Songfacts®:

• This ballad is a character study about an aging Hollywood actor whose career has long faded.
  
  Once I was shot by John Wayne, yeah, it was towards the end
  That one scene's bought me a thousand drinks, set me up and tell it for you, friend
  Here's to the cowboys, riders in the whirlwind
  Tonight the western stars are shining bright again
  
  His biggest claim to fame was that he was once shot in a Western by John Wayne. The actor still gets free drinks as a result of that moment of glory.
• The video was directed by Thom Zinny, who also shot Springsteen's clip for "Tucson Train." It show The Boss in various settings, including a blue-collar bar where he performs the song. Among the patrons watching Springsteen sing is his wife and bandmate, Patti Scialfa.
• Lenny Castro, a Los Angeles-based percussionist and touring member of Toto, played conga and tambourine on this track. He also contributed towards two other Western Stars songs: "Sleepy Joe's Café," and "There Goes My Miracle."
  
  Castro told Uncut magazine it was his first time working for Springsteen. "He knew of me from other projects, so I went down to Ocean Studios in Burbank, just me and my wife and my dog," he recalled. "My sessions were really quick. I don't sit around and overthink things. If you can't grab it off the top of your head, then it's not worth it as far as I'm concerned."
• A documentary film, also titled Western Stars, features a full performance of the album. Springsteen introduced the record at the beginning of the movie as a "13-song meditation on a struggle between individual freedom and communal life."