While stardom can offer a lavish lifestyle, most celebrities never forget the years it took to break into the industry. With countless artists clinging to the same dream, only a few get the chance to see their name in lights. But for the ones who make it, like HARDY, they remember the odd jobs they once held before watching their dream become a reality. And when it came to HARDY, apparently, he loved his old job as a gravedigger.
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That’s right. Before HARDY entered country music, he was just a man looking to make ends meet. And he did that by helping dig graves. Although not a job most people would want, the songwriter seemed to love it. “It was really fun. Other than this job, it was the most fun I’ve ever had as a worker. I just had a great boss. Our departments were so small because our town was so small. It was the cemetery department/animal control.”
Living in a small town, HARDY enjoyed the freedom gravedigging offered him. Still remembering what the average summer looked like, he joked, “So in the summer, when it would get really hot and all of the grass would die, we’d just chase stray dogs around. But yeah, I was a gravedigger.”
[RELATED: How HARDY Knew Ella Langley’s “Be Her” Was a Hit in 30 Minutes]
HARDY Uses His Job As A Gravedigger To Inspire Lyrics
For fans of HARDY, the idea of him being a gravedigger might make sense. Especially when listening to his song “Six Feet Under.” Placing themes of mortality in his lyrics, HARDY explained, “I’ve just always thought like, in a world where everybody’s just always… nobody can agree on anything. The sky is not blue to some people. and, you know, it’s like people say death and taxes, but in reality, some people don’t even pay their taxes.”
Wanting to find that common thread between every person, HARDY insisted, “The only thing we have in common is death, and if that’s if that’s a theme that I wanna write about just to bring people together and make sure everybody you know in the room relates to one thing, then so be it.”
HARDY’s past as a gravedigger sits high on the list of celebrity odd jobs. Looking over just a few of them:
Chris Hemsworth once cleaned breast pumps.
Matthew McConaughey made money hunting armadillos.
Hugh Jackman embraced the persona of Coco the Clown for birthday parties.
Denzel Washington was a garbage man.
Channing Tatum was a stripper.
Blake Shelton was a roofer.
As for HARDY, gravedigging may not have been glamorous, but his old job helped shape the storyteller fans know today. And judging by his success, the long road from small-town work to country stardom was well worth it.
(Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for ABA)
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