I
know this is a bold statement, but it is my honest opinion. Before
you folks start writing in saying Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earle, Guy
Clark, and Townes Van Zandt
are better, well, that's your opinion. I think these other
songwriters are great. They
are, along with Chris Knight, some of my favorites. To me, though,
Billy Joe is the greatest.
As an amateur songwriter, I love lyrics. I like to read them and
interpret them.
To me lyrics are best when they are straightforward and easy to
understand.
As Billy Joe says, "Simplicity don't need greasing," and he's right.
I had a friend
who liked lyrics like "tangerine horizons and watermelon mornings", and
I never got that crap. I mean, it's ok for some folks, but I
always felt like I had to be doing drugs to understand what the damn
song meant. With Billy Joe, you always know what he means and how
he feels. Billy Joe once said "I try to tell a story with as
little words as possible".
Personally, when I write, it is usually of an autobiographical nature,
and it is a form of therapy for me. This is the same for Billy
Joe. He states, "Writing songs is the cheapest form of therapy". I
like non-fiction compared to fiction and Billy Joe's songs tell great
stories but are non-fiction.
When you are a songwriter (or any artist), you try to touch people's
hearts and soul with your art. Speaking of which, I will tell you
how I discovered Billy Joe Shaver.
My wife went to the Virginia State Fair in 1994, I believe. We
were beginning to listen to country music at the time (or what we knew
of country music and that was not much, just what the local radio
stations wanted us to know). She was given a free promo tape from
a music label. It had various artists on it and one was Shaver's
live version of "Honky Tonk Heroes". When I heard this song, I
said, "YES!” this is the type of music I have waited my whole life to
hear (as a head banger, it did not hurt to hear 'ol Eddy Shaver on
guitar either). It was as if this song flowed out of the tape
player, flooded through my ears, absorbing into my brain, and then went
on to fill the in the hollow spots of my soul. My excitement was
short lived though. I asked everyone I knew who were "big country music
fans" and no one had ever heard of Shaver.
With
nothing to feed my new musical passion, I slowly moved Shaver to the
back of my mind. Then in 1997, I went to work for a lady whose
boyfriend was a country DJ. He always talked about the music his station
would not let him play, and I kind of always half-paid attention to him.
Then one day he walked into the store and said, "You have a
different taste in music, you'll probably like this tape I was sent.
The station won't let me play it, but I think you'll like it." He
handed me the tape and it was Shaver's Highway of Life. I
said "Yes, I've been lookin' for this dude!” I was totally blown
away by the album and by this time, I had just gotten the internet.
So I searched "Billy Joe Shaver" and found Griffin Myers' Shaver Tribute
page and this led to my first concert and then to a brand new Shaver
newsgroup, which I am proud to say I was one of the first few people to
join. Then came Matt Western's "Billy Joe Shaver" site which took
up where Griffin left off. With all this information, I became a
bigger fan and met many new friends. In fact, my wife and I drove
1,300 miles to Texas in the year 2000 to meet Matt Western and his wife (who
traveled from Australia). We were invited there to attend the
Texas Music Revolution by
Tina Canary. We also saw four Shaver shows while we were there
that week.
Billy Joe Shaver has a rough, soulful voice. It is not for
everyone, but if you listen to his lyrics carefully, you realize his
voice and music are one. His voice is rough-hewn and can be
mournful, soulful, painful, upbeat, rowdy, and hopeful. His voice
is the perfect compliment to his lyrics. Though he shrugs the term off,
many have called him a poet.
Compared to Top 40 country music artists, Shaver is a wild flower
amongst roses. Roses are beautiful but they are somewhat plain.
They all seem to have the same rigid stalks. They all have to be
pampered and protected to survive. Most are hybrid and man
made cultivations. They also, in my opinion, cost more than they
are actually worth. Wild flowers, on the other hand, are
beautiful, too. They can be found everywhere, in the suburbs and
even in vacant urban slums. They were sent here by God to add
beauty and life to our land. Wildflowers come in a wide variety of
sizes and color. They are hardy, and because of their diversity
and tenaciousness, keep coming back naturally year after year.
Wild flowers represent freedom and perseverance, just like Billy Joe's
music.
Unlike the cookie cutters in Nashville, Billy Joe is a multifaceted
lyric writer. His music, like his life, is full of highs and lows,
success and failures but always open and honest. Billy Joe was not
thought up by an executive in New York or Nashville. He was not
made by forced fed Top 40 country radio. Billy Joe Shaver was
created by God and tempered by the consequences of his life. God
gave him his talent to write about the good and the bad things his sees
and feels in his life. As such, I am sure to Billy Joe this can be
a blessing and a curse. Either way, it appears to be his lot in
life.
Billy Joe Shaver is often credited, along with Waylon Jennings and
Willie Nelson, as the innovator and torchbearer of Outlaw Country Music.
It is true that these three artist deserve the credit for their
contributions to the genre of Outlaw Country Music, but if it were not
for Billy Joe Shaver, the genre as we know it may not exist. The legend
goes like this:
Sometime in the early 70's at a Willie Nelson birthday picnic, Waylon
Jennings
heard Billy Joe singing songs that he (BJS) had written. Waylon,
jokingly, said he liked them and wanted them on his next album.
Billy Joe took him seriously and started to "stalk and nag" Waylon about
the album until one day Waylon finally gave in. Waylon told Billy Joe to
start singing his songs and that he would stop him when he heard
something he did not like. Billy Joe agreed to the terms. A
one shot deal, if Waylon did not like them, Billy Joe was never to
bother him again. Billy Joe sang one song, then another, and
another, and another. Waylon did not stop him and again agreed to
do an album of Billy Joe's songs. This was the time of corporate
control of music though, and the music executives would not allow an
artist to control his own music. Waylon feuded with the record
company and ended up leaving. Waylon went on to record the hit album,
Honky Tonk Heroes, on his own.
Billy Joe wrote 10 of the 11 songs on the album including the title cut.
HTH eventually led
to the album by Waylon, Jessi Colter, Willie Nelson, and Paul Glasser
entitled Outlaws. Though it had been around for a few
years, the new genre had a name "Outlaw Country".
It is probable that if one of the three had not crossed the others
paths, that the there would be no outlaw country music in its past,
present, and future form. Waylon and Willie may have picked up and
carried the torch of Outlaw Country music, but Billy Joe Shaver sure
enough lit it. To say Billy Joe Shaver does not fit the mold of a
typical country singer/songwriter/performer is an understatement.
To see Billy Joe in a small honky tonk bar is similar to a Sunday Church
Revival, but more honest and with beer. More honest because you
see folks in their most natural state, and beer because it is a honky
tonk. Everyone is cheerful, friendly, and there is a feel of
genuine fellowship. Where else but a Billy Joe Shaver show can you
hear someone stand up in front of a crowd of beer drinkers and “preach"
about Jesus Christ. It is unheard of unless it's Billy Joe up on
stage. It is typical to hear Billy Joe say, "You can't be Jesus
Christ, he's the One that made us all number 2”, "Jesus Saved me", and
“God loves you when you dance". The crowed usually roars in
approval after these statements. Occasionally a fan may shout
"Jesus Christ, what a Man!”, a title to an old Shaver song. It is
hard to tell if the fan is making a request or a statement. Either
way, it is unusual for a honky tonk.
Don't freak out and think a Billy Joe Shaver show is a group of drunken,
rightwing, religious fanatics. It's not that way at all. As
I said earlier, it's more of a fellowship. You feel like a friend among
strangers. At a Shaver show, you come as you are and who you are.
An example of Shaver's 'live and let live" attitude can be found in one
of his other quotes, "May the God of your choosing bless you".
To say Billy Joe Shaver is the best damn singer/songwriter/performer
that ever lived is my opinion, and it is arguable. To say Billy
Joe Shaver and his music affected my life is undeniable. Some of
the ways he has affected my life are:
- made me feel ok to write my lyrics the way I do. Others have
said that my lyrics are too personal and are not commercially viable.
That can be said of Shaver's also.
-
made my wife and I closer and has given us a common hobby, Texas Music.
- I am naturally a loner. Through Shaver's music, I have made
friends worldwide.
- Inspired my wife and I to visit Texas and now we'd like to move their.
- Allowed me to meet Miss Lana and Lone Star Mama who've encouraged me
to pursue my writing.
Below are some examples of Billy Joe Shaver's lyrical genius.
Love - Billy Joe has written some of the most beautiful love songs I
have ever heard. They’re not typical ballads though and most are written
to his wife Brenda.
"West Texas Waltz”:
"Away come away from that window / come lay down beside me awhile
You know I stepped out of the shadows / to walk in the warmth of your
smile
Nobody knows me like you do / you changed me and made me your man
I gave up the life of an outlaw / the day that you gave me your hand"
"Hill Country Love Song" -
"When the morning sun comes peepin' o'er the mountain / And natures
melody begins to play
I wonder how a song that seems so short and sweet / could be as good
again another day
Oh, I loved you with a passion hot as summer / And I picked you when
you were as fresh as spring
I held you when the autumn's wind blew in the winter's cold / And
warmed you till the meadows turned to green"
Spirituality and Faith -
"Day by Day"
"there's many a moonbeam got lost in the forest / many a forest got
burnt to the ground
the son went with Jesus to be with his mother / the father just fell
to his knees on the ground
day by day his heart kept on breaking and aching to fly to his home in
the sky / now he's arisen from the flames of the forest with songs
from the family that never will die"
"If
I Give My Soul"
"If I give my soul, will he stop my hands from shaking / If I give
my soul ,will my son love me again
If I give my soul and she knows I really mean it / If I give my soul
to Jesus will she take me back again"
"Ol'
Chunk of Coal"
"I'm gonna kneel and pray every day / lest I should become vain
along the way.
I'm just and old chunk of coal now Lord / but I'm gonna be a diamond
some day.
I'm gonna learn the best words to talk / gonna search and find a
better way to walk, yeah!
I'm gonna spit and polish my old rough-edged self / til I get rid of
every single flaw.
well I'm gonna be the world's best friend, / gonna go 'round shakin'
ev'rybody's hand, yeah!"
I'm just an old chunk of coal now Lord / but I'm gonna be a diamond
some day"
Ballsy Bravado -
"Till the Cows Come Home"
"I got round house right and a straight razor in my boot
"I got round house right and a straight razor in my boot
got a pocket full of money honey / ain't nothing I can't do"
"Ride me Down Easy"
"been a good month of Sundays and a guitar ago / had a tall drink of
yesterday's wine left a long string of friends ,some sheets in the
wind and some satisfied women behind"
Self-Effacing Humor -
"Ragged Old Truck"
" a honky tonk man in a honky tonk band with a honky tonk girl on
my arm
I may be as ugly as an old mud rail fence but I'm loaded with
hillbilly charm"
"That's What She Said Last Night"
"got a brand new cell phone- ATT / it was a little bitty thing just
right for a country boy like me
my girlfriend took a poke at the thing then she threw it away / she
said Billy I know you're attached to that thing but it's too small for
me
That's what she said last night That's what she said last night
that little thing's too small for me that's what she said last night"
Suggestive Lyrics -
"That's What She Said Last Night"
See above
"Black Rose"
"The Lord put a handle on a simple headed man /
help me leave that black rose alone"
"Woman is the Wonder of the World"
"when she was made she pulled the shade on Mother Nature's pearl
yes, a woman is the wonder of the world"
Politics / Race -
"Oklahoma Wind"
"the white man took a chance and got his foot hung in the door / he
sure as hell is gonna have his day
the redman speaks his peace to gain his long lost dignity / Washington
just turned the other way
"We Are The Cowboys"
"we are the true sons of freedom / we are the men who will get the
job done
the world will breathe easy when we stop the bleeding / the fighting
will end when all the hunger is gone.
there are those who are blind so we all have to lead 'em / it's
everyone's job 'til we get the work done."
Please accept this disclaimer: Because I compare the spirit of my lyrics
to that of Billy Joe, please don't think that I believe that my lyrics
are in any way comparable to his.
Sully
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