Walker Hayes has never shied away from sharing the life he lives with his family and giving fans an inside look into his world. However, with the release of his latest album, 17 Problems, the Mobile, Alabama (which he songs about) native goes deeper than he ever has.
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17 Problems finds Hayes pulling back the curtain on his emotions while diving into topics that hit close to his heart, including the loss of his dad, his battle with addiction, raising six kids, and his relationship with both his mother and father-in-law.
“This album is very reflective,” Hayes shares. “I think you can tell I’m in the middle of losing my dad and raising kids. I’m at that corner of the road in life when you’re looking back on your childhood—you can see it as clear as you ever have—but you’re looking down the barrel of raising kids and keeping your family together. Accidentally, that is a common thread. The songs have this ‘in retrospect’ feeling, and then also, ‘what does the future look like? How do I do this?’”
The 17-song tracklist includes songs such as the nostalgic “Pocket Knife,” about life in growing up in Mobile, the acoustic-driven “17 Year Old Problems,” where he longs to return to the simpler problems he wrestled with as a teenager and “100 Pencils,” written solely by Hayes, which addresses his never-ending love for his wife Laney. But, baby, I broke 100 pencils / Tryna write this song for you / And I kinda hoped it’d make you cry / If you don’t love it, you ain’t gotta lie / Just know that it’s yours / And so am I, he sings to kick off the song.
In “Songs for My Son,” featuring Kane Brown, Hayes turns to his faith for help with raising his sons, hoping they won’t inherit his demons. “It’s the most meaningful track on my album, ’17 Problems.’ It feels like a gift from the Lord—a prayer I was able to share with my co-writers Ben Williams and Billy Dawson. Writing it was a truly special experience, and I hope its honest message touches people. I’m honored that Kane appreciates the song as much as we do, and his voice was perfect; he gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. It means a lot to have him join me on this.”
“When Walker sent me the song, I knew I just had to jump on it with him,” Brown, who has a son, Krewe, and two daughters, Kingsley and Kodi, says of the collaboration. “I love the lyrics and sentiment. I connected to it immediately and have such respect for Walker as both an artist and a father.”
On 17 Problems, Hayes is at his best, sounding more present and powerful than ever—both vocally and emotionally. He leans into dark times, dealing with battles that cut deep. Hayes takes the time to reflect on faith, while his deep love for his wife and children adds warmth to the overall feel of the record. Throughout the album is a nostalgic theme that has the singer longing for easier days. The result is an artist at the height of his craft, revealing life’s intimate moments that have shaped his journey.
“This album is very reflective,” Hayes shares. “I think you can tell I’m in the middle of losing my dad and raising kids. I’m at that corner of the road in life when you’re looking back on your childhood—you can see it as clear as you ever have—but you’re looking down the barrel of raising kids and keeping your family together. Accidentally, that is a common thread. The songs have this ‘in retrospect’ feeling, and then also, ‘what does the future look like? How do I do this?’” Hayes shares.
As a whole, 17 Problems is more than an album for Hayes, it’s a journey of faith, family and growth. Hayes invites listeners to hear his story and to maybe, just maybe see their own reflected back.
American Songwriter: As a listener, there are several things we learn about you through this album. Did you learn anything about yourself that you didn’t know while writing for the project?
Walker Hayes: That’s a great question. I think for me, writing is a way to organize my thoughts. I think at this phase in my life, I’ve probably grown out of the, I think there’s a lot of, in retrospect, talk about my mother or father and I can feel my blame shifting from pointing at my childhood and saying, “You’re why I’m this,” and more of a shift to we’re all that it, you know what I mean?
You’re brilliant, what you just said. I’m looking at my kids going, “Wait, wait, I’m doing my best. But they’re messed up and they’re all messed up because of me.” Their childhood was not perfect. My kids are 10 to 19. I’m looking at it now, going, “Dang man. I really could have done better in this area, in that area.”
AS: The title of the album is 17 Problems, also a song on the album. Talk about that song a little. It’s very nostalgic. It goes back to you wanting to go back to simpler times and the problems you had as a 17-year-old.
WH: The insecure Walker in me wants to let you know that I wrote that alone so you could be like, “Way to go, Walker.” But that’s just because I love songwriters, and I’ve always admired the ones that can do it by themselves, but I’m super proud of that song. But it was just a gift. I don’t really know where we were album-wise, how many I had finished or anything, but I wrote that song on a Friday afternoon and was thinking about everything that you and I are talking about.
I was just thinking, my mom’s by herself. My sister is masterful at caretaking. My sister carries that burden. And my mom’s not a burden, I’m just saying my sister is her go-to. And she’s near my mom, and I’m far away. Honestly, I probably wrote this song thinking no one’s ever going to hear it, so I can disclose the truth. I can be honest here. And you know it now, everybody’s going to hear it. It’s the truth. I mean, that’s just where I am in life.
I don’t want anybody to hear that song and think that those are the greatest years of your life. There’s a sweetness and a simplicity you’ll never have again. Now, it gets more beautiful, but with that beauty comes complicated responsibility. You earn it.
AS: If you went back to 17, is there something you would change or do differently?
WH: I would probably, I mean, given what I know now, I mean, I don’t want to change the destination. I love where I am with everything, even the worst stuff that’s ever happened to me. Anything that’s broken me or hurt me or wounded me or brought me to my knees, I’m really grateful for it. Almost more than the good stuff, to tell you the truth, because it’s probably molded me into a better human just for those around me. But yeah, I would probably marry Laney sooner, I would meet her sooner, probably just be a little bolder about, “Hey, you want to go on a date.” I probably would say, “Hey, Laney, we need to skip college and just go to Nashville,” because I would’ve loved to fall in love with songwriting sooner. I didn’t write a song until we were married, so I was late with that.
As many kids as we had, I wish we had more. I mean, that’s not in a “dang it,” I don’t spend my time being bitter and dwelling on it, but I love kids. I mourned not being able to have anymore. That was a bummer because that phase, that’s a good adrenaline rush when you’re like, “Bam, kid on the way.” But yeah, that’s about it. I think, honestly, I think a lot of my regrets are probably on the album. I tell a lot of people my life is great. I love my occupation. I literally have the exact job I would ever want, but I missed working with my father. I sacrificed that for this. And honestly, I don’t know which is better because I didn’t get to live that life. So I think it would’ve been good. I think I would’ve enjoyed spending that time with my dad and maybe ringing that out. But yeah, so I mean, I’ve got regrets for days, but can’t go back.
AS: On a lighter note, did I read the liner correctly that you wrote a song called “Wednesday” with Hoda Kotb?
WH: We were doing a podcast, honestly, you’re like her, I should be taking notes because the next album just happened. But yeah, I’m just talking to Hoda, and I was telling her a lot about my life, and honestly just talking about the dimming of the world and the content and peace I find in the mundane as I get older.
Literally, out of her mouth, she said, “So basically what you’re saying is some days are the best days. And some days ar,” she said, “yes days” And then she said, “but most days are just Wednesdays.” And she even said “Some days are it’s a girl days.”
And I was like, “Hoda, hold up. That is a universal concept that everyone needs to hear.”And that’s another thing I’m trying to teach my kids. I feel like our culture is taught to find the most comfortable life we can possibly have and to try to make tomorrow just the big day, the one we’re looking for with the big break. And I feel like sadly, we’re missing the miracles of, again, a relationship at the gym, a kiss goodbye from your wife, a note on the counter, just the mundane stuff. You know, a picture on the fridge, like the song says. The mundane is kind of miraculous, and we take it for granted by just hoping maybe tomorrow is the million dollar day. And that’s sad, and so I think it’s a beautiful song just saying to someone you love like, “Dude, I’m good if I get another day with you.” What else? What’s better than that?”
AS: What was she like in the writers’ room?
WH: Oh, she’s amazing. And she really contributed. We had that verse, we had the first half of the verse, and we had the chorus when we went in. And then Lori McKenna.
I just remember there’s a line in that where it says, Feed the dogs and take out the trash, nothing wrong with that. I remember those lines between it, just spilling out. You know, Hoda has her beautiful children and just reading a book to them, it’s great. And the need to call mom back, it’s good, it’s good to have that. But yeah, Hoda was awesome, and there were tears. It was one of those days where that idea… it was precious to all of us, because we’re all busy people. Lori and I are songwriters, so we’re probably always fighting that ‘this is my next thing’ hit. And Hoda, she is such a speaker of joy and peace, but she’s also very influential, and so I’m sure she shares that, “Hey, no, no, just chill with the kid. Just walk the kids to school. Enjoy.” And so there was a lot of rest in writing that message and just absorbing it together. And so, yeah, “Wednesday,” is special song.
AS: Was there a lyric, because you get very personal on this, that you hesitated to put out there and were like, “Maybe I shouldn’t talk about this?”
WH: When you said that, the first thing I thought of was “Pocket Knife.” I mean, my mom, and we’ve just been through… I had a tough go with her growing up. She’s sensitive, and so am I. And I would never want to say anything… I hope she hears that song and hears not just, “Mom, I forgive you,” but I hope she hears, “Will you forgive me, too?
I don’t know if I wrote it on that down slope of not blaming anymore. In the lyric, it says, Mama, I still keep my Mobile life in my pocket like a pocket knife. Take it out every once in a smile, whittle on a memory for a little while. Thank God the shit that went wrong taught me how to write a country song. Ain’t it funny how childhood trauma cuts you deep and sharpens you, don’t it, mama?
And my mom had her own problems, again, part of growing up is looking at adults going, ‘Dang, dude, they had their own… they’re just kids too.” That was one that I wrote and when we left that day, I was like, “Is this okay? Is it okay if Mom hears this song? Is this going to this going to make her be like, ‘Ah, why’d you say that?’” But I think it’ll help people. I think that’s the reality of a lot of families. To me, my favorite thing is to be known and loved, not just loved by people who don’t know me, it’s to be known. And if there’s one person on this world, on this earth that knows me through and through, it’s my mom. I mean, she knows how vicious I can be, and she’s still there for me, and vice versa.
AS: Has she heard it?
WH: No
AS: Are you going to let her hear it before it comes out, or do you think you’re going to wait?
WH: Ehhhh, I think I might just put it out and see if she comes across it.
I wrote a book with a friend of mine, called Glad You’re Here, and I don’t know if she read it or not. My mom can be an avoider. I assume she has, but I would’ve imagined we would’ve talked about some stuff. But yeah, I don’t know. I just want to honor her, but I also want to not hold things back because I just don’t think anything good comes from lying by omission.
There’s another line that I can’t wait to explore what happens. There’s a line about my father-in-law in “17” that says, I thought your dad was going to kick my ass when we missed your curfew by a song and a half. That was a G-rated version of how terrible I was as the boyfriend of his daughter. And so, now our relationship has been completely redeemed. It has gone all over the map. So that’s another one where I’m like, “Ooh, I wonder what he’ll think of this.”
AS: And we’ll leave it on that.
WH: Let’s go.
AS: Thank you so much, Walker.
WH: Hey, thanks for talking to me.
Photobs by Emma Delevante
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