Willie Nelson & Sons Play "Hello Walls" On 'Colbert': Watch

It seems fair to say that Willie Nelson is currently adjusting to the whole livestream era better than most of his fellow 86-year-old entertainers. Yesterday, in honor of 4/20, Nelson spent four hours and 20 minutes hosting a livestream, chopping it up with people like Kacey Musgraves, Angel Olsen, Margo Price, Kevin Morby, Patterson Hood, Hiss Golden Messenger, Billy Ray Cyrus, Ziggy Marley, Matthew McConaughey, and Beto O’Rourke. Nelson finished the evening off by doing musical-guest duties on Colbert, playing one of his oldest and best-loved hits.

Long before he found stardom and beloved elder-statesman status, Willie Nelson was one of the great country songwriters working in Nashville. Nelson wrote songs like Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” Billy Walker’s “Funny How Time Slips Away,” and Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Paper.” He also wrote “Hello Walls,” a 1961 chart-topper for Faron Young that crossed over onto the pop charts, reaching #12.

“Hello Walls” is a song all about isolation — staying in your house alone after a breakup, reaching the point where you’re talking to the inanimate objects you see everyday. That makes it a perfect song for the quarantine era. On Colbert, Nelson talked a little about the song, dedicating it to Faron Young, who died in 1996. Then he played a fun, laid back version of it with his accomplished-musician sons Lukas and Micah. Below, watch Nelson’s performance and listen to Faron Young’s 59-year-old original version.

Nelson’s new album First Rose Of Spring, his 70th solo LP, was supposed to be out on Friday. Instead, it’s now set to arrive 7/3. Check out the title track here.