Alex Hall Looks for 100-Proof Relief in ‘Whiskey On the Table’

He's only got one place left to turn.

Written by Chris Parton
Alex Hall Looks for 100-Proof Relief in ‘Whiskey On the Table’
Alex Hall; Photo credit: Robert Chavers

Newcomer Alex Hall makes one final request of a former flame in “Whiskey On the Table,” hoping to “chase the taste of a bitter goodbye” in his just-released track.

Built on a swaying broken-heart groove and a pure-country storyline, the emotional track finds Hall in a desperate spot. Weary and dejected from the end of a love he thought would last forever, he doesn’t have it in him to fight anymore — and his only solace is a 100-proof bottle. Featuring a half-drunk beat, shoulder-to-cry-on guitars and Hall’s pleading vocal, it’s a sadly relatable theme … and Hall says it was written in about as much time as it takes to do a shot.

“‘Whiskey On the Table’ is a song I wrote and produced with Pete Good and AJ Babcock,” he explains. “It’s that realization that your person is leaving forever for the last time, and the only thing you have left to turn to is whiskey. It sounds crazy, but if I remember correctly, AJ got the idea for the title at a show I was playing in Nashville, then Pete got the main riff/melody in a dream later that night. We came in the next day and wrote it.”

“Leave the whiskey on the table / Don’t need the glass don’t need no ice / Just the burn from that black label / To chase the bitter taste of your goodbye,” goes the woozy chorus.

Alex Hall; Photo credit: Robert Chavers

“Whiskey On the Table” follows up the previous single, “Half Past You,” and Hall spent last fall touring with Tanya Tucker. He’s scheduled to hit the road with Brandy Clark this summer as well as a number of festivals.