Chris Stapleton Lends “Our Song” to Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is readying the release his 70th studio album called First Rose of Spring on April 24th via Sony’s Legacy imprint, and this time around he’s deferring a lot of the songwriting on the album to others.

Working with Buddy Cannon once again as producer, they’ve selected what so far have revealed themselves as a great collection of songs from top songwriters. The title track written by Randy Houser, Allen Shamblin, Mark Beeson is everything you would want from a late career song from Willie Nelson, and same goes for the second song just released from the record, “Our Song.”

At 86 years of age, and with the weight the Willie Nelson legacy carries, the simple timbre and tone from the country legend is enough to draw you in. And in these strange times, the sound of Willie Nelson is incredibly comforting and assuring all to itself, no matter what he’s singing. In this case, he’s chosen a composition from Chris Stapleton, returning the favor to Stapleton when the Kentucky superstar recorded Willie’s “Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning” on From ‘A’ Room, Vol. 1.

“Our Song” reminds us that the most important thing in our lives is each other. “You make it right when everything’s wrong,” Willie sings, which is a message that rings true as many sit virtually locked down with our loved ones due to the Coronavirus. One of the great aspects of a Willie Nelson performance is it always comes across as sincere. Where a song like this may seem a little too sappy coming from some performers, it’s sweet and welcomed coming from Willie.

Willie Nelson and Chris Stapleton were supposed to share the stage last weekend to help open the new Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX where the Texas Rangers baseball team will play, and this song was released to coincide with that event. But like everything else, it was postponed due to COVID-19. Another important point about “Our Song” is it assures us Chris Stapleton is writing once again, and don’t be surprised if we hear his own version some time in the future. Stapleton is due for a new single, and a new album himself.

There are more rowdy and upbeat songs coming from Willie’s First Rose of Spring. But “Our Song” feels just right, right about now.

First Rose of Spring is now available for pre-order.

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