Willie Nelson Thinks Queer Message in Orville Peck Video Is ‘More Important Than Ever’

Tomás Mier
·2 min read
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Orville Peck; Willie Nelson - Credit: YouTube
Orville Peck; Willie Nelson - Credit: YouTube

Who said the gays couldn’t say yee haw?

On Friday, Orville Peck premiered the video for his duet of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other” alongside country legend Willie Nelson with Rolling Stone.

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“Willie kept talking about how the subject matter in this song was more important than ever,” Peck tells Rolling Stone. “He wanted it to have a new life with the two of us.” (Nelson previously covered the Ned Sublette classic in 2006.)

“With all the rhetoric surrounding the LGBTQIA+ community these days, it is so encouraging to have real allies like Willie that aren’t afraid to stand proudly next to us,” Peck adds.

The video splices clips of queer men and women dancing and drinking beer inside a saloon with clips of Nelson and Peck singing and playing guitar from under a tree at Nelson’s Luck Ranch, which Peck describes as a “dream.” Nelson’s wife Annie also makes a quick cameo in the video.

“There’s many a cowboy who don’t understand the way that he feels for his brother,” the pair duets on the Ned Sublette original. “And inside every lady, there’s a cowboy that wants to come out/And inside every cowboy, there’s a lady that’d love to slip out.”

Peck told Rolling Stone earlier this week that he thought he’d be starstruck working with Nelson because “he is such a legend, but he just emanates joy.”

Doing the queer-coded track was actually Nelson’s idea. “As an artist who has sometimes felt excluded from the Country music industry, once Willie Nelson wants to work with you, there’s really nothing the country world can say after that,” Peck said.

Ahead of the Nelson collaboration, Peck revealed that his upcoming album Stampede will be a “duets album featuring a couple of my good friends.” He has yet to reveal a track list or release date, but the cover sees him standing in front of the iconic Circus Liquor clown sign in North Hollywood.

Peck will also hit the road for an extensive Stampede Tour this summer, and he’ll bring the likes of Nikki Lane and the War and Treaty with him.

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