Walker Hayes commemorated a very special occasion at a recent sold-out show in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: his seven-year anniversary of being sober. To celebrate this momentous day, he debuted a brand new, unreleased song called "Same Drunk."
The tune was captured in a video shared by radio host Kerri Mac, and in it, Hayes sings about how every person has a vice or two to get them through life.
"Pretty much anything I touch, I can turn it into an addiction, so I wrote this song and I want to share it with y'all," Hayes shared with the crowd before playing the tune. "It's called Same Drunk, it's not out yet, but I love testing new stuff out."
Hayes then dove into the song, which is a fun, bouncy ode to the various addictions people face on an everyday basis.
"Sister's hooked on another jackass / Mama's hooked on looking young / Daddy's hooked on cutting the grass / Brother's hooked on smoking some," he sings in the first verse.
The chorus then completes Hayes' theory that everyone is possibly the "same drunk" with "different beer."
"Maybe we're all just the same drunk / Different beer / Trying to cope with all the crazy down here," he sings, while playing acoustic guitar.
At his sold out Cedar Rapids show, @walkerhayes celebrated his “7 year sober birthday” by performing an unreleased song called ‘Same Drunk.’ pic.twitter.com/vHTOlkOWWv
— Kerri Mac (@KMacOnTheMic) October 24, 2022
Hayes didn't give insight into when "Same Drunk" would be released. His current single, "Y'all Life," has moved into the Top 40 on the Mediabase chart, and he's seen recent success with 2021's "AA" and his viral breakout hit, "Fancy Like." Hayes' songs often take a lighter approach to tough subjects, and "AA" is no exception, as he humorously sings about trying to stay on the sober path.
Hayes has often been open about his struggle with alcohol dependency that stemmed from hardships in his career. In a recent issue of Country Aircheck, he says his use of alcohol also boosted his confidence. He reached a turning point, however, when he realized his addiction could turn fatal.
"I woke up, and something was broken inside of me," he told the publication. "I don't know if it was my liver or what, but I knew that if I did that for too many more days, I was probably going to die."
