Willie Nelson Remembers Kris Kristofferson: ‘I Hated to Lose Him’

Willie Nelson looked back at the career of his longtime friend and collaborator Kris Kristofferson, remembering the legendary songwriter as he released his 76th album The Last Leaf On the Tree on Friday.

“He was a great songwriter,” Nelson told the Associated Press in an interview published on Friday. “He left a lot of fantastic songs around for the rest of us to sing, for as long as we’re here. Kris was a great friend of mine. And, you know, we just kind of had a lot of fun together and made a lot of music together — videos, movies. I hated to lose him. That was a sad time.”

Kristofferson died in September at 88 years old, a shock to the music world as it lost one of the most influential songwriters in modern music history. He and Nelson collaborated for decades, most notably in the outlaw country supergroup the Highwaymen, which also featured Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. Nelson is now the sole surviving member of the group.

“If you just take the music part of it and go back to, you know, Waylon (Jennings) and Kris and John(ny Cash) and, you know, all of us working together, the Highwaymen,” Nelson said when reflecting on the group. “And then I am the only one left. And that’s just not funny.”

Beyond Kristofferson, Nelson, now 91, also weighed in on his own mortality, saying that he’s “not worried” about death. “I don’t feel bad. I don’t hurt anywhere,” Nelson said. “I don’t have any reason to worry about dying. But I don’t know anybody who’s lived forever,” he continued. “I take pretty good care of myself. And I feel like I’m in pretty good shape physically. Mentally? That’s another story.”
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Nelson’s The Last Leaf on the Tree features the country legend singing a cover of Beck’s “Lost Cause,” which Rolling Stone compared to Cash’s cover of “Hurt.”

Nelson hasn’t slowed down much this year, having also released his 75th album, The Border, back in May. He was at Kamala Harris’s rally in Houston alongside Beyonce last week, with Queen Bey penning a touching note to Wilson afterward. “I admire you, and I sincerely thank you for being the pioneer you are,” she wrote. “Thanks for your impactful music, your advocacy, and the gracious way you appreciate and celebrate other artists! You are 1 of 1.”