At 92, Willie Nelson shows no signs of slowing down. With multiple Grammy nominations and a new profile in The New Yorker, the country icon is enjoying a well-earned moment — and Bob Dylan, a friend of decades, is adding his voice to the celebration.
The publication highlights artists, writers and public figures whose work has left a lasting mark on culture and helped shape the conversation within their fields.
In Nelson’s case, the profile examines his music, longevity and worldview within the broader story of American songwriting, underscoring why his influence goes far beyond country music.
No profile of Nelson would feel complete without insights from a close friend, and in this case, that friend is a folk legend in his own right. Reflecting on their decades together, Dylan admitted it was hard to put Nelson into words.
“It’s hard to talk about Willie without saying something stupid or irrelevant, he is so much of everything,” he said. “How can you make sense of him?”
Trying to describe Nelson is no easy task, so Dylan did what he does best — offering a poetic interpretation.
“How would you define the indefinable or the unfathomable? What is there to say? Ancient Viking Soul? Master Builder of the Impossible? Patron poet of people who never quite fit in and don’t much care to? Moonshine Philosopher? Tumbleweed singer with a PhD? Red Bandana troubadour, braids like twin ropes lassoing eternity? What do you say about a guy who plays an old, battered guitar that he treats like it’s the last loyal dog in the universe?”
Even with all the metaphors, Dylan confesses that it’s still impossible to sum up Nelson.
“Cowboy apparition, writes songs with holes that you can crawl through to escape from something. Voice like a warm porchlight left on for wanderers who kissed goodbye too soon or stayed too long. I guess you can say all that. But it really doesn’t tell you a lot or explain anything about Willie.”
And when it comes to the real Willie, Dylan knows him better than most. “Personally speaking I’ve always known him to be kind, generous, tolerant and understanding of human feebleness, a benefactor, a father and a friend,” he reflected.
“He’s like the invisible air. He’s high and low. He’s in harmony with nature. And that’s what makes him Willie.”
Dylan and Nelson first met in Durango, Mexico, in 1973 while filming Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, starring Kris Kristofferson.
“I asked Bob, ‘Why isn’t Willie famous? He’s a genius,’” Kristofferson recalled in an interview with Classic Rock. “So, the next day, Bob calls Willie up and gets him to come down to the set, and he made him play his old Martin guitar for ten hours straight. They ended up doing all these old Django Reinhardt tunes. It was fabulous.”
They’ve performed together numerous times over the decades, including co-writing and performing the song “Heartland” for Nelson’s 1993 album Across the Borderline.
In 2004, 2005 and 2009, they also co-headlined a string of concerts on Dylan’s Never Ending Tour.
Earlier this year, Dylan and Nelson co-headlined the Outlaw Music Festival at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl. Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, the festival toured 35 stops across North America, with Nelson and Dylan performing at each event.
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