Hank Sr. IS country music. When you hear country music today… cliches over trap beats, it is a disgrace compared to what it used to be. Long live the king, Hank Williams!
It's really sad. You have Hank, a bumpkin from outside Montgomery with such a rich and deep catalogue and dead at 27. And then the ones who piggy backed him to create Nashville. People like dolly and Willie. And obviously, I'd never shit on dolly or Willie. But THEIR nepotism is what gave us modern country and the gawdy monstrosity that is modern Nashville. So instead of artists following the footsteps of bill Monroe and doc Watson, we got Billy ray and Hank Jr. It's okay, country is making its revival.
“The silence of a falling star, lights up a purple sky, and as I wonder where you are, I’m so lonesome I could cry”. It doesn’t even need music to cut you right to the soul. This is Poetry of the highest form. It’s no wonder he was called the Hillbilly Shakespeare. If someone never heard country music before and asked you what it was, simply play this song and no better answer can be given.
It's hard to choose, but this is my favorite of his songs. I'm from Alabama -- same town Hank grew up in. The sky here at twilight is sometimes purple. I've been told it's the dust from the nearby fields. It probably contributes to my allergies, but it's beautiful, and I have never seen it anywhere else.
BEAUTIFUL--I clearly remember hearing this song for the first time ever at the age of 13 at a new friend's house. Her family listened to country music. My mom listened to crooners like Frank Sinatra, pop, easy listening. My father died a few years earlier and it was like I was orphaned, since my mom was not mentally, emotionally present for a long time after and we had no other family near to help or talk to. I felt this song was me speaking, giving voice to my feelings which I hadn't been able to do. I hadn't talked to anyone about how abandoned and alone I felt. It made me realize I wasn't the only person in the world who felt so lonely inside. I was sold on country after that.
He wrote this from his own experience as his wife had left him taking their son because he was a heavy alcoholic and other drugs used for physical pain. She loved him but he literally drank himself to death. Say that, I loved his music and my mama who was kin to his wife said my oldest brother who was I believe 5 when he died loved his music so well that he cried when he heard he was dead and I would sing this song along with Hank and cry to the music. It paints a picture of a broken and lonely person.
He was my Mother's absolute favorite. I remember at age 4 running into the kitchen and telling her the man on the radio said that Hank Williams had died. She dropped everything and went to listen. She broke down crying.
Underrated as a lyrical masterpiece. Notice how the writer goes through each of the senses- hear the whipporwill, see a robin weep, feel the length of time and the sadness of the moon. Then tie it all together in the final verse- The *silence* of a falling star lights up a *purple* sky. And as I *wonder* where you are, Im so lonesome I could cry.
There’s no denying the blues influence of Hank Sr songs. Hank died at 29 years old in the back of a Cadillac traveling to a New Years Eve show. Hank literally lived the songs he sang.
This man brought "hillbilly" music to the masses. His lyrics earned him the title of "The Hillbilly Shakespeare". Started a genre that later was called country (and western) music.
Actually Bob wells created western swing..Hank sung the blues..Hank was a hillbilly singing the blues..From birth Hank got a raw deal...Hillbilly music gaind ground largely because of Mamma Carter
i love that fact that you give loving recognition to any type of music. music is music and there are all types . good music hits the soul no matter the type.
There’s a reason they called him the Hillbilly Shakespeare. “The silence of a falling star lights up a purple sky” is my favorite line of any song ever.
He was called, “The Hillbilly Shakespeare” back in the day. His music and voice were raw and emotional. If you haven’t seen the recent Ken Burns series, Country Music-it’s full of history and deeply American music.
...such as Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, & Guy Clark. Texas singer/songwriters out there busting their ass to make a living. Watch "Heartworn Highway" for truly great music.
Well I've never heard hillbilly Shakespeare but I have been called the hillbilly or more along the lines of a heck but these are really good song I grew up on some old music country and rock and roll hillbilly Shakespeare huh 😂 yeah on a bad day we'll just about kill you right up there with you cheating high 🤣😭🤣
Absolutely! I can barely watch that just knowing that he died alone in the back of that car 😭 Hank was a man who understood loneliness 💔💙💜 also Ken Burns is an American treasure 🌟
To realize that Hank Sr. was gone at the age of 29 is just crazy. It is unimaginable what he would have done musically had he lived a longer life. His voice is so haunting in this song, and just beautiful.
I Saw the Light by Hank Williams Senior my favorite Hank Williams Senior song of all time even still to this day always has been even since I was a kid
There was a harmonica solo in there that he mistook for a fiddle a good harmonica player can make it sound almost like a fiddle. But if you listen closely you can hear the wood wind as the player breath moved over it. I love harmonica music . I love the duel between the fiddle and the harmonica on a true rendition of foggy mountain breakdown.
Every country singer after him has wrote a song about him he was that big of an icon to every country singer out there after he passed and regardless of how old he looks in these videos he was only 29 when he died
Hank Williams music is some of the most pure music you'll ever hear there wasn't a lot of studio gimmicks and excessive production in those days. Every instrument was unadulterated and his voice truly came straight out of his soul. His life was fairly short but his influence in music isn't matched by many. His impact will always be felt
He wrote all his music. I was told years ago when he went to a record producer they didn’t believe he wrote the songs, so the producer told him to write a song about seeing his wife with another man while he took Hanks wife out to lunch. When he came back Hank had written “Today I passed you on the Street, and my heart fell at your feet, I can’t help it if I’m still in love with you, Somebody else stood by your side and you looked so satisfied, I can’t help it but I’m still in love with you.” Awesome song writer, poet and singer.
When my son was born and I was bringing him home from the hospital, I sang I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry to him.
Actually he only wrote only a 128 of 225 recorded songs, most of them covers and gospels. The most famous song that he actually did not write himself was “Lovesick Blues” which ended up being his first number one hit
@@nickbrinson3038 nice, he wrote a lot, an amazing ones at that, but yes, he didn’t write them all; Lost Highway by Leon Payne came to mind right away, but Hank made it his own.
He would record other artists’ music as well. Lost Highway was written by Leon Payne, for example. He apparently once said that “a hit song doesn’t care who sings it”.
Hank Williams Sr is my all time favorite! My favorite of his is called, "I Saw The Light". It is one of the greatest Gospel songs ever, and he wrote it. The feeling he put in it makes the song almost come to life and you can see the Light he spoke of. He could do that with any song he wrote or sang. I also would recommend, "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me". It was a rare occasion for Hank to record a song he didn't write, but this is one he did not. It is a great song though, and he did it magnificently! Anything he did is worth listening too. In my case, I could, and have, listen to him all day long. So many memories of his music, my grandpa, and me singing right along. The best singer/song writer ever in my opinion.
I saw an interview with country comedian Minnie Pearl some years ago. Well some many years ago. She was waiting to go on and she heard Hank perform this song. When he came back off stage Minnie hugged him and said "I so glad you saw the light Hank." Hank replied "That's just it Minnie there ain't no light." He was a deeply troubled man but a very gifted song crafter. You could feel his emotions with every line. My father played steel guitar and finished a tour with him when his regular steel man fell ill. Hank gave my dad a string bolo at the last show. My dad was buried wearing it.
This man was my dad’s favorite singer. He could sing like him and when he died he kinda lost his love for music for a while. There are so many of his songs and they are all great. Try “ Your Cheating Heart”
I'm a huge Hank Williams fan. You should definitely check out, "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." His pitch changes are amazing in this song. It could even be called a yodel. Definitely worth a listen.
My grandmother was a citrus farmer in Florida. We would sit on her front porch, the intoxicating scent of orange blossoms enveloping us, and she would play her auto harp and sing. She taught me two songs that I have never forgotten and sing often, Wildwood flower and this song. I love them so much. The poetry, the imagery, is so deep and true in both those songs and I am with my grandmother again whenever I hear them or sing them though she left me long ago. It makes me so happy that you love this song too.
This brought a tear to my eye. What a wonderful memory for you. The imagery you used put me on that porch with you and grandma. Thank you for sharing something so special and personal to you. This is why I love to read the comments.
@@gtw1970 I know your pain. It’s tough. Life is getting better now for me. Ecclesiastes 3:4- A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. Take this time to weep and mourn. Eventually you will learn to laugh and dance again. I have. I still miss her and always will. But I am now looking out the windshield to see where I’m going, and not the rear view mirror looking at where I’ve been. BTW “gtw1970” if 1970 is your birth year you and I are the same age.
As a teenager he learned blues from an old black street guitarist named Rufus Payne. That blues influence stayed with him his whole career. His life was amazingly hard and full of sadness with a tragic ending that came all to soon
He actually also struggled with chronic pain from having spina Bifida. Having chronic pain, spina Bifida and depression myself I can relate to what he felt and it's definitely a struggle. Depression makes your pain worse, and pain makes your depression worse. Like a runaway diesel engine and trying to treat your pain with pain meds and in his case Alcohol as well, is the fuel for the engine.
The lyrics,steel guitar and specially the violin is off the chains! I get teary eyed every time I listen to this song. I also enjoy “Your cheatin’ heart.”
It's actually a fiddle, not a violin...want to know the difference? A violin has strings, a fiddle has strangs. 😜 Seriously though, one of my all-time favorites also . Lost Highway is probably my favorite of his.
@@jssonstillwell3243 Fiddle can also have a more rounded bridge, so the chance of hitting two strings at once is lessened for fast fiddle-string changing styles.
This is so sad if you are actually lonely or if you know of someone who is. I LOVE this song but it really is a tear jerker....I cry every time I hear it....thanks for this video.
“The moon just went behind the cloud, to hide its face and cry.” Soul gripping. I listened to it with my eyes closed and the windows open on hot summer nights as a kid. For upbeat tempos from Williams I liked Jambalaya (among others).”Goodbye Joe, me gotta go oh me oh my oh. Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou”.
“Why Don’t You Love Me Like You Use To Do?” “My Buckets Got A Hole In It” “Long Gone Daddy”. I grew up on Hank Williams. My dad loved him. Hank is the best. Of course there is Hank Jr and his grandson does metal rock AND traditional country as Hank III. He sounds EXACTLY like his grandad when doing country!
I grew up with my daddy having his own band that would play around Alabama. This is one of the songs he use to play and sing at home. Gosh I miss those days so much!!!
Hauntingly beautiful! I’ve listened to this song my whole life, so many times. I’m almost 64 and it still gives me chills. The fiddle,steel guitar, Hank’s unique vocals and stunning lyrics combined to create a true masterpiece of art in song. The hardest part for me watching a reaction, is to not close my eyes and get absolutely lost in it. Thank you for reacting. ❤️🙏😇
@@stevedegraaf7897 Ha. No I was agreeing with you. Thats old people slang for " That's Right" or "Hell Yea " when someone is speaking the truth. Kinda like an Amen in church. Hank Sr was rapping before Rap. In one of his songs " he wrote a lot about his wife" he says " she'll do me shell do you she got that kind of loving lord I love it when she calls me sweet Daddy" he is basically calling Audrey a whore. Lol
How beautiful to see someone feel the soul of Hank Williams for the first time. I’m 68 years old, and have loved Hank’s music since I was first introduced to it when I was 15. A kid from Alabama, who wrote incredible words and melodies, and left us when he was 29 years old, New Year’s Day, 1953. All these years later, he stuns the world with his gifts. No matter how scratchy or blurry the recordings or videos, his soul shines through, clear as a bell. Thank you for sharing this with us. I’m so glad another music-lover gets to meet Hank Williams. He’s in your heart now, so you’re stuck with him from now on. I hope your wife understands! Happy New Year! ✌️❤️
Hank Sr. Is the godfather of country music and his songs have been recorded by many artists of many genres . Thank you for giving it a fair review with an open mind and a talented ear!
"I said to Hank Williams, How lonely does it get? Hank Williams hasn't answered yet, but I hear him coughing all night long. A hundred floors above me in the tower of song." -- Leonard Cohen.
I was a boy growing up in Texas and first heard this song when I was about six in 1968...it has haunted me ever since...I still get goosebumps...It has to be the saddest song ever sung...
Love your reaction to the Hillbilly Shakespeare, as he was sometimes called. Hearing him is like an arrow straight to the heart. Some other songs, Mansion On the Hill, I Saw the Light, Lost Highway, Your Cheatin' Heart, Honky Tonkin', I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, Hey Good Lookin', Honky Tonk Blues, Jambalaya, Lonesome Whistle, Long Gone Lonesome Blues. Move It On Over is kind of rockabilly and pretty funny. If this looks like a long list, it is only a fraction of Hank Williams' songs. As other posters have said, you can't go wrong with any Hank Williams song.
I'm 63 and have heard this song so many times over the years - especially because my father was such a huge Hank Williams Sr. fan. But,,, I've never heard it analyzed so beautifully as you did MrLboyd. This video added me as a subscriber. I will listen to this song with much more appreciation. Thank you!
Of all the covers that were done of this song, I feel that BJ Thomas's version is the best. I was in high school & it was the first time I cried by a song. Elvis said it is the saddest song he ever did.
One of the most touching songs ever recorded. The harmonies outlining Ol' Hank's crackling timber voice will bring you to tears, as Don Helms' steel guitar passionately reminds you of every heartache you've ever felt. That haunting violin echoes every classic country song's signature refrain. Like Elvis once said, "...probably the saddest song I've ever heard." Who better to know first hand about sadness than him? 👑
Trust me on this. The next one by Hank you should listen to is “Alone and Forsaken” It’s probably the most forlorn song ever written. Even more so that this one. The thing with Hank is- he always MEANT every song he wrote and sung. He didn’t just sing em, he lived them.
So many good ones! I like ‘Kaw-Liga’ for a simple made up love story & of course Jambalaya when I’m hungry for some beer. “ mind your own business “ is a life lesson most people never heard? Hank jr. has a few good ones & popular for nfl Athems Hank111 is such he a rebel ! & Hank 4 has a lot of music out now too! I never have checked him out… I fill like I live under rock! ✌️🤟🤙
To me, Hank is one of the greatest American poets of all time. Thanks for listening to him, and the good work. Oh yeah, check out “Rambling Man” by aka Luke The Drifter
You might also enjoy "The Lovesick Blues," more up-tempo and he even yodels, but it still keeps that mournful undertone, as does the irresistible "Hey, Good-Lookin'."
This is the style of music that I remember hearing yeas ago ( in the 60's and 70's) at family gatherings in the Ozarks. The older men and women would bring out their fiddles, guitars, spoon or bones and jugs, and just sit around an play the music that was passed down from their forefathers. They are all long gone now but I can still hear the music in my mind.
He does a "Luke The Drifter" album where he does a beautiful job story telling. I like "Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw". Beautifully done by him in his typical style.
I remember when Hank was alive before 1953. He had written many great songs and he was not yet 30. I will recommend listening to a couple of his songs that were not big hits, such as My Heart Would Know and They'll Never Take her Love from Me. You have excellent taste in music.
When looking up his songs remember Hank Williams Sr released some songs as Luke the Drifter. He wrote one of the greatest gospel songs ever. I SAW THE LIGHT. If you go deep in his catalog just remember he was born an raised in an impoverished Alabama. So some of his terms and phrases are time and region influenced.
@@richardvernon1032 hank sang , played and wrote from his soul. The ONLY thing Elvis could do was sing. He never wrote a damn thing and his guitar was a prop
According to the Ken Burns jazz documentary, Bird Charlie Parker drove his band mates crazy playing Hank on the jukebox in diners. Bird liked the stories.
The video is 'There's A Tear In My Beer', I believe. His son, Hank Jr, did a 'duet' video with him to it MANY years after he died. (He passed when Hank Jr was very little. )
Another emotional cut is JIM CROCE’S TIME IN S BOTTLE, if you haven’t already done it. I’m a first time viewer of your channel, and gotta say I love how you reacted to HANK WILLIAMS. I think your next foray into HANK should be COLD COLD HEART.
My vote is for Cold Cold Heart. That song helped me get through some romantic trauma.But Hank Sr. is just generally great. You really can't go wrong. And if you love this sort of sound, also check out Bob Wills.
The imagery in this lyrics of this song is incredible. Hank Williams was a genius with words. He was awarded a citation by the Pulitzer Prize committee for his songwriting. Now you need to listen to Midnight in Montgomery by Alan Jackson. The next song by Hank should be KALIGA.
Sometimes I think Hank Williams Sr. was sitting up in Heaven and he said, "I have another song I want people to hear," and he used Alan Jackson to record it. That song was Midnight in Montgomery.
I would recommend these three "The Old Log Train", "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive", and "I Saw the Light". Those are three of my personal favorites.
Hank once summed up his simplistic style by saying, "I want a farm boy to be able to hear my song on Friday night then be able to whistle it in the field on Saturday". I love this philosophy. Other songs include "Cheating Heart", "Jambalaya", "Cold Cold Heart", "Kawliga", and "Move it on Over". There are many more, of course, but this will be a good start. Loved your reaction. Peace.
Elvis sang this song live. He said it was the saddest song he knew. In one recorded performance, it appears that a tear is on Elvis’s face as he sung this song.
"Love his singing and song writing, just listen when Hank Sr. says: The silence of a falling star lights up a purple sky in this song! Pure genius ! Keep them coming! Love your reaction!
I don’t remember not knowing this song. It brings to mind watching him perform on the Ed Sullivan show on a Sunday evening at Grandma’s. It could have been some other variety show;there were a lot of them in the ‘50’s.
That, sir, is not just a violin but also a steel guitar bringing it all together. Hank was and still is the epitome of country music. Alan Jackson did a song to commemorate him, Midnight In Montgomery
Hank Williams was my mother's favorite singer when I was growing up. I didn't like country music at that time but I now have an appreciation for all types of music and Hank Williams especially.
Hank Sr. IS country music. When you hear country music today… cliches over trap beats, it is a disgrace compared to what it used to be. Long live the king, Hank Williams!
Wish everyone felt like this! 💯
It's really sad. You have Hank, a bumpkin from outside Montgomery with such a rich and deep catalogue and dead at 27. And then the ones who piggy backed him to create Nashville. People like dolly and Willie. And obviously, I'd never shit on dolly or Willie. But THEIR nepotism is what gave us modern country and the gawdy monstrosity that is modern Nashville. So instead of artists following the footsteps of bill Monroe and doc Watson, we got Billy ray and Hank Jr. It's okay, country is making its revival.
I've always called it Pop music with a southern accent.
Hank Williams is the king everywhere except for Texas. I heard once you're down in Texas
Bob Wills is still the king.
@@MrStickypow: I call it twangy pop.
“The silence of a falling star, lights up a purple sky, and as I wonder where you are, I’m so lonesome I could cry”. It doesn’t even need music to cut you right to the soul. This is Poetry of the highest form. It’s no wonder he was called the Hillbilly Shakespeare. If someone never heard country music before and asked you what it was, simply play this song and no better answer can be given.
INDEED, AMEN❣️
Beautifully said.
It's hard to choose, but this is my favorite of his songs. I'm from Alabama -- same town Hank grew up in. The sky here at twilight is sometimes purple. I've been told it's the dust from the nearby fields. It probably contributes to my allergies, but it's beautiful, and I have never seen it anywhere else.
And in Prattville AL (outside of Montgomery) you get pink sunsets over by the papermills.
Yes, I so agree with you Chad!!!
Hank sr will always be the greatest of the bunch
If a heart breaks, and there's no one there to hear it. Does it make a sound?
Answer: Yes. It sounds like this.
So well said, thank you sir
I 100% agree with Lorrie, so perfectly said!
BEAUTIFUL--I clearly remember hearing this song for the first time ever at the age of 13 at a new friend's house. Her family listened to country music. My mom listened to crooners like Frank Sinatra, pop, easy listening. My father died a few years earlier and it was like I was orphaned, since my mom was not mentally, emotionally present for a long time after and we had no other family near to help or talk to. I felt this song was me speaking, giving voice to my feelings which I hadn't been able to do. I hadn't talked to anyone about how abandoned and alone I felt. It made me realize I wasn't the only person in the world who felt so lonely inside. I was sold on country after that.
He wrote this from his own experience as his wife had left him taking their son because he was a heavy alcoholic and other drugs used for physical pain. She loved him but he literally drank himself to death. Say that, I loved his music and my mama who was kin to his wife said my oldest brother who was I believe 5 when he died loved his music so well that he cried when he heard he was dead and I would sing this song along with Hank and cry to the music. It paints a picture of a broken and lonely person.
I can't like this comment enough.
He was my Mother's absolute favorite. I remember at age 4 running into the kitchen and telling her the man on the radio said that Hank Williams had died. She dropped everything and went to listen. She broke down crying.
I'm crying reading your tribute. Hank was my dads favorite too.
👊❤
I was 7 years old. Only later did I realize what a loss it was.
Beautiful story thank you for sharing
Definitely my favorite country singer! Hank Sr. all day!
Underrated as a lyrical masterpiece. Notice how the writer goes through each of the senses- hear the whipporwill, see a robin weep, feel the length of time and the sadness of the moon. Then tie it all together in the final verse- The *silence* of a falling star lights up a *purple* sky. And as I *wonder* where you are, Im so lonesome I could cry.
Completely Agree...An All-Time Song!
He was a genius like that.
Remember this is from the late 1940s or early 1950s
It is also written to mimic a heartbeat this is why he emphasizes the up beat
Hank just had a six year career as a professional country singer, but what a storyteller he was.
One of the greatest expressions of sad loneliness ever written. "He sounds too blue to fly." Every line a dagger.
Anyone that has ever gone through a divorce and is alone now can relate to this song by Hank, as well as many others he wrote and sang!
I agree brother
There’s no denying the blues influence of Hank Sr songs. Hank died at 29 years old in the back of a Cadillac traveling to a New Years Eve show. Hank literally lived the songs he sang.
Sir he died on New Years day 1953 in Oak Hill WV.
He was 34 Year Old my friend
Well at least a country boy couldn’t survive
I spent time with his wife Billie jean..after Hank died she married johnny Horton
Hanks music teacher was a delta blues musician named Rufus Payne Everything he did was influenced by the delta blues
This man brought "hillbilly" music to the masses. His lyrics earned him the title of "The Hillbilly Shakespeare". Started a genre that later was called country (and western) music.
I will say love ballad blues or honky tonk ballads and blues
But definitely a hillbilly legend
As with The Bard, there are questions about authorship with some of Hank's lyrics.
Actually Bob wells created western swing..Hank sung the blues..Hank was a hillbilly singing the blues..From birth Hank got a raw deal...Hillbilly music gaind ground largely because of Mamma Carter
@@leonardshevlin7260absolutely not..And you should be ashamed for spreading such blasphemy
I love that you love this song. You're right, "this is music" and yes it's haunting.
You should follow up with his son and grandson! The whole family has an erie understanding of music
Haunting, yet peaceful. Sad, but uplifting. True poetry. I'm not a country music fan, but Hank Senior is the man! Wish I knew you.
@@bsharrard8652 True! Country hero's by Hank Williams III is truly haunting.
i love that fact that you give loving recognition to any type of music. music is music and there are all types . good music hits the soul no matter the type.
Music 🎶 is the universal language.
Hank Sr. was a poet extraordinaire. If he sang it, it’s worth listening to.
I agree
Agreed
There’s a reason they called him the Hillbilly Shakespeare. “The silence of a falling star lights up a purple sky” is my favorite line of any song ever.
He was called, “The Hillbilly Shakespeare” back in the day. His music and voice were raw and emotional. If you haven’t seen the recent Ken Burns series, Country Music-it’s full of history and deeply American music.
...such as Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, & Guy Clark. Texas singer/songwriters out there busting their ass to make a living. Watch "Heartworn Highway" for truly great music.
Well I've never heard hillbilly Shakespeare but I have been called the hillbilly or more along the lines of a heck but these are really good song I grew up on some old music country and rock and roll hillbilly Shakespeare huh 😂 yeah on a bad day we'll just about kill you right up there with you cheating high 🤣😭🤣
Absolutely! I can barely watch that just knowing that he died alone in the back of that car 😭 Hank was a man who understood loneliness 💔💙💜 also Ken Burns is an American treasure 🌟
Listen to Tear in my Beer.
To realize that Hank Sr. was gone at the age of 29 is just crazy. It is unimaginable what he would have done musically had he lived a longer life. His voice is so haunting in this song, and just beautiful.
Stars that burn that bright are never meant to last !!!
Check out Hank, Sr. I Saw the Light, Kaw Liga, Your Cheatin' Heart, and many others.
I Saw the Light by Hank Williams Senior my favorite Hank Williams Senior song of all time even still to this day always has been even since I was a kid
There's an endless list of great Jr songs
Old Habits might be my personal favorite
Long gone lonesome blues for me
I'm going to listen to kaw liga now 😆 💘 one of my favorites
There's something about the fiddle that can really make me feel the emotion in a song. I love it. 👍🇺🇲
There was a harmonica solo in there that he mistook for a fiddle a good harmonica player can make it sound almost like a fiddle. But if you listen closely you can hear the wood wind as the player breath moved over it. I love harmonica music . I love the duel between the fiddle and the harmonica on a true rendition of foggy mountain breakdown.
From the Soul to the fingers.
Yes the harmonica is great but every one seems to forget the steel guitar.
Pair is with steel guitar...sound is liquid gold
@@stancornett1038 your soooo right I have played around with the harmonica since the 70's but never could make it sound as good as in this great song
I'm only a 29 year old Mexican and I like Hank Williams in lol. My gramps got me into him. Another nice one is Hey Good Looking.
Every country singer after him has wrote a song about him he was that big of an icon to every country singer out there after he passed and regardless of how old he looks in these videos he was only 29 when he died
Dude burned the candle at both ends and the middle as well. Cultural phenomenon.
Not only country singers. Leonard Cohen names him in The tower of song
Hank Williams music is some of the most pure music you'll ever hear there wasn't a lot of studio gimmicks and excessive production in those days. Every instrument was unadulterated and his voice truly came straight out of his soul. His life was fairly short but his influence in music isn't matched by many. His impact will always be felt
Did Hank also not sung "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" remember uncle playing it in his Vinyl Master's Voice gramophone!!! Yess
He wrote all his music. I was told years ago when he went to a record producer they didn’t believe he wrote the songs, so the producer told him to write a song about seeing his wife with another man while he took Hanks wife out to lunch. When he came back Hank had written “Today I passed you on the Street, and my heart fell at your feet, I can’t help it if I’m still in love with you, Somebody else stood by your side and you looked so satisfied, I can’t help it but I’m still in love with you.” Awesome song writer, poet and singer.
I hadn’t heard that story before. Thanks!
When my son was born and I was bringing him home from the hospital, I sang I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry to him.
Actually he only wrote only a 128 of 225 recorded songs, most of them covers and gospels. The most famous song that he actually did not write himself was “Lovesick Blues” which ended up being his first number one hit
@@nickbrinson3038 nice, he wrote a lot, an amazing ones at that, but yes, he didn’t write them all; Lost Highway by Leon Payne came to mind right away, but Hank made it his own.
One of the most poetic songs ever written.
Check out Kaw-Liga and Cold Cold Heart.
YEEESSSSSS please
I wish I had a dollar for how many times I played Kaw-Liga
Both great song
That song is my ring tone
Hank wrote this song and all of his. I particularly like I SAW THE LIGHT.
He would record other artists’ music as well. Lost Highway was written by Leon Payne, for example. He apparently once said that “a hit song doesn’t care who sings it”.
"Most" of his. "Howlin' at the Moon" is just one that he didn't write.
Hank Williams Sr is my all time favorite! My favorite of his is called, "I Saw The Light". It is one of the greatest Gospel songs ever, and he wrote it. The feeling he put in it makes the song almost come to life and you can see the Light he spoke of. He could do that with any song he wrote or sang. I also would recommend, "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me". It was a rare occasion for Hank to record a song he didn't write, but this is one he did not. It is a great song though, and he did it magnificently! Anything he did is worth listening too. In my case, I could, and have, listen to him all day long. So many memories of his music, my grandpa, and me singing right along. The best singer/song writer ever in my opinion.
I saw an interview with country comedian Minnie Pearl some years ago. Well some many years ago. She was waiting to go on and she heard Hank perform this song. When he came back off stage Minnie hugged him and said "I so glad you saw the light Hank." Hank replied "That's just it Minnie there ain't no light." He was a deeply troubled man but a very gifted song crafter. You could feel his emotions with every line. My father played steel guitar and finished a tour with him when his regular steel man fell ill. Hank gave my dad a string bolo at the last show. My dad was buried wearing it.
I love this gospel song, "I saw the light", too!
Wynonna remade that? 🤣
@@jkreviea No she didn't... Lol!
@@jkreviea She just stole the name... Lol!
Hank Sr, the most significant musician of all time. He sets the standard for all.
This man was my dad’s favorite singer. He could sing like him and when he died he kinda lost his love for music for a while. There are so many of his songs and they are all great. Try “ Your Cheating Heart”
I'm a huge Hank Williams fan. You should definitely check out, "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." His pitch changes are amazing in this song. It could even be called a yodel. Definitely worth a listen.
Me too
Hole in my bucket is great too. Also there’s Luke the drifter which was one of his stage personas
One of the songs my Dad used to sing to us before bed was "Long Gone Lonesome Blues"
Try "I'll never get out of this world alive "
My grandmother was a citrus farmer in Florida. We would sit on her front porch, the intoxicating scent of orange blossoms enveloping us, and she would play her auto harp and sing. She taught me two songs that I have never forgotten and sing often, Wildwood flower and this song. I love them so much. The poetry, the imagery, is so deep and true in both those songs and I am with my grandmother again whenever I hear them or sing them though she left me long ago. It makes me so happy that you love this song too.
This brought a tear to my eye. What a wonderful memory for you. The imagery you used put me on that porch with you and grandma. Thank you for sharing something so special and personal to you.
This is why I love to read the comments.
Why am I smelling orange blossoms right now?
Great story. Thank you for sharing
👨👩👧👦
Yes
I can almost hear the Orange Blossom Special playing, myself.
After my wife passed away, I listened to the song a lot almost daily for the first year.
Once you know lonesomeness, you fully comprehend this song.
I lost my wife on July 19, 2022. Jan 18th was my first birthday without her. I play this song.
@@gtw1970 I know your pain. It’s tough. Life is getting better now for me. Ecclesiastes 3:4- A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
Take this time to weep and mourn. Eventually you will learn to laugh and dance again. I have. I still miss her and always will. But I am now looking out the windshield to see where I’m going, and not the rear view mirror looking at where I’ve been.
BTW “gtw1970” if 1970 is your birth year you and I are the same age.
I too lost my wife in 2015. I still have this song on a cd in the truck. Play it all the time.
As a teenager he learned blues from an old black street guitarist named Rufus Payne. That blues influence stayed with him his whole career. His life was amazingly hard and full of sadness with a tragic ending that came all to soon
He sung and wrote alot of music for someone who died at 29. Depression and drugs. Alan Jacksons "Midnight in Montgomery" is also a haunting tribute.
Cant forget about The Ride by David Allan Coe. Or Whose Gonna Fill Their Shoes by George Jones
He actually also struggled with chronic pain from having spina Bifida. Having chronic pain, spina Bifida and depression myself I can relate to what he felt and it's definitely a struggle. Depression makes your pain worse, and pain makes your depression worse. Like a runaway diesel engine and trying to treat your pain with pain meds and in his case Alcohol as well, is the fuel for the engine.
@@daleskelton8963 heck yea love that song too
He was constantly in pain from his disease plus half the time he wasn't drunk..He was high on heroine for the pain...GOD BLESS HANK
@@lelandwaltz1755 Hank Williams was a heroin addict now? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
The lyrics,steel guitar and specially the violin is off the chains! I get teary eyed every time I listen to this song. I also enjoy “Your cheatin’ heart.”
That could be his next reaction it would be a good one for him to listen too
It's actually a fiddle, not a violin...want to know the difference? A violin has strings, a fiddle has strangs. 😜 Seriously though, one of my all-time favorites also . Lost Highway is probably my favorite of his.
Awesome old joke. 🤣
Other acceptable answers were "Depends on who's playing it or where it's being played."
the other big difference is you carry a violin in a case and a fiddle in a gunny sack
Actually, it is a violin. Fiddle is a technique used to play a violin.
One uses nylon (gut) strings, the other uses steel strings. The instrument is the same.
@@jssonstillwell3243 Fiddle can also have a more rounded bridge, so the chance of hitting two strings at once is lessened for fast fiddle-string changing styles.
When it was dark in the beginning I just thought you were setting the mood. After all it is "I'm so lonesome I could cry."
This is so sad if you are actually lonely or if you know of someone who is. I LOVE this song but it really is a tear jerker....I cry every time I hear it....thanks for this video.
“The moon just went behind the cloud, to hide its face and cry.” Soul gripping. I listened to it with my eyes closed and the windows open on hot summer nights as a kid. For upbeat tempos from Williams I liked Jambalaya (among others).”Goodbye Joe, me gotta go oh me oh my oh. Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou”.
Love your reactions, but you must learn the difference between a violin & fiddle. Hint, the difference is how it's played.
Not altogether@@kayallen9641 A violin has strings and a fiddle has strangs..
I love all of his songs, but... "Im so lonesome I could cry " is my all time favorite
Love all of them not so up beat but in my top 💯 songs of all time. And top 10 gospels
Of all time.
Bingo!
Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin Heart" is well worth listening to. Patsy Cline's cover is excellent as well.
I agree, except make sure its the original demo version before they messed with it after he passed away.
I love Patsey's rendition, especially for singing. It is in the key of G, whereas Hank sings it in C.
The lyrics to that song always get me. Most of his songs are well crafted but something in the cadence and rhyme gets me every time I hear it.
I used to sing Your Cheating Heart Karaoke.. I got a couple standing ovations in Nashville.
“Why Don’t You Love Me Like You Use To Do?” “My Buckets Got A Hole In It” “Long Gone Daddy”. I grew up on Hank Williams. My dad loved him. Hank is the best. Of course there is Hank Jr and his grandson does metal rock AND traditional country as Hank III. He sounds EXACTLY like his grandad when doing country!
He sounds nothing like his dad nor does he look like him!..if it wasn't for his mother Audrey I doubt he would've entered the music business.
I grew up with Hank’s music. It still touches me.
Try ‘Cold Cold Heart’ which I think he is singing in the video. Great lyrics in that song also.
I think that was the video for "There's a Tear in My Beer", Hank Jr sang a duo with this dad with this Video.
me too
"It's almost haunting." - That's a great way to describe a lot of Hank Williams' songs, and really, his voice.
Such a true statement!!!
Truth
When he said that, I was like YESSS!!
I came here to say this
I grew up with my daddy having his own band that would play around Alabama. This is one of the songs he use to play and sing at home. Gosh I miss those days so much!!!
Hauntingly beautiful! I’ve listened to this song my whole life, so many times. I’m almost 64 and it still gives me chills. The fiddle,steel guitar, Hank’s unique vocals and stunning lyrics combined to create a true masterpiece of art in song. The hardest part for me watching a reaction, is to not close my eyes and get absolutely lost in it. Thank you for reacting. ❤️🙏😇
My favorite Hank Sr song is "I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You".
@The 0% Liberal Show thanks for telling me about that one. I'm a huge Hank Sr fan but haven't heard it before now.
HankSR is indeed one of the best. But like many of the best, We lost them way too young. .
It doesn’t matter what you listen to next. Every song he did was great.
I would second that opinion.
Come on
@@Uncledooky come on, what? It’s the truth. He was the Hillbilly Shakespeare.
@@stevedegraaf7897
Ha. No I was agreeing with you. Thats old people slang for " That's Right" or "Hell Yea " when someone is speaking the truth. Kinda like an Amen in church. Hank Sr was rapping before Rap. In one of his songs " he wrote a lot about his wife" he says " she'll do me shell do you she got that kind of loving lord I love it when she calls me sweet Daddy" he is basically calling Audrey a whore. Lol
@@Uncledooky I’m from the south I got it haha
How beautiful to see someone feel the soul of Hank Williams for the first time. I’m 68 years old, and have loved Hank’s music since I was first introduced to it when I was 15.
A kid from Alabama, who wrote incredible words and melodies, and left us when he was 29 years old, New Year’s Day, 1953. All these years later, he stuns the world with his gifts. No matter how scratchy or blurry the recordings or videos, his soul shines through, clear as a bell.
Thank you for sharing this with us. I’m so glad another music-lover gets to meet Hank Williams. He’s in your heart now, so you’re stuck with him from now on. I hope your wife understands!
Happy New Year! ✌️❤️
Hank Sr. Is the godfather of country music and his songs have been recorded by many artists of many genres . Thank you for giving it a fair review with an open mind and a talented ear!
The words are profound. I can only imagine how he felt when he wrote it.
Always thought his voice was so unique. For someone who died in his 20's, his legacy lives forever.
He died in in 53
IMHO the best country song ever written and Hank's raw performance is spectacular. That said, BJ Thomas sings the heck out of it.
"I said to Hank Williams, How lonely does it get? Hank Williams hasn't answered yet, but I hear him coughing all night long. A hundred floors above me in the tower of song." -- Leonard Cohen.
B.J. Thomas's version is the very best.. I believe B. J carried it all the way to#1, if I'm no mistaken. Am a huge fan of both 💕
I was a boy growing up in Texas and first heard this song when I was about six in 1968...it has haunted me ever since...I still get goosebumps...It has to be the saddest song ever sung...
How's about Alone and Forsaken by Hank? Also beyond sad
Cold cold heart is much sadder than this
His singing always sent chills down my spine, there will never be another one like Hank Williams he lived like he sang.
“Setting the Woods on Fire” and “Cold, Cold Heart” should be next.
Settin' The Woods On Fire is one of the best date songs ever written.
This would be my pick.
the video is live at the Grand Ole Opry.
He already reacted to Cold Cold Heart.
Love your reaction to the Hillbilly Shakespeare, as he was sometimes called. Hearing him is like an arrow straight to the heart. Some other songs, Mansion On the Hill, I Saw the Light, Lost Highway, Your Cheatin' Heart, Honky Tonkin', I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive, Hey Good Lookin', Honky Tonk Blues, Jambalaya, Lonesome Whistle,
Long Gone Lonesome Blues. Move It On Over is kind of rockabilly and pretty funny. If this looks like a long list, it is only a fraction of Hank Williams' songs. As other posters have said, you can't go wrong with any Hank Williams song.
I'm 63 and have heard this song so many times over the years - especially because my father was such a huge Hank Williams Sr. fan. But,,, I've never heard it analyzed so beautifully as you did MrLboyd. This video added me as a subscriber. I will listen to this song with much more appreciation. Thank you!
Hank Williams will always haunt my soul, he will always be number 1 in my book. Thank you Hank Williams you have a place in my heart for ever ❤
Of all the covers that were done of this song, I feel that BJ Thomas's version is the best. I was in high school & it was the first time I cried by a song. Elvis said it is the saddest song he ever did.
One of the most touching songs ever recorded. The harmonies outlining Ol' Hank's crackling timber voice will bring you to tears, as Don Helms' steel guitar passionately reminds you of every heartache you've ever felt.
That haunting violin echoes every classic country song's signature refrain. Like Elvis once said, "...probably the saddest song I've ever heard." Who better to know first hand about sadness than him? 👑
Love, love, love this song. Love how Hank William's sings it best. He's a Legend.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Trust me on this. The next one by Hank you should listen to is “Alone and Forsaken”
It’s probably the most forlorn song ever written.
Even more so that this one.
The thing with Hank is- he always MEANT every song he wrote and sung.
He didn’t just sing em, he lived them.
@@stivaro that's Hank III, not Jr.
Terry Jacks 'Seasons in the Sun' in the original cadence is my top pick for most forlorn/depressing.
So many good ones!
I like ‘Kaw-Liga’ for a simple made up love story & of course Jambalaya when I’m hungry for some beer.
“ mind your own business “ is a life lesson most people never heard?
Hank jr. has a few good ones & popular for nfl Athems
Hank111 is such he a rebel !
& Hank 4 has a lot of music out now too! I never have checked him out… I fill like I live under rock!
✌️🤟🤙
Kaw Liga’s pretty dark as well.
Alone and Forsaken is a wonderful song.
Simple melody. Nothing Simple about the lyrics or that voice. Absolute LEGEND
Well said!
the steel guitar, still my favorite all time instrument. It pairs so well with Hanks voice. glad you reacted to this.
I also love a steel guitar
To me, Hank is one of the greatest American poets of all time. Thanks for listening to him, and the good work. Oh yeah, check out “Rambling Man” by aka Luke The Drifter
You might also enjoy "The Lovesick Blues," more up-tempo and he even yodels, but it still keeps that mournful undertone, as does the irresistible "Hey, Good-Lookin'."
This is the style of music that I remember hearing yeas ago ( in the 60's and 70's) at family gatherings in the Ozarks. The older men and women would bring out their fiddles, guitars, spoon or bones and jugs, and just sit around an play the music that was passed down from their forefathers.
They are all long gone now but I can still hear the music in my mind.
The Ozarks are the home of alot of good music for sure
He does a "Luke The Drifter" album where he does a beautiful job story telling. I like "Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw". Beautifully done by him in his typical style.
I remember when Hank was alive before 1953. He had written many great songs and he was not yet 30. I will recommend listening to a couple of his songs that were not big hits, such as My Heart Would Know and They'll Never Take her Love from Me. You have excellent taste in music.
Simple put. Hank is Music. The most important figure in music history. Listen to his alter ego Luke The Drifter's Men with broken hearts
Hank wrote this song express his crippling sadness over the relationship with his first wife Audrey Sheppard. Hank Was 26 at the time.
Lost Highway is my personal favorite Hank song. So Lonesome I Could Cry is definitely in the top 5.
My mother liked Hank Williams. From what I remember of his songs, this rendition sounds very like my memories, stretched vowels and all.
When looking up his songs remember Hank Williams Sr released some songs as Luke the Drifter. He wrote one of the greatest gospel songs ever. I SAW THE LIGHT. If you go deep in his catalog just remember he was born an raised in an impoverished Alabama. So some of his terms and phrases are time and region influenced.
I still listen to Ole Hank Sr. on my record player and this is one of my Favorites.
When Elvis performed this, he said it was the saddest song, he had ever heard. Elvis did a good version of this also.
Elvis version is trash....
@@atljbb85 Everyone's entitled to their opinion.
@@atljbb85 Hanks a good songwriter.
Elvis sang from his soul. No whine
@@richardvernon1032 hank sang , played and wrote from his soul. The ONLY thing Elvis could do was sing. He never wrote a damn thing and his guitar was a prop
@@atljbb85 Elvis didn't have to write. Best singer, translater.
Troll along yee haw
He's a legend they made the instruments speak every word in clarity with the performer.
The first time I heard Hank Williams music playing (Lovesick Blues) I was blown away. Hands down the best country ever made.
According to the Ken Burns jazz documentary, Bird Charlie Parker drove his band mates crazy playing Hank on the jukebox in diners. Bird liked the stories.
The video is 'There's A Tear In My Beer', I believe. His son, Hank Jr, did a 'duet' video with him to it MANY years after he died. (He passed when Hank Jr was very little. )
Hank jr was 3 when his dad died
I heard this song for the first time when I was about 13 and loved it immediately. It is hauntingly beautiful.
Another emotional cut is JIM CROCE’S TIME IN S BOTTLE, if you haven’t already done it. I’m a first time viewer of your channel, and gotta say I love how you reacted to HANK WILLIAMS. I think your next foray into HANK should be COLD COLD HEART.
Ironic that you should bring up Jim Croce. I was at the concert expecting to hear Jim Croce when we got word that he had died.
I always like listening to country fiddle. Hank Sr’s stretching of notes in this song adds to the haunting sound of the catchy melody.
What an amazing song. So beautiful and sorrowful at the same time. One of my all time favorites. Glad you loved it.
My vote is for Cold Cold Heart. That song helped me get through some romantic trauma.But Hank Sr. is just generally great. You really can't go wrong. And if you love this sort of sound, also check out Bob Wills.
The imagery in this lyrics of this song is incredible. Hank Williams was a genius with words. He was awarded a citation by the Pulitzer Prize committee for his songwriting. Now you need to listen to Midnight in Montgomery by Alan Jackson. The next song by Hank should be KALIGA.
Do you mean kawliga? If so then yes I agree and hank jr does a good cover on it so does marty Robbins but nothing beats the original by hank sr
Not for nothing was he called "The Hillbilly Shakespeare"
I like the cover that Charlie Pride did of Kawliga!
Sometimes I think Hank Williams Sr. was sitting up in Heaven and he said, "I have another song I want people to hear," and he used Alan Jackson to record it. That song was Midnight in Montgomery.
Only 29 when he died but looked and lived hard. But what a songwriter !!!Recorded for only 6 years and had 40 Top 10 hits.
I would recommend these three "The Old Log Train", "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive", and "I Saw the Light". Those are three of my personal favorites.
Hank once summed up his simplistic style by saying, "I want a farm boy to be able to hear my song on Friday night then be able to whistle it in the field on Saturday". I love this philosophy. Other songs include "Cheating Heart", "Jambalaya", "Cold Cold Heart", "Kawliga", and "Move it on Over". There are many more, of course, but this will be a good start. Loved your reaction. Peace.
One of my favorites! I named my son Hank, I love country music so much and he is definitely the greatest country music artist of all time!
Elvis sang this song live. He said it was the saddest song he knew. In one recorded performance, it appears that a tear is on Elvis’s face as he sung this song.
This is one of the most moving sad songs ive ever heard, who ever wrote this had some major blues.
He wrote it.
I think you’d love hearing how “The Cowboy Junkies” sing it, too.
Look in to how he passed, and the lyrics might mean more
This is populated and I can't delete it. I have no idea why it is doing this, so ignore this comment. :)
Hank Williams wrote it!
"Everything I love about music is right here ... the violin tells its own story." Damn, man. You saying that is just as beautiful. as the song.
Two of my favorites are “Move I On Over”
and “Kawliga” cute stories and more upbeat! Thanks 🙏🏼 loving your reactions ☮️🌻❤️
"Love his singing and song writing, just listen when Hank Sr. says: The silence of a falling star lights up a purple sky in this song! Pure genius ! Keep them coming! Love your reaction!
My father could sing just like him. Thank you for posting this.
My memories of him. Had faded over these 30 years. Today i heard him sing.
I don’t remember not knowing this song. It brings to mind watching him perform on the Ed Sullivan show on a Sunday evening at Grandma’s. It could have been some other variety show;there were a lot of them in the ‘50’s.
KATE SMITH
That, sir, is not just a violin but also a steel guitar bringing it all together. Hank was and still is the epitome of country music. Alan Jackson did a song to commemorate him, Midnight In Montgomery
Hank Williams was my mother's favorite singer when I was growing up. I didn't like country music at that time but I now have an appreciation for all types of music and Hank Williams especially.
His music touches the soul
And makes me cry 😢