In 2003 after "A Few Questions" was released Walker said, "I would like to do a duet with someone. I don't know who it will be, but I am sure that in the future, maybe on the next album, there will be a duet. As a matter of fact, it is a goal of mine to do a duet with somebody." In an interview with "The Columbus Dispatch" Walker revealed that while speaking with Freddy Fender about recording the duet "Before the Next Teardrop Falls", Fender said "I wanted to do it with you because I know you have MS -- and so we both probably share a lot of the same beliefs and feelings. I want you to know this is not just a song; it is a piece of my heart. I'm giving it to you." Walker told the "Associated Press", "That will always be his song, but there was total magic in the studio. He put his hand on my shoulder and said he had been asked to do it hundreds of time but had never done it, but that he felt that this was the right moment. It was the last song he ever recorded, so I'm proud to be part of his legacy. When asked about the long break between releases, Walker said, "Yeah, I think it was too long. There was a lot of red tape leaving one record label and going to another one. It was a process that was excruciating."