YMMV / Hank Williams as Luke the Drifter

• Fair for Its Day: "The Funeral" is set at an African-American church in Savannah, and comes off as very patronizing and stereotypical, complete with describing the preacher's face as "grotesque" and "Ethiopian" and having him make a cringy declaration that Heaven is "a big plantation ground." But the words are taken from a poem written in 1886, so that's not too surprising. Beyond that, though, the character of the preacher is very wise and eloquent, and overall it treats the grieving parents sympathetically. And the fact that Williams chose to record and release a musical piece portraying Black people positively for the Country Music market in 1950 is quite remarkable.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Williams' own tragic, untimely death ended up echoing the deaths that Luke narrated in his songs.
  • The feuding couple in "Please Make Up Your Mind", and the divorced couple in "Help Me Understand", given how Williams' own first marriage to Audrey Sheppard flamed out spectacularly.
• Narm Charm: This material is unabashedly sentimental and built on Melodrama, and Hank milks it for all its worth. He's completely sincere in his delivery, but also is clearly self-aware about a lot of its hokeyness, which is what makes it all end up working.
• Tear Jerker: Much of it qualifies, but especially the songs dealing with children suffering in one way or another ("Please Help Me Understand", "Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw", "The Funeral") count.
• Unintentional Period Piece: Josef Stalin's death in 1953 (a little over two months after Hank's) rendered "No, No, Joe" dated, which is why it was left off the 1955 album.