Withers, the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938. He was the son of Mattie (Galloway), a maid, and William Withers, a miner. He was born with a stutter and later said he had a hard time fitting in. His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family in nearby Beckley, West Virginia. He was 13 years old when his father died. Withers enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17, and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing and writing songs.
He left the Navy in 1965, relocating to Los Angeles in 1967 to start a music career. His debut release was "Three Nights and a Morning" in 1967. Arranged by Mort Garson, the song went unnoticed at the time but was later reworked by Withers as the track "Harlem".
Withers worked as an assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, IBM and Ford, while recording demo tapes with his own money, shopping them around and performing in clubs at night. When he returned with the song "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1971, he refused to resign from his job because he believed the music business was a fickle industry. In early 1970, Withers's demonstration tape was auditioned favorably by Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records. Avant signed Withers to a record deal and assigned former Stax Records stalwart Booker T. Jones to produce Withers' first album. Four three-hour recording sessions were planned for the album, but funding caused the album to be recorded in three sessions with a six-month break between the second and final sessions. Just as I Am was released in 1971 with the tracks, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands" as singles. The album features Stephen Stills playing lead guitar. On the cover of the album, Withers is pictured at his job at Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California, holding his lunch box.
Withers was known for his "smooth" baritone vocals and "sumptuous" soul arrangements. He wrote some of the most covered songs of the 1970s, including "Lean on Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine". The former entered the Hot 100 chart through multiple versions, including Club Nouveau's 1987 cover, which made the composition one of nine songs to have led the chart via different acts. With "Lovely Day", he set the record for the longest sustained note on a chart hit on American charts, holding a high E for 18 seconds. Editors from The Guardian considered that Withers' songs are "some of the most beloved in the American songbook," citing, "'Ain't No Sunshine' is regarded as one of the all-time great breakup tracks, while 'Lean on Me', an ode to the supportive power of friendship ..." For the same newspaper, Alex Petridis noticed "[he] laid pain and paranoia under his deceptively gentle songs, and retired early having conquered gospel, funk, blues, disco and more." In Rolling Stone, writer Andy Greene noted that several of his songs "are embedded in the culture and have been covered countless times."
Writing for The New York Times, Giovanni Russonello considered Withers "[a] soulful singer with a gift for writing understated classics", adding, "the ultimate homespun hitmaker, he had an innate sense of what might make a song memorable, and little interest in excess attitude or accoutrements. Ultimately Withers reminded us that it’s the everyday that is the most meaningful: work, family, love, loss." A Billboard article considered that Withers "stands as one of R&B/soul music's most revered singer-songwriters." In the same magazine, writer Gail Mitchell acknowledged "Withers' legacy has flourished in the decades since, thanks to a cross-section of artists who have covered/sampled his songs or cited him as a major influence." Musician and music journalist Questlove referred to Withers' post-breakup 1974 album +'Justments as "a diary [...] [it] was a pre-reality-show look at his life. Keep in mind this was years before Marvin Gaye did it with Here, My Dear." The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson deemed him "a songwriter's songwriter". Musicians Sade, D'Angelo, Justin Timberlake, John Legend and Ed Sheeran have credited Withers as a music inspiration.
Withers died from heart complications in Los Angeles on March 30, 2020, at age 81; his family announced his death four days later. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).
Better off Dead
Bill Withers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So she just took the kids and went
You see, I've got a drinkin' problem
All the money that we had I spent
Now I must die by my own hand
'Cause I'm not man enough to live alone
Hey, hey, she's better off without me
And I'm better off dead now that she's gone
Ah, she gave the most, took the least
She even had the priest come to our home
And I cried and prayed and promised
That I'd leave the stuff alone
Now I must leave what I can't face
I hope she finds the kids a happy home
Hey, hey she's better off without me
And I'm better off dead now that she's gone
She used to call her friend and cry
Then the man cut off the telephone
She'd sit and cry while I went out
And pawned the things we owned
Now I must die by my own hand
'Cause I'm not man enough to live alone
Hey, hey she's better off without me and I'm better off dead
Bill Withers's song "Better off Dead" delves into the aftermath of a failed marriage and the consequences of the husband's drinking problem. The singer of the song has driven his wife away with his alcoholism and has spent all their money in the process. He is tormented by the reality that his family has left him and treats it as a personal failure. He decides to take his own life because he is unable to bear the idea of living alone. He acknowledges that his wife is better off without him and that this is the only way he can make amends for his mistakes.
The song touches on themes of regret, heartbreak, and personal accountability. The lyrics suggest that alcoholism is a disease that can tear apart families and lead to destructive behavior. The singer is a victim of his addiction, but he also recognizes that he has caused immense harm to those he loves. The line "she gave the most, took the least" reveals just how much the wife has had to endure because of his actions.
One way to interpret the song is to view it as a cautionary tale about the dangers of addiction. It highlights the way that substance abuse can consume a person's life and the toll it can have on others. The singer's decision to end his life can be seen as a tragedy born out of desperation, and a stark reminder that addiction is a serious public health problem that requires support and treatment.
Line by Line Meaning
She couldn't stand me anymore
The singer's partner left him because she could no longer tolerate his behavior.
So she just took the kids and went
The partner also took their children with her.
You see, I've got a drinkin' problem
The singer admits that he struggles with alcohol addiction.
All the money that we had I spent
The artist wasted all their money on drinking.
Now I must die by my own hand
The artist feels so ashamed and helpless that he is contemplating suicide.
'Cause I'm not man enough to live alone
The singer views living without his partner and children as a sign of weakness.
Hey, hey, she's better off without me
The singer believes his partner is better off without him.
And I'm better off dead now that she's gone
The artist believes his life is no longer worth living now that he has lost his family.
Ah, she gave the most, took the least
The artist acknowledges that his partner did more for their family than he did.
She even had the priest come to our home
The partner sought help from a religious leader to salvage their relationship.
And I cried and prayed and promised
The singer made empty promises to stop drinking and fix their problems.
That I'd leave the stuff alone
The artist promised to give up drinking.
Now I must leave what I can't face
The singer cannot handle the reality of his situation and is choosing to run away from it.
I hope she finds the kids a happy home
The singer expresses a desire for his children to be happy and taken care of.
She used to call her friend and cry
The partner would confide in a friend and express her sadness.
Then the man cut off the telephone
The artist suggests that he cut off communication between his partner and her friend.
She'd sit and cry while I went out
The artist would leave his partner alone while he went out to pawn their belongings.
And pawned the things we owned
The singer sold their possessions for money to spend on drinking.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Bill Withers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind