HANK WILLIAMS JR

If there is any one man that defines modern country music to me, that man has got to be Hank Williams Jr. The number of hits that he has had over the last several decades, his influence on other country singers, and his wild style has made him a living legend. I'm not sure that Hank Williams Jr. has passed the legend of his father (Hank Williams Sr.) up yet, but he is certainly well on his way. While he may not be a Cajun, Junior has spoken for many of us in South Louisiana with his songs, and his family has been deeply rooted in Louisiana. Regardless, we want to use this opportunity to share some of our joy and admiration of Hank Williams Jr.

"Is Hank Williams Jr. A Cajun?"

We all know that Hank Williams Junior is one of the most famous persons living, at least for football and country music fans, but is he a Cajun? He was born Randall Hank Williams Jr. on May 26, 1949 in Shreveport, Louisiana. His parents were Hank Williams Sr. and Audrey Mae Sheppard from Alabama. As far as we can tell, neither of his parents were Cajuns, so Hank Williams Jr. is not a Cajun. Since he was born in Louisiana (even though Shreveport is pretty Yankee), we'll give him 10% for the effort.

If Hank Williams Junior is not a Cajun, why do so many of us think that he is? There are two obvious answers to this. For one, he was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. Most outsiders assume that everyone from Louisiana must be a Cajun, even though we know this isn't even close to the truth. Secondly, his father Hank Williams Sr was thought to be a Cajun by so many people because of his songs, such as Jambalaya. An answer that isn't quite so obvious is that his songs are just so down to Earth. Hank Williams Jr is a man of the land, and that is exactly what Cajuns are. For instance, look at the lyrics to this song by him. If that aint Cajun, I don't know what is.

"A Country Boy Can Survive" By Hank Williams Jr.

The preacher man says it’s the end of time
And the Mississippi River she’s a goin’ dry
The interest is up and the Stock Markets down
And you only get mugged
If you go down town

I live back in the woods, you see
A woman and the kids, and the dogs and me
I got a shotgun rifle and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

I can plow a field all day long
I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn
We make our own whiskey and our own smoke too
Ain’t too many things these ole boys can’t do
We grow good ole tomatoes and homemade wine
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Because you can’t starve us out
And you cant makes us run
Cause one-of- ‘em old boys raisin ole shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn

We came from the West Virginia coalmines
And the Rocky Mountains and the and the western skies
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

I had a good friend in New York City
He never called me by my name, just hillbilly
My grandpa taught me how to live off the land
And his taught him to be a businessman
He used to send me pictures of the Broadway nights
And I’d send him some homemade wine

But he was killed by a man with a switchblade knife
For 43 dollars my friend lost his life
Id love to spit some beechnut in that dudes eyes
And shoot him with my old 45
Cause a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive

Cause you can’t starve us out and you can’t make us run
Cause one-of- ‘em old boys raisin ole shotgun
And we say grace and we say Ma’am
And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn

We’re from North California and south Alabama
And little towns all around this land
And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive!

"Hank Williams Jr.'s Career"

Hank Williams Jr.'s early career is almost as famous as he is. We have been to several of his concerts, and he loves to tell stories of his wild and famous early start. He mixes the stories into his songs on stage unlike anyone we have ever watched perform. That crazy career got its starts when Hank Williams Jr. was only a little boy. His father had nicknamed him Bocephus in honor of a Grand Ole Opry ventriloquist dummy, and he took after his father's music abilities right from the start. When Hank Williams Jr. was only four years old his father passed away, but that didn't stop him. Pressed forward by his mother, and taught by other famous musicians such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank WIlliams Jr. began performing on stage when he was only 8. By the time he was just 14, he had cut his first record.

Throughout the 1960's and early 1970's, Hank Williams Jr. primarily played his fathers songs, and he was extremely successful at doing just that. In the 1970's, he began to break away from his mother's direction, and to develop into his own style which can be described as a mixture of country, rock, southern rock, and blues. As his father had done before him, Hank Williams Junior eventually got caught up in drugs and alcohol, and this led to his attempted suicide in 1974. Thankfully, he moved out of this shadow over time, although his ties to alcohol and marijuana remain to this date.

On August 5, 1975 hank WIlliams Jr. was in a terrible accident while climbing a mountain in Montana. Every bone in his face was broken in the accident, and his skull was completely fractured so that his brain was exposed to the air. It took 9 surgeries to reconstruct his face, and he was hidden from the world for years due to his serious scars and treatments. This accident led to his eventual signature look- long beard and shades.

By the end of the 1970's Hank Williams Junior was back on top of the charts with huge hits like "Family Tradition". By the middle 1980's, even country music decided to start paying him his dues by rewarding Hank Williams Junior with award after award. He even ended up with a hand full of Emmy's in the 1990's for commercials in which he performed the theme song for Monday Night Football. Junior's successes continue into the 2000's with more awards, more great songs, and even a son (Hank Williams III) that is beginning to light up the charts.

"Hank Williams Jr.'s Songs"

This is a list of some of Hank Williams Jr.'s greatest songs over the years:

• 1960's- "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", "Guess What, That's Right, She's Gone", "Endless Sleep", "Standing In the Shadows", "I Can't Take It No Longer", "Nobody's Child", "Old Ryman", "It's All Over But the Crying", "I Was With Red Foley (The Night He Passed Away)", "Baby Again", "Cajun Baby", "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw", "I'd Rather Be Gone", "I'd Rather Be Gone"

• 1970's- "I Walked Out on Heaven", "It Don't Take But One Mistake", "Removing the Shadow", "All For The Love Of Sunshine", "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)", "Rainin' In My Heart", "I've Got a Right to Cry", "After All, They Used to Belong to Me", "Ain't That a Shame", "Eleven Roses", "Pride's Not Hard to Swallow", "After You", "Hank", "Last Love Song", "Rainy Night In Georgia", "I'll Think of Something", "Angels Are Hard to Find", "Kind of Woman I Got", "Same Old Story", "Stoned At the Jukebox", "Living Proof", "Mobile Boogie", "I'm Not Responsibe", "One Night Stands", "Feelin' Better", "You Love the Thunder", "I Fought the Law", "Old Flame, New Fire", "To Love Somebody", "Family Tradition", "Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound"

• 1980's- "Women I've Never Had", "Kaw-Liga", "Old Habits", "Texas Women", "Dixie on My Mind", "All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)", "A Country Boy Can Survive", "Honky Tonkin'", "If Heaven Ain't a Lot Like Dixie", "Gonna Go Huntin' Tonight", "American Dream", "Leave Them Boys Alone", "Queen of My Heart", "Man of Steel", "Attitude Adjustment", "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight", "Major Moves", "I'm For Love", "This Ain't Dallas", "Aint Misbehavin", "Country State of Mind", "Mind Your Own Business", "When Something Is Good (Why Does It Change)", "Born to Boogie", "Heaven Can't Be Found", "Young Country", "If the South Woulda Won", "Early In the Morning and Late At Night", "There's a Tear In My Beer", "Finders Are Keepers"

• 1990's- "Ain't Nobody's Business", "Good Friends, Good Whiskey, Good Lovin", "Man to Man", "Don't Give Us a Reason", "I Mean I Love You", "If It Will, It Will", "Angels Are Hard to Find", "Hotel Whiskey", "Come on Over to the Country", "Everything Comes Down to Money", "I Ain't Goin' Peacefully"

• 2000's- "America Will Survive", "Outdoor Lovin' Man", "I'm One of You", "Devil in the Bottle", "Why Can't We All Just Get a Long Neck?", "That's How They Do It in Dixie", "A Country Boy Can Survive" (Remix)

As a final tribute, here are the lyrics to the Hank Williams Jr. song that I love the most:

"Kaw-Liga" By Hank Williams Jr.

Kaw- liga, was a wooden indian standing by the door
He fell in love with an indian maid over in the antique store
Kaw-liga, just stood there and never let it show
So she could never answer yes or no.

He always wore his sunday feathers and held a tomahawk
The maiden wore her beads and braids and hoped someday hed talk
Kaw-liga - a, too stubborn to ever show a sign
Because his heart was made of knotty pine.

Chorus
poor ol kaw-liga, he never got a kiss

poor ol kaw-liga, he dont know what he missed
is it any wonder that his face is red
Kaw-liga, that poor ol wooden head

Kaw-liga, was a lonely indian never went nowhere
His heart was set on the indian maiden with the coal black hair
Kaw-liga - a, just stood there and never let it show
So she could never answer yes or no.

Then one day a wealthy customer bought the indian maid
And took her, oh, so far away, but ol kaw-liga stayed
Kaw-liga - a, just stands there as lonely as can be
And wishes he was still an old pine tree.

Chorus