Walker Hayes' new album, 17 Problems, is out now. The record includes a song, "17 Year Old Problems." Hayes reveals the song is inspired by personal struggles in his own family.
Videos by Wide Open Country
"My sister takes care of my mom in Mobile, and my sister is an angel," Hayes tells Taste of Country. "I look at my sister and the way she takes care of my mom, there's no way — no matter how much God works on me — I'm not gonna be as good at taking care of my mom. I'm blown away. But I'm supposed to know how to do that. I'm supposed to be a good son now."
The father of six also reveals he has a brother, with whom he is currently estranged.
"I've got a brother that I haven't talked to in 10 years," Hayes reveals. "Say I live to be 90, you only get nine of those, so what am I doing?"
How Walker Hayes Wrote "17 Year Old Problems"
As soon as Hayes began writing what became "17 Year Old Problems," it didn't take long for him to finish it.
"That song spilled out," Hayes recalls. "That first line flopped out. I was noodling on the guitar, and I just said, 'Man, how in the world were we supposed to memorize our fake IDs?' I started smiling and was like, 'I remember Laney's dad, he couldn't stand me.'"
Laney is, of course, Hayes' wife of 21 years. Although his family can still pain him to talk about, the sober singer can now smile about most things that he once thought were big problems, but has a different perspective now.
"I remember tripping running through the sign in 10th grade, playing football," Hayes recalls, adding that it happened "a couple times."
"I didn't really know where that song was going," he admits. "It really happened like you hear it. I listed these problems, and then I was like, 'I want those back.' Those problems make me smile now."
Hayes also has a song, called "Song for My Son," on the record, a collaboration with Kane Brown.
"He's always been someone in my corner," Hayes says. "He's somebody - I've been on a stage before, feeling out of place, and seen him stand up and applaud for me and my band."
