Willie Nelson Sings Billy Joe Shaver’s “We Are The Cowboys”

In the 2020 album, First Rose of Spring, Willie Nelson covers Billy Joe Shaver’s 1981 song, “We Are the Cowboys.” Willie Nelson turned 87 years old in April 2020 and released the album, First Rose of Spring, on July 3, 2020. It is his 70th studio album.

Nelson had previously recorded a version of “We Are the Cowboys” when he joined Shaver, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson on their Honky Tonk Heroes album.

The lyrics are extremely powerful as they break down stereotypes of western culture and hold fast to the claim that “cowboys are average American people.”

“We are the cowboys the true sons of freedom
We are the men who will get the job done
We’re picking our words so we won’t have to eat them
We’re rounding them up and then driving them home”

Nelson latest version of the song also features a music video that he released on June 19, 2020. The music video was filmed at Nelson’s Luck Ranch just outside of Austin, Texas by his son Micah Nelson. The video captures the Nelson tending to his horses and walking the grounds of his ranch which is home to 70 horses that he recently rescued from a slaughterhouse.

Watch the music video below to hear Nelson’s version of “We Are The Cowboys.”