Cody Jinks covering an all-time Hank Williams Jr. classic.
“All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)” is the birthplace of the iconic Williams Jr. catchphrase, and first song in the “all my rowdy friends” collection of songs. Released in 1981, it was Bocephus’ fifth number-one and the lead single from his The Pressure Is On album. The tune reflects on his wild boys not wanting to get down on the town anymore, as many of them found ladies and settled down… an all too familiar feeling for many folks as they get into their 30s.
“And the hangovers hurt more than they used to
And cornbread and ice tea took the place of pills and 90-proof
And it seems like none of us do things quite like we used to do
And nobody wants to get high on the town
And all my rowdy friends have settled down.”
Cody Jinks covered this song back in February, and he noted to the crowd that even as musicians, you hit a point where the rock star lifestyle doesn’t serve you anymore. Once you recognize that you want to stay in this business and make a career out of it, many artist tone back their party ways.
Of course, Jinks recently revealed that he gave up alcohol so I imagine the song couldn’t be more fitting for his current spot in life:
“We’ve all been doing this our adult lives, and we have done our fair share of partying. I can promise you that. When it comes to a point in your life when you figure you want to do this for a long time, you know what I’m saying.
We all want to do this for a LONG time, and we were trying to think of cover songs to play out on this run…and one Hank Jr. song kept coming to mind.”
With that, he strikes into the guitar, kicking off the song’s melody. Quickly, the fans pick up on what he is about to perform and are right there singing along when the first word leaves Jinks’ lips.
Of course, Jinks puts his Texas flare on the track while keeping the original bits and pieces that make this song timeless. This cover left me itching to hear more Bocephus covers from Jinks; his voice compliments Hank Jr.’s lyrics so well.
Fire this one up.