- Title: USA: Veteran Country Music singer Willie Nelson releases a song about gay cowboys
- Date: 23rd February 2006
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE) (REUTERS) WILLIE NELSON ON STAGE RECEIVING A SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME AWARD (SPUNDBITE (English) WILLIE NELSON BEING INTERVIEWED BACKSTAGE SAYING "What a Great honour it is to recognised by your peers and writers you admire."
- Embargoed: 10th March 2006 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA7OX0S7EJYPP66DLRH1AQTT3EC
- Story Text: It turns out the makers of "Brokeback Mountain" are not the only ones who think "Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other" -- country music icon Willie Nelson has recorded a song with that title.
With lyrics like "What did you think all them saddles and boots was about?" the song may raise the hackles of those who see cowboys as the iconic American heterosexual male.
The song was written more than twenty years ago by songwriter Ned Sublette but was largely unknown until Nelson, who contributed a song to the "Brokeback Mountain" soundtrack, decided to release it this week for download on iTunes.
Nelson, whose hits include "Always on My Mind" and "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys," sings in the new song: "I believe to my soul that inside every man there's the feminine."
Another verse goes as follows: "The cowboy may brag about things that he's done with his woman. But the ones who brag loudest are the ones who are most likely queer."
The Dallas Morning News said the song had a personal connection for Nelson because his longtime tour manager, David Anderson, revealed his homosexuality to Nelson two years ago.
Music is not the only activity for which Nelson has made news headlines. He has admitted to smoking marijuana daily and in 1990 was fined around (US) $16 million by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) for tax evasion. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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