Billy Joe Shaver (born in Corsicana, TX, on 16 August 1939; died 28 October… Read Full Bio ↴Billy Joe Shaver (born in Corsicana, TX, on 16 August 1939; died 28 October 2020) was an American Texas country music singer and songwriter. Shaver's 1973 album 'Old Five and Dimers Like Me' is a classic in the outlaw country genre.

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.

Tramp On Your Street
Billy Joe Shaver Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A long time ago
No shoes on my feet
I walked ten miles of train track
To hear hank williams sing
His body was worn
But his spirit was free
And he sang every song
Looking right straight at me

Just a tramp on your street
You must understand
You got my soul at your feet
And my heart in your hand

No I don't have to pick
And I don't have to choose
I don't have to win
And I don't have to lose

And if I make any pay
I just throw it away
I don't count on tomorrow
I just live for today

Still you opened yourself
And you held me inside
You made a stray dog like me

Feel welcome tonight
I'm just a tramp on your street

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Billy Joe Shaver's song Tramp On Your Street are about a man who has experienced hardship and struggles in life. The song starts with a flashback to a younger version of the singer walking along a train track with no shoes on for ten miles, just to hear Hank Williams sing. The song then shifts to the present, with the singer being a "tramp on your street." This describes the singer's current state of being, with him having no possessions or money and relying on the kindness of others, represented by the line "You got my soul at your feet, and my heart in your hand."

The singer asserts his independence in the following lines, saying he doesn't have to pick, choose, win or lose. He lives in the moment and doesn't worry about tomorrow. Despite his rough exterior, the singer finds comfort with the person he's singing about, who has opened their heart and made him feel welcome.

The song is about the resilience of the human spirit and the power of connection, even in the darkest of times. It shows how someone who may have been cast aside or deemed unworthy still has the capacity to love and be loved. Through the music, the singer is able to find solace and comfort, even if it's just for a brief moment in time.

Line by Line Meaning

A long time ago
Back in the past, when things were different

No shoes on my feet
I was poor and didn't have enough money for proper footwear

I walked ten miles of train track
I had to walk a long distance to get where I wanted to go

To hear hank williams sing
I was willing to go to great lengths just to hear my favorite artist perform

His body was worn
Despite being physically tired, he still had the spirit to perform

But his spirit was free
Despite any obstacles, his love for music made him feel liberated

And he sang every song
He put his heart and soul into each performance

Looking right straight at me
He made a personal connection with me through his music

Just a tramp on your street
I am a homeless person, hovering around your locality

You must understand
I need you to realize

You got my soul at your feet
You have the power to affect me deeply