Song #73: Hank Williams III - "Straight to Hell ('Satan is Real' Medley)"

Song #73: Hank Williams III - "Straight to Hell ('Satan is Real' Medley)" (2006)

Straight to Hell

"Well, I'm racing these backroads, trying to save my life, 'cause the sheriff wants to kill me, 'cause I fucked his wife. I was on the run, with a gun in my hand, 'cause I liked a good time and a one night stand!" 

Hank Williams III's crowning achievement in terms of discography, in my opinion, is the 2006 release of Straight to Hell, his third studio album. The album is filled to the brim with so much outlaw, rebel country, which was so far away from what his label Curb Records wanted him to play that I'm stunned they allowed him to release it. It is also the first country album to carry a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" album sticker on it, as well as the only country album that needed a clean version made for outlets like Wal-Mart. I wound up reviewing the entire album a few years ago because that's how significant I found it to be.

The album begins by giving us this here song, "Straight to Hell ('Satan is Real' Medley)," which opens by giving us a few lines from a folk song "Satan is Real" by The Louvin Brothers before providing us with its titular track. "Straight to Hell" is a breakneck outlaw country song - one that starts fast and never lets up, as III gives his detailed account of what it means to live in the south and what kinds of events he partakes in which will, in turn, lead him straight to hell.

I put this song on the list because, in my mind, this is exactly what outlaw country is about - quick, catchy instrumentation, fast-paced lyrics that are as addicting as any drug, and a true spirit that is willing to shed light on these kinds of raucous events in the south. III is the perfect candidate to do such a song, which is why the song doesn't bear any artificial qualities as if somebody who didn't eat, sleep, and breath the south was behind the song. Just by the way the song flows and the way certain lines are spoken, you can tell III is all south and all rebel country.

Read my review of Hank Williams III's album Straight to Hell, http://stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/1857/hank-williams-iii-straight

Give "Straight to Hell ('Satan is Real' Medley)" a listen,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrUk1ua8ZqI