Willie Nelson is reflecting on some deeply personal moments, from his frightening battle with COVID-19 to his final interaction with longtime friend Dolly Parton.
During a recent interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the country music legend discussed Farm Aid, grief, his experience with serious illness and the loss of Dolly Parton.
Farm Aid 2026 is scheduled for September 26 at Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nelson, who has been involved with the annual benefit concert since its creation in 1985, admitted that he never expected the event to continue nearly four decades later.
The conversation eventually turned toward more difficult subjects, including death and the people Nelson has lost throughout his life.
Willie Nelson Recalls His Frightening COVID-19 Battle
Nelson contracted COVID-19 in May 2022 and previously described the illness as a particularly difficult experience. But in his conversation with Cooper, he revealed just how serious things became.
Nelson said the experience was “terrible” and recalled reaching a point where he simply wanted to give up. He even told his wife, Annie, to let him go.
Annie, however, refused to give in to that moment. Nelson recalled her responding with a darkly humorous warning: if he died, she would “kill ya.”
His wife cared for him throughout the illness, and after roughly a week, Nelson began to feel better. Remarkably, he returned to performing just a couple of weeks later.
Cooper asked whether Nelson realized at the time how seriously ill he was.
Nelson said he did.
He recalled feeling as though he was dying and described it as the worst feeling he had ever experienced. Looking back, he also reflected on the people he had already lost and the impact his death would have had on his family.
Nelson has experienced significant grief throughout his life, including the loss of his son, friends and other family members. He explained that while losing someone can be devastating, those left behind eventually learn how to continue living with the loss.
Willie Nelson Says Dolly Parton “Seemed Fine”
The conversation also turned to Dolly Parton, whose death deeply affected the country music community.
Nelson spoke warmly about his longtime friend, simply saying, “She was great, I loved her.”
When Cooper asked whether Nelson knew Parton was seriously ill, his response revealed how unexpected her death had been from his perspective.
“I had no idea,” Nelson said. He explained that he had actually interviewed with Parton shortly before her death and that, from his perspective, “She seemed fine.”
Nelson and Parton shared a friendship that lasted for decades, as well as musical history together. After her passing, Nelson honored her by sharing a video of the two performing their duet “Everything’s Beautiful (In Its Own Way).”
His comments offer a poignant reminder that even people who have known one another for decades may not always know what someone is privately experiencing.
For Nelson, the conversation about Parton was intertwined with a much larger reflection on friendship, grief, mortality and the memories people leave behind.
His words about his last interaction with Dolly are especially poignant because, to him, she simply seemed fine. There was no indication that their conversation would be one of their last.