Willie Nelson’s ‘We Are the Cowboys’ Is a Unifying Ode for Trying Times [Listen]
Willie Nelson is here to add some good news to an objectively overwhelming year with "We Are the Cowboys."
In the lilting new song, country music's elder statesman sings of unity and salutes the everyman. The track is from Nelson's upcoming album First Rose of Spring, the musician's seventieth solo studio effort. The album, initially due in April, was delayed earlier this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The stirring sounds of "We Are the Cowboys" will immediately call to mind the best of the musician's past work. But there's an all-inclusive message at the heart of the country ode that makes it perfect for 2020.
In the tune, Nelson makes it clear: "Cowboys are average American people / Texicans, Mexicans, Black men and Jews / They love this old world and they don't want to lose it / They're counting on me and they're counting on you."
The hopeful song emerged June 19 alongside an equally encouraging music video from Nelson. After a two-month delay, First Rose of Spring is scheduled to arrive on July 3 via Legacy Recordings.
"We Are the Cowboys" is the fourth release so far from the imminent album. It follows May's "I'm the Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised" and "Our Song," from this March, as well as the soulful title track, issued in February.
But when will listeners get to hear Willie's reported Snoop Dogg collab? Perhaps that song will be saved for the Nelson album that follows this one. Go here to pre-order First Rose of Spring.
See Pictures of Willie Nelson Through the Years
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