President Trump has just said that Iran will have about a “month” to make a deal.  If you look at the calendar, about a month from now, we will be very close to the end of Ramadan.  I think that President Trump is hoping that the military preparations that the U.S. is making in the …

Willie Nelson can be a tough get. Ernest recently returned to the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast, and the Nashville-based artist and songwriter had a story and anecdote for just about everything. He spoke to us about how rewarding it is to give joy to others through music, why he’s passionate about giving back to the Nashville music community, working with artists like Jelly Roll (and non-artists like Pat McAfee), and the responsibility he felt cutting a Toby Keith demo after the country legend’s death. And speaking of legends of the genre, while Ernest was putting together his upcoming album, Deep Blue, he came across a song that seemed destined to have the great Willie Nelson sing a verse on it. The project is set to be released sometime in 2026, and Ernest says it’ll be tropical themed, and a lot like his very first album: “It’s kind of a grown up version of the first project I put out called ‘Locals Only,’ which was all heavily inspired by and largely written in Saint Thomas and Saint John.” The Nashville-based artist went on to reveal that the 13-song album is the spirit of Jimmy Buffett, Toby Keith, Alabama and some Steely Dan. Ernest also told us that fans should get ready for a “beachy summer,” and the single from the album that’s already been released confirms that very notion. But one song that the country artist is really excited about is actually the track that will be positioned last on Deep Blue. It’s a collaboration with Lukas Nelson, and it’s sure to encourage contemplation: “There’s a song Rivers Rutherford wrote. It’s the last song on the album called ‘Time is a Thief.’ And I had Lukas Nelson do it with me. He’s the only feature on the album. It’s a special song. We asked to try and get Willie on verse three.” That would have been quite the accomplishment to get two generations of Nelson on one track. Ernest went ahead and shared with us how the third verse of “Time is a Thief” goes, and it’s clear as to why he was pushing so hard to get the Red-Headed Stranger’s vocals on it: “Time is an old man smiling with a tear drop down his face. Saying sure it ends, but trust me friends Life is worth the wait. It’s kind of like a penny on an empty sidewalk, stepped over and ignored It don’t mean nothing, nothing to ya ‘Til you’re a penny short.” Yeah… that’s a Willie Nelson verse if I’ve ever heard one. Though Ernest was really hoping to get the country great on his song, it just didn’t work out. But it might come full circle for him at some point, because Lukas told Ernest that once his father hears the track, he’ll probably want to cover it: “When you hear the song, (it sounds like Willie). Maybe he’ll cover it. Lukas always said, ‘You should just cut it and dad will cover it. He’ll love this song.’ I think Willie is just (busy). He’s been touring all year. He’s saying no to everything. And I don’t blame him… and I’m not asking twice.” @whiskeyriff C’mon Willie. @Ernest #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff Gotta respect that initial “no” from Willie, that’s for sure. And just because things didn’t work out for Ernest and Willie this time around doesn’t mean that they’ll never work together in the future. In fact, Ernest says that he’s sang with him twice, and getting to be in the presence of Nelson – and his famous guitar – on multiple occasions is more than he could ever ask for: “Willie is the pinnacle for me, and getting to meet him twice and him remembering who I was… I got to go to the studio while Willie was recording. I took my guitar there and he signed it. He knew who I was, which was nuts. I got to stand in there in the control room and watch him record playing Trigger for an hour. Just him playing the guitar we’ve all grown up listening to. I’m standing right here next to Trigger, it’s so crazy.” And if you were wondering, Ernest had Willie sign a guitar because he is currently working on his own version of “Trigger.” Basically, he’s getting as many artists and high-profile people to sign the instrument as he can. So far, he’s got the signatures of Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, Pat McAfee, Ben Roethlisberger, Randy Houser, Jake Worthington, Duck Hodges, Jamey Johnson, Bill Anderson, Lukas Nelson and Willie Nelson. Sounds like quite the project, eh? And you can hear more about it all by downloading the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Just search “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here. We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts. Cheers, y’all. Audio Video The post “It’s A Special Song”: Ernest Tried To Get Willie Nelson To Join Him & Lukas On The Last Track Of His New Album ‘Deep Blue’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.