Walker Hayes took to social media to answer a burning question in many fans’ minds: Is Craig a real person?

One of Hayes’ songs that he included on his new album, Country Stuff The Album, raised the question. “Craig,” the song, recalls meeting a man at church who understood Hayes’ “‘I don’t want to be here’ face.” But Hayes explains that Craig was a friend who never judged him and always made him feel welcome, no matter what. Hayes originally released the song on his album Boom in 2017, and now, he teamed up with MercyMe on a new version.

Now we know: “Craig is a real human,” Hayes confirmed in an Instagram caption with a few laughing emojis. He tagged Craig Cooper, the author who “can’t walk on water, or turn the Napa Valley red.” Hayes recorded a video from a driveway that was complete with a basketball hoop, letting fans know: “My next door neighbor is Craig! We would be playing ‘Horse,’ but we play ‘Craig.’ We don’t spell ‘Horse’ out here on the basketball court, we play ‘Craig.’

“A lot of people (are) being like, ‘hey, is Craig, the song, a true story?’ Indeed it is,” Hayes continued, also noting his forthcoming book co-authored with Craig, Glad You’re Here. “This is the real-deal Craig! He loves to be on camera, as you can see,” Hayes joked as Craig laughed.

Hayes released Country Stuff The Album on January 21. The 13-track collection includes his already-famous “Fancy Like” and “AA,” along with “Craig” and other new collaborations (with Jake Owen, Lori McKenna and Carly Pearce). Hayes even debuted a new TikTok dance for “Delorean,” and if you haven’t learned it yet, he shared a tutorial. Watch him introduce fans to Craig here:

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