"Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly," Willie Nelson

[tozion]

"Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly (Fond Of Eachother)"

This song was written in 1981, but not released because the subject of gay cowboys was taboo especially in country music (and of course still is). Now it's finally being released with the popularity of Brokeback Mountain.

It's #13 on iTunes.

[tozion]

#11

He hasn't hit the Hot 100 since 1982. It looks like this is going to be big for him... and at almost 73 years old.

[zak]

lol at the title

[tozion]

#9

[tick / tock]

Crazy hype! Top 25 Hot 100 debut maybe..!

[tozion]

Hot Shot Debut at #52

That's his biggest hit since "Let It Be Me" 24 years ago.

[gregtheone]

Does it shock the Country community?

But o/t there are so many gay cow-boys or that's just a fantasy?

[TotallyEnormousExtinctDinosaur]

This from Fred Bronson at Bllboard:

WHERE THERE'S A WILLIE: Here's a twist: Willie Nelson has the highest-debuting single on the Billboard Hot 100, with a country tune that has not yet debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart. There's a logical reason, of course. Nelson's "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly (Fond of Each Other)" (Lost Highway) enters the Hot 100 based on download sales but country radio hasn't given the track enough airplay yet to allow it to enter the country list.

Time will tell if the song's subject matter will prove to be a barrier to country radio airplay or not. In the wake of the film "Brokeback Mountain," Nelson's single is hardly breaking news.

The song does allow Nelson to have his first solo appearance on the Hot 100 in almost 24 years. He was last on the chart on his own with a remake of "Let It Be Me" in the second half of 1982. In 1984, he went to No. 5 when he teamed up with Julio Iglesias on "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" and in 2003 he peaked at No. 22 with Toby Keith on "Beer for My Horses."

LOL @ the bolded part. No time is needed to tell that Country radio won't touch this.

[tozion]

Pitchfork gave it 4/5 stars.

Sure, he's piggybacking off all those Brokeback Mountain jokes, and it's even more of a stunt than his reggae album, but damned if this Ned Sublette/Pansy Division cover doesn't sound like Willie wrote the thing himself. To his and Sublette's credit, the song is funny without actually coming off as the cheap gag it might have been. Better still, "Cowboys" adds a whole new level of complexity to the outlaw mythology Willie helped to cultivate in the 70s: "What did you think all those spurs and boots was for?" he asks, straight-faced, before observing, "Inside every cowboy there's a lady that'd love to slip out." [Stephen M. Deusner]