Despite all the health troubles and physical setbacks, there’s nothing stopping Willie Nelson from putting on a show for his fans, decades into the game.

The 92-year-old is now a certifiable country music legend, and doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon.

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But what has Willie said about the idea of retirement? And did you know there was a point at which he actually did? Here’s all you need to know…

Willie has been actively performing since the late 1950s

Willie’s brief retirement

While it seems impossible to think of now, there was a point at which *the* Willie Nelson did retire from music, although it was way back in the 1970s.

In 1972, the singer decided to “retire” from recording music after a string of his albums failed to make much commercial impact and reviews began to stagnate. He bought out his label contract and moved to Austin.

However, the new city gave him a renewed perspective on his career, and he began playing local shows that eventually became his long-running Fourth of July Picnic. His retirement was short-lived, as he returned to the recording studio a year later.

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The singer briefly retired in 1972 before returning to recording music the year after

His 1973 record Shotgun Willie received critical acclaim and became one of the pioneers of the “outlaw country” movement, and his 1975 LP Red Headed Stranger became his first crossover top 40 hit, solidifying his place in the mainstream and now considered his masterpiece.

What has Willie said about retiring?

Over the years, the question of the country legend’s decision to step away from his career has come up a few times, but Willie has always shut them down by continuing to actively take the stage each time.

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“I’ve heard some talk about it. But I’m not through with it yet.”

In a conversation with the Associated Press just last month, he alluded to not seeing himself step away anytime soon when asked whether he’d want a feature film treatment like Bob Dylan received with A Complete Unknown. “I’ve heard some talk about it. But I’m not through with it yet,” he simply responded.

The one reason Willie would retire

However, in the past, the “Always On My Mind” singer has mentioned that there would only be one thing that could make him retire — Trigger.

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Willie will celebrate 70 years since his debut single was released in 2026

For those uninitiated, Trigger is Willie’s beloved Martin N-20 nylon-string classical acoustic guitar, which he purchased in 1969. Despite damage and wear over the years, the guitar’s sound has become synonymous with Willie’s own, and is now a key part of his legacy.

He has previously spoken about just how much Trigger means to him, and penned in his book The Tao of Willie: A Guide to Happiness in Your Heart: “One of the secrets to my sound is almost beyond explanation.”

“My battered old Martin guitar, Trigger, has the greatest tone I’ve ever heard from a guitar… If I picked up the finest guitar made this year and tried to play my solos exactly the way you heard them on the radio or even at last night’s show, I’d always be a copy of myself and we’d all end up bored.”

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The country music icon has alluded to quitting if Trigger gave out

“But if I play an instrument that is now a part of me, and do it according to the way that feels right for me… I’ll always be an original,” he added, even stating that he’d “quit” without Trigger.