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.
Hang On
Hank Williams III Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just a singing my poor song
I've seen them hard hard times,
But that's my kind of life
I like it most the time,
When I'm drunk and feeling high
Sometimes it gets me down,
Makes me feel I'm unwound
And I know, its hard
When you're all alone
And you don't wanna live
And you've got that gun
Hang on
Hang on
Hang on
Hang on
Well I'm cruisin' all alone,
Just a singing my poor song
I've seen them hard hard times,
But that's my kind of life
I like it most the time,
When I'm drunk and feeling high
Sometimes it gets me down,
Makes me feel I'm unwound
Hang on
Hang on
Hang on
Hang on
The lyrics to Hank Williams III's "Hang On" depict a narrator who is struggling with life but has learned to find solace in singing their "poor song." They have been through hard times and live a rough lifestyle, but embrace the highs that come with it. However, even with these highs, sometimes the singer feels down and unwound. The chorus "hang on" is repeated throughout as a message of encouragement to keep on going despite the struggles and hardships of life. The final verse emphasizes the loneliness the singer experiences and the temptation to give up, but the chorus remains a reminder to persevere.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'm cruisin' all alone,
I am traveling alone.
Just a singing my poor song
I am singing about my struggles.
I've seen them hard hard times,
I have experienced difficult times.
But that's my kind of life
That's just the way things are for me.
I like it most the time,
I enjoy it most of the time.
When I'm drunk and feeling high
When I am under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Sometimes it gets me down,
Sometimes it makes me feel sad.
Makes me feel I'm unwound
Makes me feel like I am coming apart at the seams.
And I know, its hard
I understand that it is difficult.
When you're all alone
When you have nobody else with you.
And you don't wanna live
When you do not want to continue living.
And you've got that gun
When you have a gun with you.
Hang on
Stay alive.
Hang on
Hold on for dear life.
Hang on
Persevere through the tough times.
Hang on
Don't give up.
Well I'm cruisin' all alone,
I am still traveling alone.
Just a singing my poor song
Still singing about my struggles.
I've seen them hard hard times,
Still experiencing difficult times.
But that's my kind of life
Still understanding that my life is just the way it is.
I like it most the time,
Still enjoying it most of the time.
When I'm drunk and feeling high
Still relying on alcohol and drugs to cope.
Sometimes it gets me down,
Still feeling sad from time to time.
Makes me feel I'm unwound
Still feel like I am coming apart at the seams.
Hang on
Still reminding myself to persevere.
Hang on
Still reminding myself to hold on.
Hang on
Still reminding myself to stay alive.
Hang on
Still reminding myself not to give up.
Lyrics Β© Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOSEPH STANLEY WILLIAMS, RANDY GOODRUM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeff Lingelbach
I've heard Hank 3 doing other versions of this but this is the best version I've ever heard him do all together just listen to it on the Ramblin Man CD