Here is a classic from Willie from 1984.
This is one of my favorite Willie Nelson songs. It’s been 30 years since Willie took this song to the top of the country singles charts. One of the interesting things about Willie Nelson is that he has fans from just about every living generation. This song came out during his biggest and most successful days, but it was released the year I was born.
Yet it’s become one of my favorite songs. I listen to a classic country radio station here in Eau Claire, WI. This song comes on the station fairly often and I’ll always stop scanning the channels immediately to listen to this one. There is just something unique about it. You can’t help, but feel like you’re on that train going through the central part of the US.
It’s originally a Steven Goodman song that had been around for more than a decade before Willie recorded it. That was one of the many interesting things about Willie’s career. He’s obviously known as a great songwriter, but he’s also a great song picker. He could find songs of others to cover that he could turn into his own classics and that’s what he did with this one. Many others had recorded it, but his version might be the best known.
Yesterday we saw that Willie still releasing great music. He’s well into his upper years now, but he’s still going as strong as ever. It took him a while to find his footing in country music. In fact, he was over 50 when this song became a hit. That would be nearly impossible for someone to do today and it was pretty hard to believe even back then.
Willie sone of a kind. We won’t get another one like him, but we’ll always have his enormous catalog of songs to keep us company.
City Of New Orleans – Willie Nelson
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