The grandson of Hank Williams and the son of Hank Williams Jr., he spent much of his early years playing drums in metal and punk rock bands. In 1996, child support payments led Hank III to sign a contract with Music City giant Curb. Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts was issued shortly thereafter, which brought the voices of all three generations of Williams men together. While this may seem to be a nice beginning, it was quite different from what Hank III himself desired musically. Despite having been born in Nashville, Tennessee, Hank III has never had a preference for mainstream country.
While his name (and his uncanny vocal and physical resemblances to his grandfather) could have guaranteed him a thriving country audience, he had no patience for the often predictable Nashville sound, nor for even the minimal constraints on behavior his promoters required. His opinions on this subject are well summed up in the songs "Trashville" and "Dick in Dixie".
His first album on his own, titled Risin' Outlaw, was released in September 1999. Lovesick, Broke & Driftin' was released in 2002. He had a great deal of trouble with his label Curb Records, with incidents as extreme as their unwillingness to either release his appropriately named This Ain't Country LP, nor allow him to issue it alone, and his selling of "F*** Curb" T-shirts. Battles with Walmart had delayed the release of his third studio album, titled Straight To Hell, which will be released on Feburary 28th as a two-disc in two formats: a clean version (for Wal-Mart), and an uncensored version, which will be the first country album to bear a parental advisory sticker on the cover.
He plays country with his "damn band" and produces a rather different sound with Assjack, which is a metalcore/psychobilly band. He is also the Bass guitarist in Superjoint Ritual, with former Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo. Superjoint Ritual has since disbanded but III is still working with Anselmo on one of his many side-projects (like arson anthem, mentioned below).
A number of "sub-sub-genres" have been coined describing his original sound, such as hard-twang, slacker swing, hellbilly, and honky punk.
Hank III has recorded the tracks "87 Southbound", "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs", as well as "Why Don't You Leave Me Alone", which were penned by Wayne Hancock, a musician who is often compared to him.
Hank III enjoys an extremely loyal grassroots fan base and much of his success can be attributed to his taper friendly stance regarding the audio/videotaping of his frenetic live shows which has been his main promotional vehicle considering the lack of attention paid to his promotion by the Curb Record label.
The Damn Band/Assjack also featured fiddle player extraordinaire Michael "Fiddleboy" McCanless who would play both sets, the traditional country set of the concert and then come back and plug his fiddle into a distortion box and saw away during the metal set. Sadly his talent left this world on February 3, 2003 after losing a battle with cancer, of which the cry of "Fuck Cancer" came out of Hank III's "Fuck Curb" campaign.
In late 2004 Thrown Out of the Bar was slated for release, but Curb opted not to issue it. Williams and label executive Mike Curb would be in and out of court for the next year before a judge ruled in favor of Williams in the spring of 2005, demanding that Curb release the album. Shortly thereafter Williams and Curb came to terms, and Williams dropped his "Fuck Curb" campaign. Bar was reworked into Straight to Hell, released on Curbβs rock imprint, Bruc. Battles with Wal-Mart delayed the appearance of this album, which was released on February 28, 2006 as a two-disc set in two formats: a censored version (for Wal-Mart), and an uncensored version that was the first major-label country album ever to bear a parental advisory warning. One of the songs, "Louisiana Stripes" was written by a little-known Alabama teenager named Jeremy Cummings, who originally released the song on his 2004 debut CD Country Bullshit.
Williams recently played drums for Arson Anthem, formed with Phil Anselmo and Mike Williams of the sludge band Eyehategod.
Williams released his long awaited punk-metal album AssJack on August 4, 2009.
His next album, Rebel Within, was released in May 2010. It charted at number 20 in Billboard magazine.
Williams' former label Curb Records released Hillbilly Joker on May 17, 2011; this is his last release with the label. Williams had been involved in a long contract dispute with his Curb Records after the company refused to release his punk inspired CD This Ain't Country. Several of the songs on Hillbilly Joker had been available as bootlegs, some of them for nearly ten years.
On June 23, 2011, it was posted on III's personal Facebook that he would be releasing four new CDs on September 6, 2011. It said to expect Country, Doom-Rock, Speed Metal with Cattle Callin' on the releases. It also said that they would be released on III's own record label Hank III Records. Entitled Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town (a 2-disc country record with some ambient and folk influences), 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin' (a metal record in the newly anointed cattle core genre) and Attention Deficit Domination (a doom-rock record), these new albums were released on Williams's own record label Hank3 Records through Megaforce Records, and feature guest appearances by Tom Waits, Les Claypool (Primus), Alan King (Hellstomper), Ray Lawrence Jr., Troy Medlin (Sourvein), Dave Sherman (Earthride) and Williams' dog, Trooper.
On March 4, 2013, on Williams's web site, it was announced that he is working on two new albums. It has been confirmed that there are at least 25 new songs. On May 3, 2013, Williams released the names of two new albums: a country album Brothers of the 4Γ4 and punk album A Fiendish Threat, under the band name "3".
On July 6, 2018, Williams was featured on DevilDriver's cover of his song "Country Heroes", which appears on their album Outlaws 'til the End: Vol. 1. On May 24, 2021 he released a cover of the David Allan Coe song "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" on his YouTube channel. On July 31, 2021 Williams shut down his online store. In 2021, Williams' son, Coleman Finchum, changed his last name to Williams began recording and releasing music under the moniker "IV". He formed a band known as "IV and the Strange Band". Their debut album, Southern Circus, was released in June 2022.
On Sunday 18th September 2022, he released a number of new songs on his YouTube channel.
Drinkin' Over Momma
Hank Williams III Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well I just can't believe that she is gone.
But I never did think mama would leave us,
To fend for ourselves on our own.
Well now paw, he can't hardly understand it,
'cause he never did treat our mama wrong.
But I guess that mama never told him
At the age of sixty one.
And it's been years, since we've seen our mama
Even though I heard some stories about her nights.
And poor L-J, the sheriff, told us,
That mama got killed by her damn crack pipe.
Well I'm gonna have to find paw a good woman,
Cause he's startin' to look just like a bag of bones.
She's gonna have to clean all those shotguns
And skin those critters we bring home.
And it's been years, since we've seen our mama
Even though I heard some stories about her nights.
And poor L-J, the sheriff, told us,
That mama got killed by her damn crack pipe.
Yeah mama got killed by her damn crack pipe.
The opening lines of the song "Drinkin' Over Momma" by Hank Williams III evokes a sense of grief and loss. The singer is drinking to cope with the fact that his mother has passed away. He is in disbelief that his mother has left them to "fend for ourselves on our own." This suggests that the mother was a source of strength and guidance for the family. However, the singer is also hinting that there may have been some unresolved issues with the mother as he never thought she could leave them.
The singer then goes on to reveal that his father cannot understand why the mother left them since he never mistreated her. But the singer gives the reason as the mother starting to smoke crack at the age of 61. This adds a layer of complexity to the story as the family seems to have been unaware of this fact. The line, "But I guess that mama never told him" implies that the mother was hiding her addiction from her family. The mother's addiction may have contributed to her decision to leave her family or may have been a factor in her death.
The song is a poignant commentary on addiction, loss, and family dynamics. It also highlights how addiction can affect not only the person struggling with it but also their loved ones. The family's grief over losing their mother is compounded by the revelation of her addiction. This song is a warning about the dangers of addiction and its effects on those around us.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'm sittin' here drinkin' over mama.
I am currently drinking to cope with the loss of my mother.
Well I just can't believe that she is gone.
It is hard for me to accept that she has passed away.
But I never did think mama would leave us,
I never expected my mother to abandon us.
To fend for ourselves on our own.
And leave us to take care of ourselves.
Well now paw, he can't hardly understand it,
My father cannot comprehend why my mother would leave us.
'cause he never did treat our mama wrong.
He was always good to her.
But I guess that mama never told him
However, it seems she never disclosed her addiction to him.
She started smokin' crack
As I have heard, she began using crack cocaine.
At the age of sixty one.
When she was already 61 years old.
And it's been years, since we've seen our mama
It has been a long time since we last saw our mother.
Even though I heard some stories about her nights.
Although I have heard rumors about her activities.
And poor L-J, the sheriff, told us,
The sheriff informed us that...
That mama got killed by her damn crack pipe.
...my mother died because of her addiction to crack.
Well I'm gonna have to find paw a good woman,
I will have to find a good woman for my father.
Cause he's startin' to look just like a bag of bones.
He is becoming too frail and thin.
She's gonna have to clean all those shotguns
This woman will have to clean and maintain our guns.
And skin those critters we bring home.
As well as skin the wild animals we bring back from hunting trips.
Yeah mama got killed by her damn crack pipe.
In the end, my mother died because of her addiction.
Lyrics Β© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
chaosisraining666
Remind's me of my Granny. Such a sweet old lady.
Andrea Daicos
DAMN CHIEF.!! SMOKE SIGNALS CHURN OFF TBDASMF.