Bob Dylan recently paid tribute to his longtime friend and collaborator Willie Nelson in an article published in the New Yorker.
When asked to describe the American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist for a profile, titled "How Willie Nelson Sees America," Dylan called Nelson an "ancient viking soul," "master builder of the impossible," and a "moonshine philosopher."
"How can you make sense of him?" Dylan asked. "How would you define the indefinable or the unfathomable? What is there to say? Ancient Viking Soul? Master Builder of the Impossible? Patron poet of people who never quite fit in and don't much care to? Moonshine Philosopher? Tumbleweed singer with a PhD? Red Bandana troubadour, braids like twin ropes lassoing eternity? What do you say about a guy who plays an old, battered guitar that he treats like it's the last loyal dog in the universe?"
Dylan added, "Cowboy apparition, writes songs with holes that you can crawl through to escape from something. Voice like a warm porchlight left on for wanderers who kissed goodbye too soon or stayed too long. I guess you can say all that. But it really doesn't tell you a lot or explain anything about Willie. Personally speaking I've always known him to be kind, generous, tolerant and understanding of human feebleness, a benefactor, a father and a friend. He's like the invisible air. He's high and low. He's in harmony with nature. And that's what makes him Willie."
The New Yorker profile features insights from Nelson's collaborators and family, including his son Lukas and his wife Annie.
Dylan, 84, joined 92-year-old Nelson for the co-headlining Outlaw Music Festival tour this summer.
They released a notable version of George Strait's famous 1993 song "Heartland" on Nelson's album, Across the Borderline, the same year.
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