Walker Hayes Debuts Unreleased ‘Same Drunk’ Live to Celebrate His Sobriety Anniversary [Watch]
Walker Hayes has long been open about all aspects of his life in his music — from his complex relationship with his hometown to his journey towards finding faith — and an important part of the singer's story is his relationship with alcohol and, ultimately, sobriety.
The singer has been sober since 2016, and he recently celebrated another year of sobriety. On Saturday (Oct. 22), Hayes just so happened to be playing a sold-out show in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and he marked the moment by debuting an unreleased song that reflects on his experience with addiction, and what he's learned from his time as an active alcoholic.
In fan-captured video from the show, Hayes tells the crowd that he realized early on that his addictive personality shows up in many different aspects of his life. "Working out — just, you know, anything," he said from the stage. "Pretty much anything I touch, I can turn into an addiction."
That personality trait is what inspired him to write an as-yet unreleased song called "Same Drunk," he goes on to say. "I wrote this song, and I wanna share it with y'all. It's called 'Same Drunk,' it's not out yet, but I love testing new stuff out."
The mid-tempo song's opening lines look at different members of a family — a mom, dad, sister and brother -- who've all got their "drug of choice," whether it's beauty products intended to keep mom from aging, or — in the dad's case — yard work.
"Maybe we're all just the same drunk / Different beer," he concludes in the chorus of his song.
Hayes has previously touched on his personal struggles in song; his recent single "AA" chronicles some aspects of his relationships with alcohol and sobriety, as well as including the line, "Well, I gave up Skoal and cigarettes / Now I'm just hooked on Nicorette."
Most recently, Hayes put out a version of his song, "Y'all Life," which features singer-songwriter Ciara.