Hank Williams is not a secret. Most people know who he is. They might even know a song or two. The problem is that most of his most famous songs are nowhere near the best he wrote, and beyond that, you have to know the saga and essence of Hank to really appreciate his songs. I heard a radio show once, a sports show albeit, and they were talking about Hank. One of them couldn’t understand why he was so highly regarded: “I’m in love, I’m in love with a beautiful gal, that’s what’s the matter with me.”
What’s so profound and great about that? It just isn’t that good. Well, it’s the ironic simplicity of it, and then it’s what he says from there, and how he sings it. Much of it is his voice, the loneliness and complete isolation he feels, the idea that you are alone in this world, and that all will come to a bad end. Anyway, some of his songs are well known, but the fact that he wrote them isn’t. Others just aren’t widely known. Blah, blah, blah… these are his best!
10. Lovesick blues – This is the one with the beautiful gal, and that’s what’s the matter with him! One of his famous, classic songs; it needs little explanation, I think. Just about every artist has done a version.
9. I won’t be home no more – Hank is being defiant. This is like the sequel to “Lovesick blues,” the last straw, when he can’t take the beautiful gal anymore. A very triumphant song.
8. Howlin’ at the moon – One of his more playful songs, very lyrical and poetic, ironic, wild, silly, and in the end even sweet and romantic!
7. Settin’ the woods on fire – See above, #8, in a different sort of puppy love kind of way.
6. My bucket’s got a hole in it – Whose doesn’t?
5. Dear John – “Dear John, I sent my saddle home.” Why? You find out! I’m not going to just tell you. It’s #5 on the list, so the reason has to be good, right?
4. A tramp on the street – Awesome song. Sad, bitter, out to show something, social injustices, the loneliness of being alive, the cruel reality… oh, and by the way, it’s about Jesus!
3. (I heard that) Lonesome whistle – It is the sound he makes imitating the lonely whistle that makes this song. Without that sound, the song would still be good. But with it, the song is great, immortal! It is a very lonely sound.
2. I’m so lonesome I could cry – His words and the way he sings make you feel exactly how he did. Not that you want to cry necessarily, but he paints the picture of his insides, the desolation inside of him, and out, so well, that you just know what he’s talking about, you feel it, and it’s a powerful feeling; a powerful song.
1. Lost highway – Again, to beat a dead horse, long dead, bloody, it’s all about the me against the world thing. Hank Williams was the original Tupac Shakur! And this is his anthem. Tupac should have remixed a hip-hop version of it, pumped his fists and spit the lyrics; would have been his third-best song.
