Texas Monthly.

Hey there, I'm John Spong of Texas Monthly Magazine, and this is One by Willie, a podcast in which I talk each week to one notable Willie Nelson fan about one Willie song that they really

love. This week, Lyle Lovett, a four-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, band leader, actor,

and all-around good person dissect Willie's first number one country hit as a songwriter, Hello

Walls, which gets Lyle thinking about the solitary nature of songwriting,

the big wet kiss that Willie gave Hello Walls singer Farron Young when the song hit,

and that time Lyle recorded another Willie song with the Reverend Al Green.

Let's art. If you were to meet somebody who had never heard Hello Walls and you didn't have a guitar with you to just play it for him.

How would you describe Hello Walls to him?

What's the plot of Hello Walls?

You know, I would say to someone, if you'd like to hear a perfect song, listen to Hello Walls.

The context, the imagery, he uncovers everything there is to write in that situation,

and you just imagine that solitary soul, that lonely person in that room, in every way possible.

Hello wall.

It's just perfectly written.

How'd things go for you today?

Don't you miss her?

Since she up and walk away.

So then the action in the song, what is the solitary soul doing?

Well, the solitary soul is a songwriter.

And as someone who tries to write songs, you appreciate the loneliness of that moment,

trying to write something that holds together

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