Willie Nelson Releases Decades-Old Gay Cowboy Song

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Country music outlaw Willie Nelson released a very different sort of cowboy anthem on Valentine's Day.
Nelson, who has been singing about cowboys for more than 25 years, has released what may be the first gay cowboy song by a major recording artist.
It's called "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)" and may be the first gay cowboy song by a major recording artist. But it was written long before this year's Oscar-nominated "Brokeback Mountain" made gay cowboys a hot topic.

Thanks to Ang Lee, and the passage of 25 years, Ned Sublette's song has finally ended up where he always wanted it to be -- coming out of Nelson's mouth.

"Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)" sounds just like a "regular" Willie Nelson song, except for lyrics like: "Inside every cowboy there's a lady who'd love to slip out." It song features choppy Tex-Mex style guitar runs and Nelson's deadpan delivery of lines, including: "What did you think all them saddles and boots was about?"

The song was written by Texas-born singer-songwriter Sublette in 1981, 25 years before this year's Oscar-nominated "Brokeback Mountain" made gay cowboys topical. Sublette said he wrote the song during the "Urban Cowboy" craze and always imagined Nelson singing it.
Nelson sings "He Was a Friend of Mine" on the "Brokeback Mountain" soundtrack. Nelson recorded "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)" last year during an iTunes Originals session in his Texas studio. The song is available on iTunes.

Nelson's previous cowboy hits include "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" and "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys."

The song debuted Tuesday on Howard Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio show.

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