Song of the Day 4/8: Willie Nelson, “Whiskey River”
As nations around the world play tit-for-tat with Trump’s tariffs, one American export seemed to bear the brunt of international ire: Bourbon. Kentucky whiskey was removed from shelves to great fanfare, and governments threatened retaliatory tariffs. Things looked dire for the distilling industry.
It turns out “he’s crazy enough to do it” is a viable trade strategy. The EU just dropped bourbon from the list of tariff targets because French winemakers and Irish distillers flinched at Trump’s threat of a 200% escalation. So keep that whiskey flowing, boys. We’re gonna need a river of it.
Willie Nelson included a studio take of “Whiskey River” on his 1974 “Shotgun Willie” album, then had a country hit with a live version in 1978. He’s been using it as a show opener ever since.
Nelson was covering Johnny Bush, who reached the country charts in 1972 year with the song he co-wrote.
not much bourbon flowing now with the massive kentucky floods