Tami Neilson on "I Thought About You, Lord"
One by Willie
John Spong
4.6 • 898 Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Americana star Tami Neilson—a New Zealand-based singer-songwriter and, essentially, adopted member of Willie Nelson’s family—talks about a deep cut off his sublime 1996 album Spirit, “I Thought About You, Lord.” It’s a hugely important song to Tami, who first came to Willie through his gospel side as a young girl barnstorming the US and Canada with her country-gospel family band, The Neilsons. And ‘family’ is the strong undercurrent running through this episode, as Tami talks about sharing the Luck Reunion stage with Willie just a week after Sister Bobbie died; the sisterly bond she’s formed with his wife, Annie; and the way Willie subbed in for her late father, Ron Neilson, on their beautiful 2022 duet, “Beyond the Stars.”
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | One by Willie is brought to you by Waterburger. |
| 0:03.4 | Willie's been doing things his way for over 70 years, and Waterberger's been doing the same. |
| 0:08.8 | Fresh beef, made to order, no shortcuts. |
| 0:12.2 | Some things are just worth doing right. |
| 0:14.2 | Find yours at waterburger.com. |
| 0:18.5 | What makes a song a smash on the charts? |
| 0:22.7 | Hey there, I'm Chris Malanfi, host of the Slate podcast Hip Carade. |
| 0:27.5 | I tell tales for more than a half century of pop chart history. |
| 0:33.0 | I've explained why Steely Dan is yachtacht Rock and Jimmy Buffett isn't. |
| 0:38.3 | How the members of disco band Sheik wrote a baseline that launched hip-hop. |
| 0:43.9 | For tales like these of the hits from coast to coast, follow Hit Parade, wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:57.4 | Hey there, I'm John Spong. |
| 0:59.8 | This is One by Willie, a podcast in which I talk each week to one notable Willie Nelson |
| 1:04.4 | fan about one Willie song that they really love. |
| 1:08.0 | This week, we talked to Americana star Tammy Nielsen, a New Zealand-based singer-songwriter, |
| 1:13.1 | who happens also to be, essentially, an adopted member of Willie's extended family, about a deep |
| 1:18.5 | cut off his sublime 1996 album spirit, I thought about you, Lord. The song is a hymn original to |
| 1:25.7 | Willie, a soft, plain-spoken declaration of his faith, |
| 1:29.0 | and a hugely important one to Tammy, who first came to Willie's music through his gospel side |
| 1:33.5 | as a young girl touring the U.S. and Canada with her country gospel family band, The Nielsen's. |
| 1:39.7 | And really, the whole conversation is a testament to family, as Tammy discusses Willie's unbreakable bond with Sister Bobby, |
| 1:46.6 | her own lifelong collaboration with her brother Jay, her sisterly connection with Willie's wife, Annie, |
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