Absolutely perfect.

Sadly, country music icon Kris Kristofferson passed away at the age of 88 years old this weekend. He was at his home in Maui, Hawaii.

Of course, he will be greatly missed, and his contributions to not only he country genre, the music world in general, cannot be overstated. Tributes and stories from fellow country artists, and fans, have been pouring in, and it’s hard to believe he’s really gone. Kris’ timeless impact on country music will live forever, and his legacy goes well beyond music.

This morning, country star Miranda Lambert shared an old photo of her and Kris, saying she was “thankful” she got to share the stage with him and calling him a “hero”;

“Thank you for everything. Forever a hero. Your songs will live forever. So thankful I got to share the stage with you. Rest easy.”

And that performance she referred to was really something special.

Back in 2010, Merle Haggard was part of the Kennedy Centers Honors class, and of course, some of his fellow country artists showed up to pay tribute to The Hag on a very special evening.

Miranda and Kris teamed up for a gorgeous rendition of “Silver Wings,” which was included on Merle’s 1969 album A Portrait of Merle Haggard. A solo write from the record, it’s all about Merle’s heartbreak when the woman he loves gets on a plane to go somewhere far away and leaves him lonely back home.

It’s still beloved by fans to this day (even though it was never released as a single and it definitely should’ve been), and has remained a country classic for 55 years now, and Kris and Miranda did the song more than justice in my opinion.

Miranda’s vocals are just perfect here, and I think this tune in particular fits her style so well. She’s covered it many times since, and I honestly would love if she cut a studio cover of it one day.

In the video, you see a shot of The Hag, along with fellow honorees Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney (not bad company…), nodding along, and while you might not have been able to tell by his outward expression, I think Merle was probably touched by the performance.

“Silver Wings”