“Craig” by Walker Hayes is an exit from the breakup songs that have helped him make a name for himself. The track takes a real-life story about faith and good people. In addition, it sings about one faith-filled, extremely good person in particular. In an interview, Walker Hayes introduced his friend Craig; not personally, but shared how he gets to know the man who inspired his latest single “Craig.”
Preview: “Craig” is a story song about Hayes meeting a man at church who made him feel comfortable and did not pass judgment on the singer during hard times. He remembers that the true-to-life real-life Craig was so genuine, even though he was messed up at the time.
Who is Craig?
Hayes shares he is not a churchgoer. Also, he has a lot of wrong preconceived notions about religious folks. But, Hayes recalls the time his wife dragged him to church. He was a little drunk after watching football all day. That was when he met a guy named Craig.
Hayes and Craig’s friendship grew. In the mostly spoken-word song, Hayes talks how Craig was there for him when a prior record deal failed. Craig gave Hayes’ family a car after the dealership reclaimed their minivan. At the time, Hayes and his wife were down to one car and six kids. Then one night, Craig showed up in a parking lot at his son’s baseball game. Craig stepped out of his minivan with the title and the keys and handed it to Hayes. Craig would also go to Hayes’ shows. He would inspire him and tell him he had a gift. Even when Hayes looked like music might not be the full-time job he wanted it to be, Craig was always there telling him otherwise.
It took Hayes almost three months to write the song. He did not think it would make it onto his album, either. He came to a realization that the song is the loudest trying to move his career out of his way and asked himself, “What does the world need now?”
Walker Hayes has one hope of this song. He shared,
“Craig changed me, I wrote a song, and maybe it’ll have a big impact. Maybe it will take country music to a different place. I love the truth of the message and the integrity of the song.”
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