First popularized by country singer, Hank Thompson in his 1976 hit “Wild Side of Life”, Honky Tonk Angel refers to a beautiful woman, somewhat out of place in a dirty bar, with a casual attitude toward sex but kind and pure at heart. Also known to be fun-loving and attracted to party life. The Honky Tonk Angel is attractive and kind, often making it easy for men to fall for them, but ultimately aren’t able to commit to a monogamous relationship and find life as a housewife boring. In the song, Hank tells of how he fell for one such woman who broke his heart when she left him to return to “the wild side of life”.
In “The Wild Side of Life,” Thompson expresses regret his bride-to-be has left him for another man whom she met in a roadhouse, stating, “I didn’t know that God made honky tonk angels.” That song and its appeal to people who “thought the world was going to hell and that faithless women deserved a good deal of the blame…just begged for an answer from a woman”