Stephen Colbert made a surprise appearance at the Songwriter Hall of Fame Thursday night, to induct the country singer-songwriter Toby Keith and perform a playful cover of Keith’s “As Good As I Once Was.†Colbert, who was decked out in a denim jacket and black cowboy hat, hobbled over to the lectern like he had a “boot up his ass†(shout out to Keith’s song “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blueâ€) and shared an encounter with Keith after his musical set in the early days of the Report that later would become immortalized in cross-stitch.
My favorite part of the night was, as the big dog was leaving out the stage door and I was going to the rewrite room — this is very early on in my show, and he didn’t know what he was in for, I guess — he turned around to me and he said, “Hey, man, you do a great job, whatever the fuck it is you do.†I was sincerely deeply moved by that moment, so much so that my executive producer — this is true — had it stitched on a pillow for me for Christmas.
Here’s a highlight from Colbert’s performance of “As Good As I Once Wasâ€: