Loretta Lynn & Willie Nelson Sing About Mortality In 2016 Duet โ€œLay Me Downโ€

Loretta Lynn / YouTube

Loretta Lynn & Willie Nelson Only Recorded One Duet Together โ€“ Itโ€™s Called โ€œLay Me Downโ€

Loretta Lynn made history with her 2016 album, Full Circle. After its release, Full Circle became Lynnโ€™s highest-charting album of all time when it debuted at the 19th spot on the Billboard 200 chart.

Full Circle contains some updated versions of Lynnโ€™s classic songs and brand-new pieces written specifically for the album. One such song is โ€œLay Me Down,โ€ which is truly unique because Willie Nelson sings it with Lynn as a duet.

RELATED: MEET ALL 6 OF LORETTA LYNNโ€™S CHILDREN [LIST]

Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson share a hug in the music video for "Lay Me Down"
Loretta Lynn / YouTube

Although Lynn and Nelson were friends for years, โ€œLay Me Downโ€ was the first song they recorded together. Despite this, Lynn told Exclaim they nailed the song on their first take:

โ€œWillie looked at me and said, โ€˜I guess you know weโ€™re going to have to go around the world with this and tour?โ€™ and I said, โ€˜Willie, I ainโ€™t goinโ€™!

Lynn heaped praise on her duet partner. She talked about why Nelson is known as an iconic singer.

โ€œWillieโ€™s a great writer and a great artist: you canโ€™t miss who he is when he starts singing,โ€ she said. โ€œThatโ€™s what makes an artist.โ€

Lynn debuted โ€œLay Me Downโ€ in a music video with Nelson. Like many of the tracks on Full Circle, the song addresses mortality and how the narrators will finally find peace โ€œwhen they lay [them] down.โ€

Watch The Emotional Music Video For โ€œLay Me Downโ€ Below

The music video for the song is simple, yet powerful. It shows Lynn in her dressing room while Nelson stands on the stage.

Finally, the two of them come together. They canโ€™t stop smiling as they sing. You can see how much they admired each other, especially as they shared a hug to close the video.

Sadly, โ€œLay Me Downโ€ was also the last duet Nelson and Lynn ever released.

Lynn passed away on October 4, 2022. Nelson released a touching statement, saying, โ€œLoretta was a good friend and fantastically talented. She was a great writer, singer, and human being. Iโ€™ll miss her a lot.โ€

 

RELATED: 20 COUNTRY SINGERS WHO ARE FROM KENTUCKY

At Lynnโ€™s memorial service on October 30, 2022, her granddaughter, Emmy Russell, and Nelsonโ€™s son, Lukas, united to sing โ€œLay Me Down.โ€ Their touching tribute later earned a Performance of the Year nomination from the CMT Music Awards.

You can watch Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelsonโ€™s original performance of โ€œLay Me Downโ€ in the video below.

Save this article!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new articles & videos from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

About the Author

Miranda Raye

Hello, I'm Miranda, a lifelong country music fan! There are old home videos of me in my baby swing, swinging along to Dolly Parton and Ricky Van Sheltonโ€™s โ€œRockinโ€™ Years.โ€ Being able to unite my passions for storytelling, researching, and music into my work has been a dream come true.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.