, Lukas Nelson, Ty Myers, Sierra Ferrell, and more.