Hank Williams Jr. Will Celebrate July 4th With a Deafening Bang

Hank Williams Jr. thinks your little fireworks show on the Fourth of July is real cute.

The country singer says that instead of the traditional Black Cats, sparklers, roman candles and bottle rockets, he’ll “touch off two pounds of powder in an 1861, 12-pound Napoleon cannon.”

As for a permit?

“S–t no,” Williams tells Taste of Country Nights host Evan Paul during a wide-ranging conversation that includes the inspiration for his new Rich White Honky Blues album. “It ain’t no f—-in’ Davidson County, man. I’m in west Tennessee. I got a permit from a United States federal judge. You wanna talk permits — I ain’t no county mounty! Mine is federal.”

But back to that cannon … if you’re picturing a Civil War era cannon, you’re on the right track. Hank Jr. is a Civil War buff who relishes a chance to bring his metal detector out to find memorabilia. During the full interview (find it below), he talked about taking Brad Paisley out with a pair of metal detectors. He also talked about getting in some trouble with a young Johnny Cash, who was also fond of cannons.

Thankfully, most of Hank’s neighbors in west Tennessee are far enough away to be safe, or they simply know better than to question him. If you’re in that area on Monday (July 4) and you hear a big bang or two, now you know why.

“Yeah, bring all the kids over,” he says. “They’re pretty special to me. Yeah, it makes a big noise when it goes off. It makes a big noise — that’s a real boom when that goes off. Firecrackers my a–.”