1. Steve Youn… Read Full Bio ↴There are multiple artists using the name Steve Young.
1. Steve Young (July 12, 1942 – March 17, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist, known for his song "Seven Bridges Road" (on Rock Salt & Nails & Seven Bridges Road). He was a pioneer of the country rock, Americana, and alternative country sounds, and also a vital force behind the "outlaw movement" that gave support to the careers of Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Jr. and more. Young was also featured in the 1975 Outlaw Country documentary Heartworn Highways. He was the subject of the song "The All Golden" by Van Dyke Parks. Young's first album, Rock Salt & Nails, on A&M, was performed on and supported by Gram Parsons, Gene Clark and other musicians from the 1969 musical community in Southern California.
Steve Young has never fit comfortably into categories. He follows his own musical and spiritual quest, weaving together Southern roots with a wide experience of life, and creating new traditions in American music.
Young was born in Georgia and grew up in Alabama, Georgia and Texas in a family which moved frequently in search of work. By the time he had completed high school in Beaumont, Texas, he was playing guitar and writing songs which incorporated influences of folk , country , gospel, and blues musicians and people like Hank Williams , Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and others. Once as a teenager he was blown away by seeing Carlos Montoya , a Flamenco Guitarist. He managed to use that too!
By his late teens, Young was back in Alabama, where he established some reputation on the local music scene. However, the wandering spirit soon took over again. He immersed himself briefly in the Greenwich Village folk scene, at a time when Bob Dylan and others were just being noticed.
Returning to Alabama, Steve found that "my New York folk-protest songs didn't fly in the South." Searching for more receptive audiences, he made short forays to California and other locations before moving to the West Coast in 1964.
In California, he worked with musicians like Van Dyke Parks and Stephen Stills, at one point holding a day job as a mailman. A major-label record deal led to a short-lived stint with a psychedelic country-folk band, Stone Country.
Settling into a solo career, Steve Young became an integral part of the movement which defined the California country-rock sound. Appearing on Steve's 1969 classic album, Rock, Salt & Nails were fellow pioneers like Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, Bernie Leadon and Gram Parsons.
Through 12 albums and countless live performances, Steve Young's music has remained fresh and aggressive, with a sense of deepening spirituality, and a consistent intellectual and artistic challenge, to himself and to his audience.
Many of the stars of the music industry have recorded Steve Young songs, and in some cases forged a career image around them. "Lonesome, Orn'ry & Mean," for example, became the signature tune for 'Outlaw' Waylon Jennings. Hank Williams Jr.'s cover of "Montgomery In The Rain" remains a classic.
Certainly the most-covered Steve Young song of all is "Seven Bridges Road," which has been recorded at various times by artists like Joan Baez, Rita Coolidge, Ian Matthews, the Eagles, Ricochet, and, most recently, Dolly Parton.
While Steve Young songs have brought commercial success to others, Young has never been close enough to the mainstream to sustain his occasional brushes with stardom . He has been unwilling to accept the loss of artistic control that the industry expects of its stars.
And while Steve has lived in country music towns like Nashville and Austin, and his songs have had a strong impact on the direction of country music, he rejects the country label for himself. Young is in many ways a cultural dynamic in himself.
Part Cherokee (from his father) by birth, steeped in Baptist fundamentalism as a child, yet attracted to a Zen spirituality, the young man from the South with a nomadic spirit went on to create a unique form of American roots music with a truly global perspective.
Steve Young has literally toured the world. He has performed in many countries of Europe, in Australia and New Zealand, in Micronesia, China and Mongolia, in Egypt and East Africa and beyond. Wherever he has gone, he has filled the dual role of ambassador for American music and student of the cultures of others.
Young's live performances express the depth and power of his vision. He draws on his own songs, on Southern folk songs from varied traditions, on collaborations and on the best of contemporary songwriters such as J.D. Loudermilk, David Olney and others.
Steve passed away on March 17, 2016 at age 73
2. 'Steve Young' is also a pseudonym of Peter Friel, ambient tape musician.
Renegade Picker
Steve Young Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I grew up in the South
Listening to good music
And that’s what’s I’m all about
All I wanted was a guitar, the road
And a good drink of liquor
There wasn’t but one thing for me to be
And that’s a renegade picker
And I’m a renegade picker
Partly hippie and partly kicker
Been around, been around
I may never settle down
And when I was a little boy
They used to make me go to school
But they soon give me up
For a guitar fool
And all the little girl’s mama’s
They used to drive me from the door
They’d say Honey we don’t want
That boy around no more
He’s just a renegade picker
Partly hippie, partly kicker, too
He’ll get around, get around
But he won’t never settle down
Well I’ve played all your honky tonks
From Texas to Alabam’
Well I’ve seen me some hard times
But I’ve been up more than down
Though there were sometimes people
With a gun or a knife
But when they heard me sing
I guess that saved my life
It saved a renegade picker
Partly hippie partly kicker too
Yeah let him go, let him go
Want to hear him sing some more
The song "Renegade Picker" by Steve Young is an autobiographical song that describes his life as a musician who loves to play the guitar and travel the road. He sings about his roots in the South and his love for good music. For him, the only thing he ever wanted was to be a renegade picker – someone who plays the guitar with passion and without any boundaries. He sees himself as a mix of a hippie and a kicker, someone who's been around the block but not quite ready to settle down.
As a little boy, he was made to go to school, but his love for the guitar was too strong. He was called a "guitar fool" and shunned by some of the girls' parents. Steve sings about how he's played in all types of bars from Texas to Alabama, and how he's seen hard times. But every time he picked up the guitar and sang, it saved his life.
Overall, the song tells the story of Steve's life, his struggles, and his love for the music that defines him. He's a renegade picker who has found his calling in life and will use music to express himself and touch people's lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, I was born down in Dixie
I was born in the southern United States.
And I grew up in the South
I was raised in the southern region of the country.
Listening to good music
I enjoyed listening to music.
And that’s what’s I’m all about
That's my passion.
All I wanted was a guitar, the road
I wanted to play music and travel.
And a good drink of liquor
And have good times with alcohol.
There wasn’t but one thing for me to be
There was only one thing I wanted to be.
And that’s a renegade picker
I wanted to be a musician who doesn't conform to traditional rules.
And I’m a renegade picker
I am a rebellious musician.
Partly hippie and partly kicker
I have a mix of hippie and country influences.
Been around, been around
I've traveled extensively.
I may never settle down
I may not stay in one place for very long.
And when I was a little boy
When I was a child.
They used to make me go to school
My guardians made me go to school.
But they soon give me up
But they eventually gave up on me.
For a guitar fool
Because I was obsessed with playing guitar.
And all the little girl’s mama’s
Mothers of the little girls in town.
They used to drive me from the door
They used to shun me from their homes.
They’d say Honey we don’t want
They'd say things like 'We don't want'
That boy around no more
They didn't want me around.
He’s just a renegade picker
I'm just a rebellious musician.
Partly hippie, partly kicker, too
I have a mix of different influences.
He’ll get around, get around
I'll travel and tour.
But he won’t never settle down
I won't ever stay in one place for too long.
Well I’ve played all your honky tonks
I've played gigs at all sorts of places.
From Texas to Alabam’
All over the southern United States.
Well I’ve seen me some hard times
I've gone through difficult situations.
But I’ve been up more than down
But I've had more good experiences than bad.
Though there were sometimes people
Although there were some instances where people
With a gun or a knife
Were violent and threatening.
But when they heard me sing
But my music ended up soothing them.
I guess that saved my life
Which probably ended up saving me from harm.
Yeah let him go, let him go
Let me continue doing what I love.
Want to hear him sing some more
I want to listen to more of his music.
Contributed by Isaac N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kim Young
on Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
The lyrics posted here are not actually correct and I don't understand why they are not. If you listen to Steve's vocal you will hear what they should be. This song is truly about getting clean and sober, according to what Steve told me!