Shaver was raised by his mother, Victory Watson Shaver, his father Virgil having left the family before Shaver was born. Until he was 12, he spent a great deal of time with his grandmother in Corsicana so that his mother could work in Waco. He sometimes accompanied his mother to her job at a local nightclub, where he began to be exposed to country music.
Shaver's mother remarried about the time that his grandmother died, so he and his older sister Patricia moved in with their mother and new stepfather. Shaver left school after the eighth grade to help his uncles pick cotton, but occasionally returned to school to play sports.
Shaver joined the U.S. Navy on his seventeenth birthday. Upon his discharge, he worked a series of dead-end jobs, including trying to be a rodeo cowboy. About this time, he met and married Brenda Joyce Tindell. They had one son, John Edwin, known as Eddy, who was born in 1962. The two divorced and remarried several times.
Shaver took a job at a lumber mill to make ends meet. One day his right hand (his dominant hand) became caught in the machinery, and he lost the better part of two fingers and contracted a serious infection. He eventually recovered, and taught himself to play the guitar without those missing fingers.
Shaver lost two fingers in a sawmill accident when he was young.
Shaver set out to hitchhike to Los Angeles, California. He could not get a ride west, so he went to the other side of the highway and headed east, accompanying a man who dropped him off just outside Memphis, Tennessee. The next ride brought him to Nashville, where he found a job as a songwriter for $50 per week.[2] His work came to the attention of Waylon Jennings, who filled most of his album Honky Tonk Heroes with Shaver's songs. Other artists, including Elvis Presley and Kris Kristofferson, began to record Shaver's music. This led to his own record deal.
The first few recording companies he signed with soon folded. He was never able to gain widespread recognition as a singer, although he never stopped recording his own music. On his records, he has been accompanied by other major rock and country music musicians like Willie Nelson, Nanci Griffith, Chuck Leavell and Dickey Betts (of the Allman Brothers), Charlie Daniels, Flaco Jiménez, and Al Kooper.
After losing his wife, Brenda, and his mother to cancer in 1999, Shaver lost his son and longtime guitarist Eddy, who died at age 38 of a heroin overdose on December 31, 2000. Folk country artist Todd Snider wrote and dedicated his song Waco Moon to Eddy. Shaver nearly died himself the following year when he had a heart attack on stage during an Independence Day show at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas. After successful heart surgery, Shaver came back to release Freedom's Child in 2002.
In 1999, Shaver performed at the Grand Ole Opry. In November 2005, he performed on the CMT Outlaws 2005. In 2006, Shaver was inducted in the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. He later served as spiritual advisor to Texas independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman. For his efforts, the Americana Music Convention awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award in Songwriting. He currently lives in Waco, Texas.
Bob Dylan mentioned Shaver in his song "I Feel a Change Comin' On" (Bob Dylan and Robert Hunter) on the album, Together Through Life (2009) - "I'm listening to Billy Joe Shaver, And I'm reading James Joyce". Shaver is also the "hero" of the song, "Wish I Could Write Like Billy Joe" on the album "Stormy Love" by Bugs Henderson.
Shaver sang the themes to the Adult Swim Television show, Squidbillies. The opening themes, collectively called "Warrior Man", are only a stanza long and end with a sotto voce spoken word portion.
Shaver's debut album, Old Five and Dimers Like Me (1973), contained many songs noted for being performed by other artists such as David Allan Coe and Waylon Jennings. When I Get My Wings (1976) included "Aint No God In Mexico" (also a hit for Waylon Jennings). Gypsy Boy (1977) included "Honky Tonk Heroes" and "You Asked Me To".
Shaver is also remembered for his hit "Live Forever", co-written by his son Eddy, Robert Duvall performs it in the movie Crazy Heart and it is included in the soundtrack. The song was also performed by The Highwaymen and Joe Ely. Shaver also wrote numerous songs for artists such as Patty Loveless and Willie Nelson.
Shaver continued to release records throughout the 1980s and 1990s; the most notable was the critically acclaimed Tramp On Your Street, released in 1993, which prominently featured the guitar playing of Eddy Shaver.
Shaver's 2007 album country gospel style Everybody's Brother was Grammy-nominated. Many of the songs are duets with artists such as Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Tanya Tucker. Musicians playing on the album included Randy Scruggs, Laura Cash and Marty Stuart.
On May 22, 2014, Rolling Stone premiered the single-duet with Willie Nelson "Hard To Be An Outlaw". The album, Long In The Tooth was released on August 5, 2014 by Lightning Rod Records. After a 41-year career, Long in the Tooth became Billy Joe Shaver's first album to chart in Billboard's Top Country Albums, entering the chart at 19. The album also entered the Billboard 200, peaking at 157.
Comedian Norm Macdonald, an avid Shaver fan, occasionally praised his songwriting on his podcast Norm Macdonald Live. In 2018, Shaver appeared as a guest on Macdonald's Netflix program Norm Macdonald Has a Show.
Melody
Billy Joe Shaver Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I spent the best times of my young life lovin' on the likes of you
In every song I'm singin', you keep on shinin' thru
Sweet melody I'd like to say, sweet melody I love you
Down some old lonesome highway, deep in my darkest blues
Good or bad, happy or sad, I can still depend on you
You've whistled me by some graveyards more than a time or two
The lyrics to Billy Joe Shaver's song "Sweet Melody" are a heartfelt testament to the power of music in the life of the artist. The song speaks of the love and devotion that Shaver feels towards music, which he refers to as "Sweet Melody". He acknowledges that he has spent the best times of his young life loving music and that it continues to shine through in every song he sings. Shaver also acknowledges that, even in his darkest moments, he can always depend on music to lift him up and help him through.
The lyrics of "Sweet Melody" convey a sense of reverence and gratitude for the role that music has played in Shaver's life. The repeated refrain of "sweet melody I love you" underscores the depth of feeling that he has for the art form, and the fact that he refers to music as a personified entity underscores the importance of music in his life. The song's mention of graveyards also adds a sense of gravitas and poignancy, as it evokes the idea of music being a constant companion in both life and death.
Overall, "Sweet Melody" is a beautiful and moving tribute to the power of music to provide solace, comfort and companionship in even the darkest of times.
Line by Line Meaning
Sweet melody I love you, God knows it's really true
The singer truly loves the melody and acknowledges that God is aware of this love.
I spent the best times of my young life lovin' on the likes of you
The singer has spent the best moments of his youth with the melody, and cherishes them.
In every song I'm singin', you keep on shinin' thru
The melody continues to stand out in every song, never losing its power to shine through the lyrics and music.
Sweet melody I'd like to say, sweet melody I love you
The singer repeats his love for the melody, expressing how important it is to him.
Down some old lonesome highway, deep in my darkest blues
The singer has been feeling lonely and sad, but the melody has been there with him on this journey down a lonesome road.
Good or bad, happy or sad, I can still depend on you
The melody stands by the singer through all of life's ups and downs, always a constant and reliable presence.
You've whistled me by some graveyards more than a time or two
The melody has been with the singer through both happy times and sorrowful moments, including times when he has visited graveyards.
Sweet melody I've got to say, sweet melody I love you
The singer restates his love for the melody, affirming that it will always hold a special place in his heart.
Contributed by Henry Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.