Willie Nelson Weighs Heavily On Outliving Friends Like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, And Loretta Lynn

The Highwaymen, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson

Willie Nelson has lived for over 9 decades and has met and played alongside legends such as Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Loretta Lynn, to name a few. With the release of his newest album titled Last Leaf On The Tree, Nelson reflects upon death, facing it “with grace”, and remembering the friends he lost along the way.

Last Leaf On The Tree is Willie Nelson’s 76th studio album and will be released on Friday, November 1, 2024. Just as a reminder, his debut album, …And Then I Wrote, was released on September 1962, exactly 62 years ago. This album which is Nelson’s personal contemplation of mortality has Micah Nelson, Willie Nelson’s son, as its producer.

Micah describes his father’s album as he “facing death with grace,” with the lead single “Last Leaf” – a Tom Waits cover – featuring the line: “The autumn took the rest, but they won’t take me. I’m the last leaf on the tree.” He also said the following in the album’s accompanying essay, regarding Nelson’s version of Warren Zevon’s swan song, Keep Me in Your Heart: “When I listened back to my dad’s vocal on it, I just started bawling.”

NBC News talked with Nelson in a Zoom call, where they further discussed the album’s meaning. Inevitably, Nelson had to speak about losing his close country musician friends. “I’ve lost a lot of good friends,” he said. “And for some reason, I’m still here.”

“We all have to go through it in various ways,” Nelson said about dealing with the death of his friends and colleagues. “And each time it is just as bad as the last time.”

The Friends We Meet Along The Way

Willie Nelson was a member of The Highwaymen, a country supergroup that also featured Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. The three of them passed away during the last decades, with Kristofferson dying in late September. Other friends Nelson had to wave goodbye to include Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, and Toby Keith, who died earlier this year in February.

That said, Nelson approaches this album as a goodbye of sorts. He, who is 91, is happy to continue singing, now more than ever since his own son, Micah, is producing Last Leaf On The Tree. “He produced it, picked all the songs, and he played all the instruments and made the video, did the artwork, animation,” he said, “I’m really proud.” Similarly, Annie D’Angelo Nelson, Nelson’s wife, talked about his son, Micah. “Micah is this little renaissance dude, she said. “It’s all art to him.”