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.
You Asked Me To
Billy Joe Shaver Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In my ol' common labor shoes
I turned the world all which a way
Just because you asked me to
Like unto no other
Feel simple love is simple true
There's no end to what I'd do
Let the world call me a fool
But if things are right with me and you
That's all that matters
And I'll do anything you asked me to
Knowing how much I love you
And after all that I've been through
I'd turn and walk away from you
Just because you asked me to
Lord, I hope you'll never do
Let the world call me a fool
But if things are right with me and you
That's all that matters
And I'll do anything you asked me to
The song "You Asked Me To" by Billy Joe Shaver is a love song that speaks of the lengths a person will go for the one they love. The lyrics have a sense of reminiscence, taking the listener back to a time when the singer was young and struggling but had a love so pure that it moved them to do anything for their partner. The opening verse speaks of a time when the singer was young and wearing common labor shoes. Despite facing the struggles that come with being in that position, he says that he was willing to turn the world around just because his partner asked him to. This is an indication of the extent of love he had for his beloved, that he would do anything just to fulfill their every wish.
The chorus reinforces this theme by saying that he doesn't care about the opinions of the world and the judgments they may pass because he is willing to do anything for his partner. It is made clear that love is the most important thing and if his partner asked him to do anything, he would oblige. The final verse adds a note of sadness to the song, with the singer saying that even if it meant walking away from his love, he would do it if they asked him to. Showing that even if the outcome is not in his favor, he would still go through with the request if it is what his partner wanted.
Overall, the song shows the power of love in a relationship and how it can move people to do incredible things. It speaks of a love that endures through thick and thin, and a willingness to sacrifice for the one you love.
Line by Line Meaning
Long ago and far away
A while back and in a distant place
In my ol' common labor shoes
Wearing old, worn-out shoes of an average worker
I turned the world all which a way
I changed the world in every way possible
Just because you asked me to
Simply because you requested me to do so
Like unto no other
Unlike anyone else
Feel simple love is simple true
Believe that true love is uncomplicated
There's no end to what I'd do
I'd do anything and everything
Just because you asked me
Only because you requested me to
Let the world call me a fool
I don't care if everyone else thinks I'm foolish
But if things are right with me and you
As long as our relationship is good
That's all that matters
Nothing else is important
And I'll do anything you asked me to
I'll do anything at all if you ask me to
Knowing how much I love you
Being aware of how deeply I care for you
And after all that I've been through
Despite everything I've experienced
I'd turn and walk away from you
I'd leave you behind
Just because you asked me to
If you requested that I do so
Lord, I hope you'll never do
I truly hope you'll never ask me to leave
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MC Williams
Doesn’t get much better than this. Billy Joe with Willie harmonizing and Trigger doing the leads.
joe mcmillan
RIP BJS.
Your music will be with us in our hearts.
You will never be forgotten.
David DeBernardi
Billy Joe Shaver wrote a great song that Waylon turned into a legend
Lonnie Barrett
He should be in the country music hall of Fame
ulf svensson
Willies guitar solo, country and jazz at the same time!
Maria Ballerini
Great singer 🧡💙🥰
Razamanaz
I heard this with Waylon, didn’t know it was Billy Joe original until recently☺️. This is a soooo great!👍
T E
highly recommended to learn about BJS he is something special
T E
watch songwriters showcase 1983 austin city limits BJS performs 3 songs, it will blow you away, I am a true waylon fan have been since i was 8 but BJS is very talented
Jc Jones
One of Texas greatest.