Willie Nelson's latest tribute to the range is "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other."
Nelson released a statement on Valentine's Day, the same day the song became available for download at the iTunes music store, saying the song has "been in the closet for 20 years," The Dallas Morning News reported.
"The timing's right" for the song written by Ned Sublette to emerge, "I'm just opening in the door," Nelson said.
Nelson said his longtime friend and tour manager, David Anderson, told him he was gay two years and when he was going through a bunch of old material last March looking for songs to record for iTunes, Sublette's tune struck a chord.
Anderson said Nelson's recording of "Cowboys Are Frequently Fond of Each Other" was his way of giving him a thumbs up.
Nelson, by the way, recorded "He Was a Friend of Mine" for the soundtrack of "Brokeback Mountain," Ang Lee's Oscar-nominated film about gay cowboys.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
