Beyonce‘s new hit country single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” has taken over country music. It’s contemporary and pushes the boundaries of traditional country music, which also makes it controversial among big country fans.
But what if a true country legend were to cover it?
Thanks to AI, we can sort of hear what it would sound like if Hank Williams were to sing “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
An Instagram account that has more 2 million followers, called There I Ruined It, put the lyrics, cadence and exact notes of Bey’s hit song to Williams’ traditional voice.
The results are a song that sounds like, well, Williams is singing this modern country hit in the 1940s. A mono, old model microphone, complete with a strong fiddle and mandolin and an old school-sounding record scratch in the background of this version.
There are a few minor lyrics that one would have to overlook, however, like the fact that the Lexus he’s singing about didn’t exist in the 1940s.
Other standout lyrics that prove it not to actually be a Williams song are the use of the word b–ch, as well as a reference to the song “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leopard, which came out in the 1980s.
If you can place those caveats in the back of your mind as you listen to this AI-generated cover, you can almost imagine that you are in a honky-tonk in the old days of country, hearing the one and only Hank Williams singing to you.
Evan Paul is the host of Taste of Country Nights, a syndicated radio show heard on more than 130 country radio stations nationwide, every night from 7PM to midnight. He plays the best new country music and interviews today’s top stars, like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lady A, + more!
