Nashville Songwriter Turns Personal Story of Sexuality and HIV Into New Country Single

As Nashville Pride festivities approach this weekend, a local songwriter is drawing attention from country music publications with a new single that tackles his own life story with unusual candor. David Michael Hawkins has released "Sin," a song shaped by his identity as a gay man and by his HIV-positive status.

Hawkins says he approached the song with the genre's traditional ethos in mind. "Anyone who knows country music will tell you that the foundation is three chords and the truth," he said.

The story, in his telling, begins with Patsy Cline. Hawkins names her as his number one musical influence, and his devotion traces back to childhood, when his mother rented "Sweet Dreams," the Cline biopic starring Jessica Lange. He wanted to learn everything he could about the singer and eventually visited her former home in Goodlettsville. He still keeps a small flower from that trip, which he describes as especially meaningful to him.

What draws him to Cline, he explained, is how she embraced her own identity at a time when women in country music were often treated as tokens. "Because of that, now we have all these amazing records by this powerhouse," he said. Her music also served as a source of comfort when he needed one.

Hawkins' family supported him when he came out as gay as a teenager, but school was a harder place. He said the bullying took hold during that period. Looking at two photographs from those years, he pointed to the change from broad smiles to a more guarded expression. "This was a kid who was just trying to survive," he said.

After moving to Nashville as an adult, he found a different environment. He described being inspired by how robust and healthy the city's queer community is. He now runs My PR Lab, a business that represents many musicians, and his work in the music scene led him to try songwriting himself. "It is impossible not to be touched by the miracle of songwriting in Nashville," he said. "I caught the bug."

For Hawkins, the subject matter was clear. "My truth is the fact that I'm HIV positive, and I'm a songwriter," he said. He sees himself following the example of the courage he associates with Cline, telling his own story in song.

He also pointed to the response he receives from others. Hawkins said he gets emails several times a day from people who have struggled with stigma tied to HIV or with mental health challenges after a diagnosis. He noted that some of his HIV-positive friends are big country fans who have never seen that part of their lives reflected in a country song. "I thought, let me do country music justice and write my three chords and the truth," he said.

"Sin" is available on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.