Sam Williams Tributes Late Sister in ‘The World: Alone’
Katie Williams tragically passed away over the summer.
One of country’s most famous families suffered a massive, heartbreaking loss this summer. And now Sam Williams has released a touching tribute. The son of Hank Williams Jr. and grandson of Hank Sr. has unveiled “The World: Alone” in honor of his late sister, Katie.
Arriving on what would have been Katie’s 28th birthday, (October 21), Williams explains he wrote the introspective song over a year ago and for a different purpose, but it now means so much more. With forlorn vocals and an underlying swell of emotions, the track explores the fragility of life and what gets left behind when a loved one leaves.
“The day I wrote ‘The World: Alone,’ I was in a phase of manifestation,” Williams says in a statement. “I thought it would be interesting to take how my heart was feeling that day and compound it with my dream to tour Europe. I threw some cities into the verses and poured my heart out about wanting to show my love for the great world out there.
“The sad thing is we don’t always get that chance,” he goes on. “A year later my sister was tragically killed in June. As the months went by, when I would come back to this song, it touched me in a different way. I realized that I wrote this song, a year prior, about how badly I wanted to show Katie the world. I had no idea I would ever lose her. One day I had an epiphany that she is with God and can see the entire world now, without my help. I wanted to honor her with releasing this song on her birthday, because she was always so proud of my career.”
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Katie passed away in a traffic accident near her home in Tennessee, leaving behind two children and a husband. Family and friends all mourned the loss with public remembrances, but “The World: Alone” gives a new insight into how the Williams family is carrying her memory on. Meanwhile, Williams talked more about the song on Apple Music’s Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen.
Sam Williams is an emerging country artist in his own right, who’s intriguing style stands apart from his famous predecessors. His career is still just getting started, but last year he released the singles “Gemini” and “Weatherman” (a striking cover of one of his father’s songs). He also dropped the melodic, late-night lament “Shuteye” in September.
