The Hank Williams Reader by Huber Patrick;Goodson Steve;Anderson David;

Author:Huber, Patrick;Goodson, Steve;Anderson, David;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Published: 2014-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

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Al Bock: Excerpt from I Saw the Light: The Gospel Life of Hank Williams

Although the depiction of Hank Williams as the founding father of country music’s Outlaw movement dominated much of the writing about him during the mid- to late 1970s, a rival and dramatically different interpretation cast him as a devout evangelical Christian. Perhaps no piece of writing better expressed this view than I Saw the Light: The Gospel Life of Hank Williams (1977), by Alan W. Bock (1943–2011), a longtime libertarian newspaper columnist, magazine writer, syndicated radio talk-show host, and author. Filled with scriptural passages and based upon what Bock calls “prayerful study” of his subject, I Saw the Light examines Williams’s religious beliefs and their influence on his life and music. Despite the singer’s indifference to organized religion and his history of substance abuse, Bock presents him as having had a “deep personal commitment to Christianity,” and contends that “all of Hank Williams’ gospel songs were consistent with the fundamental Christian faith which was at the root of his life.” In making such claims, Bock echoes Lillie Stone’s and Irene Williams Smith’s earlier portraits of Williams as, at heart, a folk preacher and evangelist. But in the following excerpt Bock also speculates that ultimately the singer’s faith might not have been strong enough to enable him to overcome the daunting challenges he faced or to achieve true happiness.

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