Jamey Johnson Says He ‘Barely Survived’ Alcohol Addiction

Jamey Johnson‘s upcoming Midnight Gasoline album includes a song that tells a powerful and personal story about his own story with addiction and sobriety.

Called “Sober,” the song tells Johnson’s story of fighting to keep the bottle at bay, even in a town like Nashville, where drinking culture is prevalent.

In conversation with Billboard, the singer explains that his relationship with alcohol was “leading him down a dark path of self-destruction” by the time he quit in 2011.

“I barely survived,” Johnson admits.

“Alcohol was an incendiary way of destroying myself,” he continues. “Everything just went up in flames and you couldn’t put the fire out, you just had to wait for it to all come to ashes and then try to rebuild when you get done. And it seemed to me like I owed myself a better way to live than that.”

Johnson says September 2011 marked his last alcoholic drink, and he quit smoking marijuana in 2015, keeping completely sober for the next nine years.

“In that time period, it was all about sobriety. And with a sober mind, I’m able to do things like get a pilot’s license, manage a business, start a product line,” he recounts.

“I’m sober for the most part.”

Now, the singer says he’ll occasionally “break out a joint” during a writing session.

“But I don’t play games with alcohol,” he adds.

Jamey Johnson, “Sober” Lyrics:

I’ve been mad, I’ve been drunk / I’ve been so high I can’t tell up from down / But lately I’ve been working / On trying to get my feet back on the ground

It ain’t easy on the wagon / Hell, I lost more of my mind than I have found / All these drinking songs we’re playing / Makes it hard staying sober in this town

I’d take a paycheck and I’d turn it / To a sack of weed and I’d burn it straight to hell / I’d drink a beer joint dry / And then the next day, I’m right back at the well

If the body is a temple / I worked hard to keep that steeple spinning round / Then one day I heard the preacher say / Lord, it’s hard staying sober in this town

Lord, I pray for the courage / To greet the hardened faces with a smile / They don’t notice any difference / But then again, I guess forgiveness just takes a while

Would you believe He’d give a sinner like me / Amazing grace, how sweet that sound / But it’s been hell crossing over / It’s so hard staying sober in this town

And the hardest part ain’t over / It’s so hard staying sober in this town