While an icon in country music, Willie Nelson continues to produce music at 91 years old. On November 1st, the singer released his 76th studio album Last Leaf on the Tree. With fans praising the new album, the country singer, with the help of his son Micah Nelson, decided to offer fans more than new songs with a video showing what it was like being in the studio with someone as legendary as Willie.
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Titled Willie Nelson – Rooted in Time: Willie, Micah and the Making of Last Leaf on the Tree, the video featured interviews with Willie and Micah, including footage from cameras placed around the studio. Discussing what it was like to work alongside his son, Willie explained his hesitation at first. “Your first thought is, can I see me doing that? But you have to listen. Imagine what you want and then get out of the way. I think we read each other pretty well, you know, and I can tell what he’s thinking and I think he can pretty much tell what I’m thinking most of the time. Being there with him in the studio, actually hearing and seeing what he’s doing, playing music with him, that’s as good as it gets.”
With the two finding common ground inside the studio, Willie understood his age and how death would eventually find him. But according to the famous outlaw, “I never felt I was alone. We’re all gonna die, it’s just a matter of when, and I’m 91, almost 92, and I’m not afraid of dying. I’m not afraid of anything.”
Willie Nelson Shares Thoughts On Time, Change, And Death
Besides tackling death and what might await him, Willie also revealed his connection with nature and how he wanted the album to be rooted in “the earth.” “I wanted it to be a cosmic country record, but rooted deep in the earth, and like something emerged naturally, the way a tree grows. All of the emotions that come with feeling immense love for somebody, but recognizing the temporality of everything…”
With Willie considered a philosopher of sorts, he also offered his thoughts on time. “Time is this illusory experience, and the only thing that is happening is just change, floating change, constant flux. And it’s impossible to grab onto something and keep it there. It’s so scary and sad, but you know, without that, we wouldn’t love so hard.”
As for death, Willie didn’t seem to put much stock in the natural process as he insisted, “There’s no need trying to fight it. I’ve always felt that we’re all related in some ways and that death is temporary, that you’ll come back somewhere else. One day at a time, one breath at a time, really.”
(Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Shock Ink)
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