Willie Nelson has a new song out. Normally, this wouldn’t be something that I’d take much notice of — while I don’t have anything against country music (and even have a little in my collection), it’s not my main forte.
This one, however…isn’t your typical country song.
Willie Nelson’s crooned cowboy songs before, from the signature “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” to “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.”
But never like this: On “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other,” the Texas country icon sings about love among men on the range. Available exclusively at iTunes today, the song aims to show Mr. Nelson’s support for gays, particularly to conservative country-music fans.
“The song’s been in the closet for 20 years,” Mr. Nelson said in a prepared statement. It was written in 1981 by Lubbock-born singer-songwriter Ned Sublette.
…[Brokeback Mountain] may have provided the perfect opportunity to release this new song. But Mr. Nelson also has a personal connection to the tune.
Two years ago, David Anderson, Mr. Nelson’s friend and tour manager of three decades, told his boss he’s gay. Last March, while Mr. Nelson recorded a batch of previously unreleased songs for iTunes, he discovered the song in a stack of demos he had tossed into a drawer.
Singing “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other” was Mr. Nelson’s way of telling a longtime pal everything was OK, says Mr. Anderson.
The song’s currently only available through the iTunes Music Store. Lyrics are after the cut.
(via Boing Boing)