Nelson's No. 1 played a key role as America celebrated the Statue of Liberty's centennial.
Willie Nelson performing at Farm Aid II in Austin, Texas, July 4, 1986.
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“Bring us your tired and weak.”
The opening lines of Willie Nelson’s “Living in the Promiseland,” written by David Lynn Jones, paraphrase Emma Lazarus’ words from a plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The national landmark was undergoing a renaissance when Nelson took “Promiseland” to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart dated June 28, 1986. It was still waving the flag at No. 15 on the July 5 list, ahead of his performance of the title on a statue-related TV special that aired on July 6, and held in the top 40 through the July 12 tally.
