A high honor from a close friend. The Highwaymen is one of the most stacked country music groups that we’ve ever seen. While each member of The Highwaymen consisted of men who had achieved incredible accolades on their own, together they were a force that could not be reckoned with. Back in 1991, The Highwaymen—Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson —sat down for an interview with New Zealand host Paul Holmes that yielded all sorts of soundbites. The interview is where the famed line from Waylon Jennings comes up, saying he’s going to burn down Holmes’ house after he asked if they’d teamed up because their individual careers had fallen off. While Cash and the others were able to laugh it off a bit and  give an earnest answer, Waylon Jennings famously responded: “I tell ya, one more point too, that if you ask another question like that, we’ll burn your home.” Iconic, right? But one of the most memorable parts of the interview comes near the end. Holmes asks all the men to name the best country song ever written. Kind of a daunting task if you ask me. “Just to finish this, the best country song you think was ever written.” It’s a tricky question to answer for us regular folks, so I can only imagine how these men must feel before delivering their answers. The men then went around and shared their thoughts. Willie Nelson said Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” Waylon Jennings said “Dreaming My Dreams” (a song he’d recorded a version of but was written by Allen Reynolds), and Johnny Cash named “I Love You Because” (a song written and originally released by Leon Payne but made famous by Jim Reeves). So what about Kris Kristofferson‘s choice? Kristofferson’s choice spoke volumes about who he respects, and his answer is one of the highest honors you can give to a friend. He went with “Big River,” which just so happened to be written and recorded by a man sitting to his right, Johnny Cash. “Maybe “Big River.” I’ve often thought that that may be the best song, country or otherwise.” Kristofferson was then asked to deliver a few bars of the tune, which he willingly did in a talking style manner: “I met her accidentally in St. Paul, MinnesotaAnd it tore me up every time I heard her drawl, Southern drawlThen I heard my dream went back downstream, cavorting in DavenportAnd I followed you, Big River, when you called…” Cash responded in a bashful manner: “Well, I’m overwhelmed because I wrote that song…” Johnny Cash released “Big River” on his 1958 album Johnny Cash Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous. While it never reached number one like so many of Cash’s classic songs, it did crack the Top 5, landing at number four. Of course, that doesn’t come close to telling the story of this song and how it became an undeniable piece of the country music canon, but Kris giving it the nod sure goes a long way. I mean, what an honor that your best friend and colleague named one of your songs the best country song ever written. That’s the kind of praise that would make you choke up and cry, but of course, we’d never see that from The Man in Black on camera. All of these answers are very cool to hear because they not only capture so many different decades of country music from their answers, but also highlight artists of all kinds of stardom. Check it out, the question occurs near the five-minute mark: Check out “Big River” while you’re here: The post Kris Kristofferson Once Called A Johnny Cash Song “The Best Country Song Ever Written”… With Cash Sitting Right Next To Him first appeared on Whiskey Riff.