You and me both, Willie. Just last month, Willie Nelson released his new record Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle, which features 11 country classics penned by the Hag himself. It marked 78th career solo studio album (the 155th of his career in total), and this past summer, Willie embarked on an extensive run of his Outlaw Music Festival tour. The pace at which he continues to work is impressive, to say the least… and as we all know, he’s earned every bit of the icon status he now enjoys at a spry 92-years-old. In fact, he’s still so good that he’s once again nominated for a Grammy this year. Willie is up for Best Traditional Country Album for his Oh What A Beautiful World album, which is a brand new category for the country genre this year. The previously titled Best Country Album category has been changed to Best Contemporary Country Album, so there will be two opportunities for some of your favorite country artists to win one of music’s most prestigious awards. The category is 40% Nelson, as Willie’s son Lukas is also nominated for his American Romance album, marking only the second time in history that’s happened at the Grammys, in terms of a father and son both being nominated in the same category for different albums. It’s just incredible to witness the way he still goes at an age where he could’ve ridden off into the sunset a very long time ago, and in interview with GQ, he talked about why continues to go the way he does: “It’s all of those things, plus singing is one of the best exercises you can do. Your lungs are your biggest muscle, and the more you use them, the healthier you can get. I’m surprised that I can still carry a tune. I’m 92 years old, and there ain’t a lot of us out there that are still doing anything, you know?” He added that he is incredibly thankful for how his life has turned out, and he knows just how special so many of his experiences has been because of his fans: “‘Thanks’ is what I’m continually saying to myself and to whoever the subconscious is out there, because I really do thank everyone for the way things are. So many good things have happened to me over the years. I’ve been very lucky, and I’ve been able to do some things that maybe somebody else didn’t get a chance to do. I’ve got a lot of lucky friends like me out there, too. We did everything wrong for a while, and then we figured it out. Now we’re doing better, so, yeah, life is good.” His gratitude is a big part of the reason he continues to have so much success at this point in his life, but he’s always been that way. Willie says getting out there and seeing the fans is a huge part of the reason he still wants to play live shows: “They clap their hands and sing along for a couple of hours and go home feeling better. They agree on music. Every time, I leave feeling better, too.” But my favorite part of the interview came when Willie was asked by Grayson Currin about songs that still pull on his heartstrings and illicit a strong emotional response to this day. Willie says there are two in particular that make him teary-eyed, and maybe even cry, and that would be two of his all-time classics, “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” “Always on My Mind”: “Yeah, there are a couple. ‘Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground’ is one. ‘Always on My Mind’ is another. By other people, there’s a lot—’Stardust,’ ‘Moonlight in Vermont,’ anything Hank Williams did, Bob Wills. There’s a whole lot of good music out there. I still think music is what brings us all together. Politics separates everybody. Music brings us back together.” Amen to that, Willie… Of course, “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” was released in 1980 for the Honeysuckle Rose soundtrack, and “Always on My Mind” is the title track to his 27th studio album, and became one of Willie’s signature songs and biggest hits, peaking at #1 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart in 1982. “Always On My Mind” was written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher and Mark James, and originally recorded by Gwen McCrae as “You Were Always on My Mind” in 1972. Elvis Presley has a famous version of his own that was recorded two weeks after his separation from his wife Priscilla in 1972, as well. It has always been one of my all-time favorite songs, maybe my favorite to be honest, and so I love hearing how much it means to Willie because it’s truly one of the greatest, most timeless, sad country songs ever recorded. Gonna turn these up and go have a good cry now… “Always on My Mind” “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” The post Willie Nelson Says “Always On My Mind” Still Makes Him Cry first appeared on Whiskey Riff.