Willie Nelson Thought He Was ‘Lucky’ to Make It Past 21 Years Old

Willie Nelson is a living legend at age 87, but the singer recently admitted that he wasn’t sure he would ever see that number. “I didn’t ever think I’d get this old,” he told Slate with a laugh. “I always thought I was lucky to make it past 21.”

Reminiscing on his youth, Nelson mused, “When I was young, I was pretty dumb. And now that I’m older, I’m pretty f—ing dumb. I don’t know everything, and I think I do. So there’s the problem.” As for what he might tell his younger self if he had the chance, the Grammy winner doesn’t think anything he tried would affect him.

“I don’t know that anything I would say now is anything that I would’ve listened to back then,” he said. “I was still too stubborn to listen to anything or anybody, and I’ve had a lot of bruises because of it. And I’ve lived through it. But I don’t know that if I went back, I’d change anything.”

Nelson typically tours consistently, though he has been sidelined amid the pandemic, and makes sure to stay active, sharing that he is still involved with martial arts.

“One thing it gives you is a little confidence that you don’t have to worry a lot because you’re capable of handling any situation that comes up. Having no fear is a pretty good thing. I still try to do a little workout every day just to pay for the day. That’s what I call it: You have to do something to pay for the day. So I’ll get up and do a little walking or jogging or whatever, just enough to keep the heart going.”

On Feb. 26, Nelson will release his 71st album, a collection of Frank Sinatra covers titled That’s Life. He is also currently working on a new project with his family.

“That was one of the things I loved about Frank, his phrasing,” Nelson shared. “He never done it twice the same way. I love that. … My biggest regret is we played a show together; I don’t know where it was, Vegas or somewhere, and he asked me to hang out with him a while that night, and I couldn’t. I had someplace to go and get on the bus. But that was one of my biggest regrets that I didn’t get to hang out with Frank. Because I love him, he always has been my favorite singer.”