Willie Nelson is going to die.
Seriously. Pick him in your death pool.
“I don’t wanna be the last man standing, but then again maybe I do,” is the chorus to the title track on his wonderful new record–his best since the 1970s. And many of the songs are original compositions about getting old and forgetful (Don’t Tell Noah), dying (“Bad Breath is better than no breath at all!), tying up loose ends (“I’ll Try to do Better Next Time”), and physically aging (“Me and You”). This is a man who knows he’s getting older. Sound familiar? Warren Zevon did it with “The Wind,” where he covered Knocking on Heaven’s Door. Greg Allman covered Black Muddy River–the last song Jerry Garcia performed live. Amy Winehouse went back to black. Even Kurt sang to us from “A Heart Shaped Box.”
So Willie Nelson is going to die. And this is a great record.
