She Made My Day - Willie Nelson

She Made My Day - Willie Nelson

2:43

Last Man Standing, 2018

written by Willie Nelson and Buddy Cannon

In the old tradition of country classics like "Once a Day," this lost-love song is built around wordplay and ironic juxtapositions: "Well, she made my day / But it ruined my life."  The lyric features the same kind of witty, tongue-in-cheek mixture of wry regret and stoicism: "We were gettin' along just fine, just me and me / We understood each other perfectly / Then I let my guard down and there she was / Well I guess that's stupid is as stupid does."  It's a simple and pleasant number that fits the template that the then-84-year-old Nelson could toss of in his sleep.

Dream Chaser - Willie Nelson

Dream Chaser - Willie Nelson

3:15

Dream Chaser, 2026

Written by Buddy Cannon, Willie Nelson, and Bobby Tomberlin

Astonishingly, on his seventy-ninth studio album, Nelson's voice is in terrific form. This song is an uptempo celebration of the life of a musician.  Lyrically, perhaps inevitably with the singer at 93 years of age, it's a wistful, but not maudlin, look back at the past: "Time just seems to vanish / Right before my eyes / You may not understand it / Why we live with the sacrifice."  Echoing the sentiment of many artists, he also declares "I've done it all for free."  At this stage, Nelson isn't reinventing the wheel, but it's a highly enjoyable example of the work of an absolute master who writes five quality songs by the time the average country singer has finished tuning up.

Luck Be a Lady - Willie Nelson

Luck Be a Lady - Willie Nelson

3:05

That's Life, 2021

Written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon

I think it's fair to say that Frank Sinatra owns this song.  Willie doesn't exactly make it his own, but he has the skill of effortlessly inhabiting any song of any genre and making it fit.  As always, his vocal is impeccable, but I'm not sure I care for the arrangement.  It's brash and melodramatic, which is fine by itself, but juxtaposed with Willie's laid-pack singing style, it feels odd.  It's all Rat Pack-style big brass stabs and '60s-era orchestral stings, and the result is less intimate and authentic than I would have wished.

Kiss Me When You're Through - WIllie Nelson

Kiss Me When You're Through - Willie Nelson

2:45

The Border, 2024

Written by Willie Nelson and Buddy Cannon

A love letter that twists the genre on its head by playing down the power of pretty words, this gentle ballad cedes that there may be dark times in love.  You may say you hate the other person.  You may not show up for them.  You may not complete their dreams.  "And you tell me that you wish / That you never heard of me / When you close your eyes / I'm not the one you see."  Sometimes love inspires strong feelings of a different kind.  But once that's all out of your system, the narrator says to his paramour, "kiss me when you're through."  Sometimes you don't need words.

The Piper Came Today - Willie Nelson

The Piper Came Today - Willie Nelson

3:23

Born For Trouble, 1990

Written by Willie Nelson

A decent enough country ballad of regret, slow, spare, and laced with pedal steel.  It's not entirely clear what the cost is that the narrator had to pay the piper, whether it's a love who walked out the door or something deeper, but it hit hard, whatever it was.  "And the sweeter played his music / The more is added to the bitter price."  Nelson's vocal is sharp and clear, the highlight of the sparse production.  It's not one of Nelson's greatest efforts, but when you're as great and as prolific as he is, even the throwaways have something to offer.

Come On Time - Willie Nelson

Come On Time - Willie Nelson

2:55

Ride Me Back Home, 2019

Written by Willie Nelson & Buddy Cannon

Listen for the silent E!

This song, from Willie Nelson's sixty-ninth (!) solo album, is, despite its title, not an exhortation to arrive early, but a gentle rebuke, in apostrophe form, to Time, the entity.  "Why did you leave these lines on my face? / You sure have put me in my place."  The rhythm section chugs along like a train, while Willie, with his usual wit and mild self-deprecation, asserts that he'll do his best to beat Time, at least this time.  There is a vanishingly tiny number of artists that continue to invent and create well into old age, and Nelson is up there with Bob Dylan in fusing mature wisdom and perspective with youthful skill.  Everything he sings immediately becomes his own, and he makes it seem easy.

Devil in a Sleepin' Bag - Willie Nelson

Devil in a Sleepin' Bag - Willie Nelson

2:38

Shotgun Willie, 1973

Written by Willie Nelson

There are many songs about a musician's life on the road, and this funky, slinky number is among the best.  It tells of a tour that wasn't the greatest — the bus breaks down and someone, the devil of the title, catches pneumonia.  The devil is Nelson's drummer Paul English.  But the tour isn't all bad; Willie is sent into raptures by Kris Kristofferson and his wife Rita Cooolidge's performance ("raw perfection there for all the world to see").  As he does with every damn things he ever touches, Willie tackles this subject with humor ("if you want to buy a bus I'm taking bids") and grace.  Perfection!