It’s more than a cabin in the woods for ole Bocephus.
If there is one thing that Hank Williams Jr. was sure about, it is that he was not meant for the big city. As an avid outdoorsman, he got his creative juices flowing from hearing a creek run or a bird hum near his porch, not from the hustle and bustle of a new city or from seeing different walks of life.
In 1992, Hank Williams Jr. released a collection of video footage and interview footage on VHS, and during a portion of the videos, he shares how much his cabin on the Kentucky Lake means to him.
“You know, living in a big mansion on Franklin Road with Hank and Audrey Williams was not my lifestyle…and it never has been from then to this day. I don’t live in big towns…
My whole life has been in very small places so that when I leave the stage, I can be out here on the lake.”
Like many other artists who like to live in secluded places, stepping away from the hustle and bustle is often more beneficial to the creative process. Through simple tasks, Hank Jr. finds it therapeutic to be alone, which in turn helps him recharge his batteries so he can keep writing hit songs.
“You know, running a bush hog on a tractor is great therapy, catching bluegills is great therapy, and trying to outsmart a wild turkey… well, I’m not sure that’s good therapy or not that might put you in the nut house.”
Williams then says that the cabin on the lake was where “Born To Boogie” and “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” were written at the quiet sanctuary, along with numerous business deals. He then takes the camera operators out to the pit that inspired the line:
“We cooked the pig in the ground, got some beer on iceAnd all my rowdy friends are comin’ over tonight…”
He called the cooking pit a Cajun microwave. Simple things like that are what Williams Jr. thrives off of.
“This is the real Hank Jr. The real Bocephus…this and, of course, Montana…I go from turtles and cottonmouth moccasins to grizzly bears and elk.”
Hank Williams Jr is the definition of his song “A Country Boy Can Survive.”
“A Country Boy Can Survive”
