He suffered several facial and skull fractures from the fall, and he eventually had to relearn how to sing.

fell on a rock after the snow beneath him gave way. While climbing the Ajax Peak on the continental divide, Williams Jr. Part of this intensity may also be due to Williams Jr.’s near-death experience in southwestern Montana in August 1975. ‘Cause you can’t starve us out and you can’t make us run / ‘Cause we’re them old boys raised on shotguns, he sings. continues to lean into this idealization of country living over that of the big city. He used to send me pictures of the Broadway nights / And I’d send him some homemade wine / But he was killed by a man with a switchblade knife / For 43 dollars, my friend lost his life. I had a good friend in New York City / He never called me by my name, just Hillbilly / My grandpa taught me how to live off the land / And his taught him to be a businessman, Williams Jr. is boldly upholding the country boy and country folks as the champions against urbanization. Consequently, these lyrics seem to be speaking to a larger phenomenon of the ’80s, outside of Williams Jr.

The country artist was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. was not, in fact, born in West Virginia, the Rocky Mountains, or even under the western skies as he mentions in the song. Yet, cultural and personal influences swirl under the surface of “A Country Boy Can Survive.” On the surface, these lyrics glorify a southern, middle-class lifestyle. We came from the West Virginia coal mines / And the Rocky Mountains, and the western skies / And we can skin a buck, we can run a trotline / And a country boy can survive / Country folks can survive, Williams Jr. released his most signature single, “A Country Boy Can Survive.” and Friends, the singer/songwriter officially broke from his father’s influence with the 1975 record. After playing with southern rock artists like Waylon Jennings, Toy Caldwell, and Charlie Daniels, Williams Jr. forged his own musical direction and solidified his own place in country music history. was born cloaked in his father’s legacy, and he initially stepped on stage to cover Hank Williams‘ songs.

Growing up in the long shadow of a parent is daunting in itself, let alone growing up in the footsteps of one of the most influential singer/songwriters in the 20th century.

Lyrics to run boy run