Chris Stapleton Sings Willie Nelson’s Pro-Immigrant Anthem on ‘The Late Show’

When Chris Stapleton made an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Wednesday (May 6), he opted to perform a cover song originally recorded by another of country music’s greats.

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Stapleton performed “Living In The Promiseland” from Willie Nelson’s 1986 album, Promiseland . Written by David Lynn Jones, the song advocates for immigration and celebrates America as a land of diversity and opportunity. “Living In the Promiseland” topped Billboard ‘s Hot Country Songs chart in 1986.

During his performance, Stapleton was joined by Nelson’s harmonica player Mickey Raphael, who played harmonica on Nelson’s original recording.

The song’s lyrics serve as an anthem for those pursuing dreams in the United States, with lines such as “Give us your tired and weak and we will make them strong/ Bring us your foreign songs and we will sing along/ Leave us your broken dreams and we’ll give them time to mend.”

After wrapping the performance, Stapleton and Colbert cheered each other over glasses of whiskey. The country star told the comedian, whose show is ending on May 21, “I want to thank you publicly for all the good that you’ve done for me and for so many musicians who have come on this show. You’ve been very kind. Your entire staff is very kind and you’re a gift to the world.”

Stapleton is nominated for six awards at the upcoming ACM Awards on May 17, including entertainer of the year and male artist of the year.

Nelson turned 93 on April 29, and was recently named to The New York Times ‘ list of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters.

Watch Stapleton’s performance above.

_Originally reported by [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/music/country/chris-stapleton-willie-nelson-living-in-the-promiseland-1236241355/)._