Walker Hayes Confronted His Alcoholism When Writing ‘Beer in the Fridge’

Honesty was key for Walker Hayes when he made his album, boom., even on the most personal of songs such as “Beer in the Fridge.”

After dealing with alcohol addiction for years, Hayes finally found himself of the straight and narrow path of sobriety to better himself. The singer reflected back on those first few vulnerable moments after cutting the vice off cold turkey, and how raw those struggles can be to come to terms with. Although he came out on top holding himself accountable for his two years of sobriety, he wanted to discuss the real hardships he faced to get the matter off his chest and into the universe.

“I just told the truth. That’s it. I struggled with addiction, and alcohol was a problem. I’m sober two years now, and I wanted to be vocal about it. I find that the more I hide it, the closer I am to falling off the wagon. And being vocal about it and sharing with people my problems is kinda therapeutic for me, and I found that it’s kinda therapeutic for other people too,” he revealed to Sounds Like Nashville.

Not only did “Beer in the Fridge” help Hayes find closure with his former ways, but fans consistently find themselves within the authentic lyrical matter and lean on Hayes’ musical guidance to lead them on the road to recovery.

“A lot of people have responded to that song with, ‘Oh, I know somebody like that,’ or, ‘Oh, I’m going through that myself. I can really relate.’ And that helps me to go, ‘Oh, I’m not alone.’ And that’s great, and that helps them do the same thing. I think a lot of times when we have problems like that, maybe advice isn’t what we need, we just need to know that other people share the same feelings and emotions, and that we’re okay not being okay,” said Hayes.

“Beer in the Fridge” is one of the 10 tracks on his debut album, boom., which is available now.