The country music singer-songwriter Walker Hayes has always been outspoken about various aspects of his life, including his personal struggles with addiction and alcohol abuse.
And, while he has managed to overcome his battle with alcoholism through faith and hard work, and has been sober since 2016, Hayes continuously addresses areas of his life that need work through his music.
In fact, the 42-year-old country star and Country Music Artist of the Year 2022, has written many songs on the topic of sobriety, ranging from his melancholy “Beer In The Fridge” to his more light-hearted popular track “AA,” which went on to become a Top 10 hit on Billboard’s US Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, respectively.
The latter of the two features the lyrics, “I’m just tryna keep my wife from figuring out / That I married up and she married way, way down / In Alabama where they love Nick Saban / Tryna write a song the local country station’ll play / Hey, I’m just tryna stay out of AA”
Hayes no longer imbibes, at all, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy for him to walk away from a drink, even now.
“I often wonder, like in Heaven is the beer really good, and if you drink it, are you satisfied with just one, ’cause you don’t need to be drunk?’ Hayes reflects. “There’s nothing to cope with. I have a song on one of my 8 Tracks called ‘Wish I Could Drink.’ One day my kids are gonna turn 21, and I can’t have a beer with them. Will it kind of hurt when I watch them? And I think, ‘Man, I hope you don’t have that me in you.’ I think about that all the time. I wish I could do anything responsibly. I really have such an addictive personality. I think part of that is why I was still here in Nashville for this to even happen is I couldn’t put the guitar down.”
