In a recent teaser trailer for the June 21 release of Ride Me Back Home, Willie Nelson lauded a fellow Texas legend's songwriting chops before sharing both wit and wisdom about collaborating once again with his talented sons, Lukas and Micah Nelson.
The 11-song track list includes two songs penned by Guy Clark: a timely rendition of "Immigrant Eyes" and a version of "My Favorite Picture of You."
"Buddy (Cannon) and I selected ("My Favorite Picture of You") mainly because it's a good song," Nelson says. "It may be my favorite song on the album."
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Nelson co-wrote five songs with album producer and frequent collaborator Cannon. He also paired up with hit songwriter Sonny Throckmorton ("Ride Me Back Home") and the late comedian Don Bowman ("Stay Away from Lonely Places"). Additional covers include Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" and the Mac Davis classic "It's Hard to Be Humble," with the latter teaming Nelson with his sons.
"It's a good feeling, the greatest thing in the world to have your kids on stage performing with you anytime, especially if they're good," Nelson adds with a wink.
Lastly, we learn that the title track and album cover reflect Nelson's passion for horses.
"Sonny has written some of the greatest country songs ever written," Cannon says. "He wrote "The Way I Am" for Merle Haggard, "Middle Age Crazy," "The Last Cheater's Waltz." Sonny lives about a mile and a half from Willie's ranch in Texas. He knows that Willie has 75 or 80 horses on his property. You walk on Willie's ranch, and that's a picture of that song. When Sonny wrote that song, he was writing it for Willie."
Ride Me Back Home Track Listing
1. "Ride Me Back Home"
2. "Come on Time"
3. "My Favorite Picture of You"
4. "Seven Year Itch"
5. "Immigrant Eyes"
6. "Stay Away From Lonely Places"
7. "Just the Way You Are"
8. "One More Song to Write"
9. "Nobody's Listening"
10. "It's Hard to Be Humble" (with Lukas and Micah Nelson)
11. "Maybe I Should've Been Listening"
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