Hank Williams III – “Six Pack of Beer”

“every single bit as mindless as the contemporary, Nashville-establishment country that III is supposedly rebelling against”

Perfectly put.

That is how I feel about most of Hank III’s stuff. I honestly didn’t even make it as far as this track on his new album. I loved the feel and instrumentation of a lot of what I heard, but all of the lyrics are too over the top. Hank III’s music is more of a parody of, than a tribute to, his grandfather’s music.

I want to clarify, reading my comment back, that I’m not saying the song is a straight-up parody; to me, it’s more of an absurdist treatment of reality. I would say it probably takes its inspiration from some base of reality (i.e., a feeling of fatigue), but addresses that base with sort of an escapist simplicity. It’s intentionally mindless fun.

I completely disagree with your take on this one Jim.

“I can’t help but think Hank III might as well be singing a cowpunk version of “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me,” the old dirge from Hee Haw.”

This seems to claim that Six Pack of Beer is an unfocused list of life’s problems, which isn’t the case. The song actually revolves pretty tightly around a singular image and clear theme. Rather than the (unfairly) stereotypical county song about how “my wife left, my truck broke down, my dog died”, the character in this song is clear that his frustrations come from being a low wage worker who is frustrated with his inability to ever get ahead and who therefore has chosen to embrace self-destructive fatalism by accepting a six pack of beer as sufficient consolation in life. I’ll admit he tends towards overly simple turns of phrase, but the idea of the song is clear, worthwhile, and substantive.

“the musicianship and arrangements utilized on his records can elicit truly euphoric reactions from lovers of traditional sounding country…But when it comes to substance, there isn’t any.

This comment seems to claim that the “music” cannot be substantive in country music. It can elicit euphoria, that is to say it can make people feel, and that’s not substantive? Which brings me to my next point….

“And while there is some truth to the idea that country music has traditionally served as a “white man’s blues,” Williams’ obsession with all the bad things in life is often so over the top and so all-consuming”

Does that mean that the Blues’ genius was in the restrained nature of its complaints? Of course not, the blues isn’t primarily about what is being said, it’s about how it is being said. It’s not about the lyrics per se, it’s about how they are moaned. How it sounds is the substance. Which is similiar to another big influence of Hank III’s, namely Punk Rock.

My point is, the musicianship and arrangement aren’t merely an aesthetic, it’s part of the content, and in this case it’s badass(by your own admission)

and finally, “That’s definitely the case with “Six Pack of Beer,” which is every single bit as mindless as the contemporary, Nashville-establishment country that III is supposedly rebelling against.”

As I said before, I think it’s a misreading of the song to characterize it as mindless. Combating the endless frustration of low-wage hard work with the self-destructive fatalism of embracing alchoholism isn’t reserved for “jobless, trailer-dwelling hillbillies” today any more than it has been for all of country music’s history. Furthermore, the frenzied (and yet amazingly focused) musical performances express that feeling and explore his theme in the same way the lyrics do. Hank III doesn’t offer us much in the way of turn of phrase, and this isn’t a terribly interesting song melodically, but I reject the notion that there isn’t any substance here.

and I also think that this review misunderstands exactly what is being rebelled against. The problems with establishment nashville country music aren’t just that it’s stories are uninteresting, or that it’s sentiments are stupid and dishonest; it’s that musically it’s trash. The playing is soulless, the arrangements are overblown, it exemplifies bad musical taste in almost every instance.

To equate what Hank III did here to Nashville music not only completely ignores the musical element of country music (I’d say that even if the lyrics had no substance the music alone would distinguish this from Nashville music), but the idea that the song is only “true” in some crazy, over the top, exaggerated way ignores the salience of his topic and turns a blind eye to the fact that society’s disenfranchised feel frustration as acutely today as they did in Haggard’s era.

What Hollerin’ Ben said. I’m not a big Hank III fan as he has released his share of truly awful material, but criticizing this song on the basis of lack of substance ignores several important intrinsic instrumental and worldview characteristics of country music that have been regrettably absent from country radio for the past couple of decades.

It’s actually melodically interesting to me too.

I had a feeling that this review would elicit some strong reactions. Listen, Hank III is a complicated figure to write about and I wouldn’t go so far as to presume that my opinion of him or of this song is conclusive. I do stand by what I wrote in this review, however. Let’s talk about why:

Dan said: I think the ‘caricature’ effect of this song is done knowingly, and for whatever that’s worth, I think it’s done very well.

I don’t believe, based on anything in III’s history or music, that his music is knowingly intended as a caricature. To the contrary, I get the impression that this song is representative of III’s view as to what country music is “supposed” to sound like.

What evidence is there to imply that this is meant as a caricature? I mean, just in terms of lyrical content, the themes in this song are themes that appear in many of III’s songs–these are themes he keeps going back to. If this is a caricature, then I think III has to be defined as a caricature artist, in which case I would point back to my statement about the music lacking substance.

Because while caricatures may be entertaining, they are rarely considered engaging art.

Ben said: “The song actually revolves pretty tightly around a singular image and clear theme. Rather than the (unfairly) stereotypical county song about how “my wife left, my truck broke down, my dog died”, the character in this song is clear that his frustrations come from being a low wage worker who is frustrated with his inability to ever get ahead and who therefore has chosen to embrace self-destructive fatalism by accepting a six pack of beer as sufficient consolation in life.

That’s a lofty but intriguing interpretation. You’ve touched on something with your fatalism theme that definitely merits consideration.

Even if what you’ve outlined is true, however (and I think it probably is), I maintain that III has grossly oversimplified that theme, or, at least, has cut out such a narrow swath of subject matter that the character and his situation have little context.

Even if this character has accepted beer as his consolation, the implication that his alcohol consumption is his life’s only relevant activity ignores any exterior conflict he may be dealing with. It is a simplification of the character based on the stereotype that frustrated low-wage workers turn to “a six-pack” for relief, and one which is separated from any of the unique complications that might otherwise make the character real.

To that extent, we really don’t know anything about this person–it’s just a stereotypical, poorly defined low-wage worker who falls in line with III’s perception of a typical modern hillbilly.

Ben said: “This comment seems to claim that the “music” cannot be substantive in country music. It can elicit euphoria, that is to say it can make people feel, and that’s not substantive?”

A nice piece of chocolate can also elicit euphoria, but that doesn’t mean chocolate is particularly good for you, that you could live off of it, or that it has any positive lasting effect. The fact that something sounds good–strike that–the fact that something sounds great is not necessarily a fact that speaks to that something’s substance.

Ben said: “Does that mean that the Blues’ genius was in the restrained nature of its complaints? Of course not, the blues isn’t primarily about what is being said, it’s about how it is being said. It’s not about the lyrics per se, it’s about how they are moaned.”

I’m going a little bit off topic here, but I disagree that Blues is not about lyrics. Blues lyrics, especially early Blues-roots music, is highly metaphorical, strongly symbolic, and uniquely dialectal. Dissecting the coded language of many early blues songs is actually quite difficult, and I think the characterization of the Blues as a primarily “sound” based genre is flawed.

Ben said: “How it sounds is the substance. Which is similiar to another big influence of Hank III’s, namely Punk Rock. My point is, the musicianship and arrangement aren’t merely an aesthetic, it’s part of the content, and in this case it’s badass(by your own admission)”

Now I do agree with you that the sound is part of the substance, and I also agree that the sound is badass. But ultimately, and perhaps I should have gone into more detail about this in the review, I don’t believe that that sound is genuine (hence my referring to it as somewhat parody-like). This may be III’s impression of what country music is supposed to sound like, but I get the impression that he doesn’t really like country music, or, at the very least, that he has a very narrow and ill-informed perception of what country music is. and while that may not lead to a caricature, as Dan said, or an intentional parody, the result is something that doesn’t sit well within the context of the genre, because everything that it’s founded on is slightly off-center.

I personally think Hank takes himself entirely too seriously for this to have intentionally been a parody or caricature.

I used to over-analyze music as it is something I am very passionate about and take more seriously than some, however, sometimes I just need a song to go on a journey with me. It doesn’t need to be deep and poetic. It just needs to facilitate a fast and rocky drive down the road when I’m frustrated at life. This song simply serves this purpose and for that I am grateful for buying “Damn Right, Rebel Proud”.

It’s a great song and a great album for the current times, yet it is timeless in many of its themes. If only I would have had this album 10 years ago!

Great analysis overall from everyone, though!