Song of the Day 9/16: Willie Nelson, “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)”

Filed in Arts and Entertainment by on September 16, 2018

I was going to go with something a little more spiritual for Sunday, but when I heard about this cover of Ned Sublette’s “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other),” it seemed like breaking news.

You’ve probably heard that Willie Nelson is headlining a benefit for Beto O’Rourke in Austin later this month, news that freaked out conservative fans who quickly made their displeasure known on Facebook.

People who actually pay attention to Nelson’s many charitable endeavors know he leans left — you won’t find many conservatives on the board of an animal rights group, nor will you find many of them searching for Willie’s Reserve (now available in Washington, California and Nevada).

But I confess I knew nothing about this song, recorded by Latin country singer Sublette in 1981. Nelson released it exclusively on iTunes in 2006, the year after he appeared on the “Brokeback Mountain” soundtrack; he’d played the Sublette version for people on his tour bus for 20 years before recording it. Nelson’s version caused a bit of a stir even in 2006 because no major country artist had released a gay-themed song. The detailed Wikipedia article is an interesting read.

The video was shot at a gay cowboy bar in Dallas (sorry for the terrible quality). As a bonus, its intro and outro feature the late, great Burt Reynolds.

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  1. jason330 says:

    I never had a favorite Willie Nelson song before. Now I do.

  2. RE Vanella says:

    “Smoke weed everyday.”

    —Some red headed stranger with a guitar

    Long live Shotgun Willie!