Willie Nelson Admits He's 'Not Worried' About Death at Age 91: 'I Don't Have Any Reason To'

Willie Nelson isn't harboring any fear at this point in his life.

The music icon, 91, who just released his 76th solo album, opened up about being in his sunset years and why he isn't scared of death.

"I'm 91 plus, so, you know, I'm not worried about it. I don’t feel bad. I don’t hurt anywhere. I don’t have any reason to worry about dying," Nelson explained in a recent interview. "I take pretty good care of myself. And I feel like I’m in pretty good shape physically. Mentally? That’s another story."

The "On the Road Again" artist previously explained how he almost didn't make it to the later years of his life. "Back in my drinking days, I tried to commit suicide a couple of times," he said in his Paramount+ docuseries, Willie Nelson & Family. "One time in the dead of winter I was so down on myself I laid down in the middle of the street hoping a car would run over me. No such luck. I had to get up off my a-- and kept on trying to figure out how to make a living."

"I would get drunk every night and go home with someone different every night," Nelson added. "[I was] slowly self-destructing. I really didn’t care."

Now, the guitarist has completely stopped drinking and smoking and has a new outlook on taking care of himself. "That's added a few days to my life, I'm sure," he said in a 2023 interview. "I still have a good time."

Nelson has been lucky enough to find great love in his life with his wife of over three decades, Annie D'Angelo. "I call her my pet rattler. She's my lover, my wife, nurse, doctor, bodyguard," the vocalist shared. "As they say, laughter's the best medicine. I've always enjoyed a good joke."

"We've got a couple of great kids," he continued. "I am proud of them and all they're doing on their own. It's great to have your kids with you at any time, but if they're on the stage singing with you and they're good, that makes it even better."

Nelson has always heaped praise on his other half and how she's been there for him. “She’s been with me through thick and thin. You can’t ask for anything more than that!” he said. “I’m not easy to live with. I’m pretty temperamental, you know. I’ve been used to doing things my own way for so long that I’m not interested in any suggestions. There was friction with my other wives. But it seems like Annie and I did OK with each other," he added in a separate interview.

The Associated Press conducted the interview with Nelson.