Willie Nelson at his most Willie Nelson.
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It can be disarming talking toWillie Nelson.
He takes long pauses.
It doesnt matter that he already knows what hes going to say.
(His stories are better than yours.)
(No Zoom for Willie.)
Its like talking to a bald eagle.
Willie Nelson believes in you.
Its a long pause.
Then, simply, he goes, Well, maybe one day.
Its less thats a dumb question and more in the spirit of his music: Dont overthink it.
During quarantine, hes been keeping himself busy.
(Honestly, I havent read the final cut, he reveals.)
First Rose of Spring, technically his 70th solo studio album, is no minor Nelson release.
Nelson would rather talk about Moonlight In Vermont.
But thats what Im looking for.
Have you listened tothe new Bob Dylan record?No, I havent.
Yesterday When I Was Young (Hier Encore) sounds similar to the last track onRough and Rowdy Ways.
I love his version.
I didnt do the intro dialogue; I just went right into the song.
But I like Roy Clarks version.
That particular song has everything in it.
Its got a whole lot of chords, and it takes a pretty good musician just to play it.
It took me a while to learn and to sing it like I wanted to.
Still on Dylan, did you listen to his Sinatra albums?
I heard that youre doing another Sinatra record yourself.No, I havent heard.
Well be different [laughs] Im sure of it.
Ive already got it cut.
Shes my favorite piano player.
It seems to be that the timing was perfect.
I think eventually all 50 states will make it legal because its good medicine.
For me, particularly, it was good because I was smoking a lot of cigarettes.
I was drinking a lot of whiskey.
They were killing me.
I already had a lung problem, which is a hell of a health condition.
I decided to quit smoking cigarettes.
I havent smoked a cigarette since.
I call them myhighwomen.
Theyre doing a great job.
So far, they havent disappointed me at all.
Your voice sounds great on the record.
Are you able to maintain it in other ways?I do a vaporizer whenever I can.
Somebody asked me the other day, why do you smoke pot?
I said, To keep from killing people.
There may be some truth to that.
I was in there a little bit [talking about Waylon Jennings].
Do you have any songs like that?You know, its funny.
Kenny Rogers and I were talking one day.
He said, Ive got this song for you that I think you should record.
And I said, What is it?
He says, Its called The Gambler.
And he did it.
And you know how that went.
But his biggest asset was that he was a great song plugger.
A great writer, but a good plugger, too.
Its been a little over a year since Old Town Road was rereleased on ColumbiaWhich one?
Old Town Road.Whats that?
I dont know that one.
The Lil Nas X song?
What was it called again?
Billy Ray Cyrus remixed the song with him.Who sang it?
Lil Nas X, he actually sang it.
Hes a young guy.All right, good for him.
Is there anyone you havent covered yet who youd love to cover?I dont know.
Ive covered so many that I think Ive been lucky enough to cover all my heroes.
They asked me if I [could] do some things and I did.
The first show that I did was the ten favorite songs that I liked.
I started out with Frank Sinatra and Moonlight in Vermont.
Frank Sinatra is my all-time favorite singer; Moonlight in Vermont is my all-time favorite song.
So I got to do a Frank Sinatra special.
And I did the Kris Kristofferson special.
Why is Moonlight in Vermont your favorite Sinatra song?Well, I dont know why.
Its because I love it.
Im sorry, I know I keep asking!I could have picked Mountain Dew, I guess.
I love Moonlight in Vermont.
I think its a great song.
I dont know why.
I dont know why Sinatra is my favorite singer, but he is.
I think Frank Sinatra is the greatest all-time singer.
For country, I think Ray Price is the best country singer there ever was.
I just have my favorites, you know?
Songwriters, itd be hard to beat Kris Kristofferson.
But there are just so many great songs out there, thousands of good songs.
Im a Pearl Jam fan, so it was fun to see youcover them.
It was the one song that just knocked me out the first time I heard it.
I said, I got to record this song because I just love it.
Its a good story, a positive love story.
Has a great beginning and end.
Buddy Cannon, my producer, said, Okay, and we cut it.
Im supposed to know as much as anybody about songs and music.
So, if Im wrong, Im wrong, but Im right more times than Im wrong.
Hed come on the stage and play a few songs.
For me, he was a great drummer.
His brother, Billy English, plays now.
Also, my son, Micah, is a drummer.
Drummers are important because they can really help, or they can get in the way.
I got a couple of jokes for you, one of them about drummers.
You want to hear them?
I do.What do you call a guitar player without a girlfriend?
Whats the difference between a guitar player and a pizza?
A pizza can feed a family of four.
What has three legs and an asshole?
I play guitar, so thats very fair on the pizza joke.[Laughs.]
But I think [that song] gets people in a good mood.
And then who knows where its going from there?
Its been so long.
Its been four months since weve played a show.
I hear some of the guys are going out and playing thesedrive-in theaters.
I think thats great, and one way to do it.
Im not sure I want to do that yet.
I read that you and Snoop Dogg were doing a new song.
Is he also a fan of Willies Reserve?Oh yeah.
I was over in Amsterdam one time and I called him.
I said, Come on, Snoop.
This is where you and me need to be.
We had a heck of a good time.
Whos the most unexpected fan of Willies Reserve?Gosh, I dont know.
Most of the people that I know are fans.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
