Chris Stapleton Covers Willie Nelson’s Pro-Immigrant Song ‘Living in the Promiseland’ on ‘Colbert’

Chris Stapleton Covers Willie Nelson’s Pro-Immigrant Song ‘Living in the Promiseland’ on ‘Colbert’ The country singer delivered the ballad, written by David Lynn Jones, with help from Willie's longtime sideman Mickey Raphael on harmonica By Joseph Hudak Joseph Hudak Contact Joseph Hudak on X Contact Joseph Hudak by Email View all posts by Joseph Hudak May 7, 2026 Chris Stapleton is not one to make political statements. But it’s hard not to read into his Wednesday night appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert . The Grammy-winning Nashville songwriter didn’t perform one of the countless country songs he’s written, but rather “Living in the Promiseland,” made famous by Willie Nelson. Written by David Lynn Jones, “Living in the Promiseland” is a pro-immigrant song about the American dream. Nelson cut it for his 1986 album The Promiseland and released it as a single, taking it all the way to Number One on the country charts. Onstage at Colbert , Stapleton offered a solo rendition of the ballad, backed only by Nelson’s longtime sideman, harmonica player Mickey Raphael, who played on the original recording. “Give us your tired and weak/ And we will make them strong/ Bring us our foreign songs/ And we will sing along,” Stapleton sang to begin the performance, accompanying himself on guitar as Raphael offered subtle harmonica accents. Last summer, Nelson, who turned 93 this month, used the song and its poignant music video to open his performances on the Outlaw Music Festival Tour. The video features images of immigrants, many of them people of color, arriving on the nation’s shores in search of a better existence. Today, however, that existence is especially elusive, as the current administration has worked to vilify immigrants while targeting them in an aggressive deportation campaign. “Give us your daily bread/ We have no shoes to wear/ No place to call our own/ Only this cross to bear,” Stapleton sang, driving home the song’s message. While a radio hit for Nelso...