In September, Willie Nelson hosted his annual Farm Aid benefit at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which marked the 40th anniversary of the festival and featured performances by Willie along with Neil Young, and John Mellencamp and many more.
But it was Willie’s solo performance of “Last Leaf” during his headlining set that stands out, as they’ve been posting great videos of all of the performances over the last several days on the Farm Aid YouTube channel.
The song is a cover of Tom Waits’ song from the 2011 album Bad As Me, and Willie included his rendition on his 2024 76th solo studio album, Last Leaf On The Tree. At the time the album was released, Willie explained that he wanted to tackle a lot about death head-on, and he never shies away from the fact that he’s well-aware of his age, though he’s not afraid of “anything”:
“I never felt I was alone. We’re all gonna die, it’s just a matter of when, and I’m 91, almost 92, and I’m not afraid of dying. I’m not afraid of anything.”
Willie added that his connection to nature has always been an important escape, and he believes he’ll be back one day… but for right now, he’s taking it one day, and “one breathe,” at a time:
“That’s always been a part of my escape, you know, nature. I think I realized pretty early that we were here together, you know. It wasn’t hard to see how we were alike a lot.
There’s no need trying to fight. it. I’ve always felt that we’re all related in some ways, and that death is temporary, that you’ll come back somewhere else. One day at a time, one breathe at a time, really.”
It was a very deep, honest and reflective album, which found him being completely transparent about getting older and the fact that he knows he’s not going to live forever, even though we’d all love for that to be the case…
The lyrics paint a picture of a man who has wisdom and weathered many storms, and has a realistic viewpoint on how many like him have passed on and what it means for him to still be here, doing what he loves:
“I’m the last leaf on the tree
The autumn took the rest
But it won’t take me
I’m the last leaf on the tree
When the autumn wind blows
They’re already gone
They flutter to the ground
They just can’t hang on
When there’s nothing in this world
That I ain’t seen
I greet all the new ones
That are coming in green”
Coming from an artist as seasoned and tested as Willie, those words carry a lot of weight, and he’s included this song into his set list now at every show, making for a very poignant and dramatic moment night after night.
It takes incredible awareness and self-reflection to be able to pull something like this off without it feeling too depressing or sad. Willie’s Farm Aid performance of it, which features his son Lukas on guitar, is gut-wrenching and raw, and there are times where it looks like even Willie wants to shed a few tears. It’s as real and genuine as it gets, and only Willie can manage to make a song about grappling with your own mortality, essentially, so captivating and beautiful… he’s a national treasure.
