Early life & music career
Tommy Shaw was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1953 and played with many local bands in his early years. He left Montgomery after high school to join MS Funk, a Chicago-managed outfit that he played with for 3 years, which gave him a chance to be noticed by the band Styx during a 2-week club gig in Chicago. After MS Funk disbanded, he went back to Montgomery to join a local group with his childhood friends called Harvest, which performed at a club in a bowling alley called "Keglar's Kove". Following Styx's move to A&M, guitarist and vocalist John Curulewski suddenly left the band shortly before they were to embark on a nationwide tour, and a frantic search to find a last-minute replacement was launched. While playing at the bowling alley bar, as a result of his previous experience with MS Funk in Chicago, Shaw got the call to audition for Styx and was quickly hired.
Styx — 1970s
The first album with Shaw, "Crystal Ball" (1976), was titled after his own composition and also includes his songs "Mademoiselle" and "Shooz". Its follow-up, The Grand Illusion (1977) became the group's breakthrough album, which went platinum and also featured a radio hit by Shaw, "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)".
Styx's 8th album, appropriately entitled Pieces Of Eight, was the breakout album for Shaw's songwriting talent with his rock-oriented contributions "Renegade" and "Blue Collar Man", which became `70's rock radio staples and perennial Styx concert favorites, reaching #16 and #21 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.It also featured a minor radio hit Shaw's tune "Sing For The Day".
[edit] 1980s — 1990s
Though the `80's brought the downfall of Styx, it began with Styx riding a wave of commercial success with the #1 pop ballad "Babe" from the 9th Styx album, Cornerstone in 1979, which was written by keyboardist Dennis DeYoung. However, tension mounted within the band as Shaw and other band members expressed dissatisfaction with DeYoung's desire to pull the band into a pop radio & theatrical direction, while other members preferred the rock direction of the songs written by Shaw and guitarist James "JY" Young. For this reason, unbeknownst to the public-at-large, Dennis DeYoung was fired from the group in early 1980 for a brief unpublicized moment and quickly rehired, but this conflict would arise again. Shaw's ascerbation was furthered with his disatisfaction of the theatrical-themed album Paradise Theater and brought to a boil with the tour for the next album Kilroy Was Here, which featured a progressive stage show combined with an 11-minute movie intro and theatrical performances by the band. Shortly after the tour ended, Shaw left Styx in 1983 to pursue his solo career.
Shaw released 3 solo albums in the 1980s: Girls with Guns (1984), What If (1985), and Ambition (1987), scoring a Top 40 hit with the title track from the 1st album.
1990s — present
In the early 1990s, Shaw, Ted Nugent, Jack Blades, and drummer Michael Cartellone formed the band Damn Yankees. Their biggest hit, "High Enough", was co-written by Shaw. The band had a strong concert following; however, even though the 2nd album went platinum, the band separated.
Shaw returned to a reunited Styx in 1995 and embarked on a subsequent tour with them in 1996. Tommy would later record a fourth solo record in 1998: "7 Deadly Zens". Shaw has also worked with other artists on a "Pink Floyd's The Wall" tribute album. He also worked on a KISS tribute album, "Spin The Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to KISS", on which he sang "Love Gun".
Tommy teamed up with Night Ranger's Jack Blades in a duo appropriately called Shaw Blades and released an album entitled "Hallucination" in 1995. A second collaboration entitled "Influence" was released in early March 2007 and the duo appeared live on VH1 Classic backed up by famed Nashville songwriter Gary Burr. Shaw Blades did a short tour in Spring 2007 that was well-received. The tour included songs from Night Ranger, Styx, Shaw's solo albums and Damn Yankees. The duo also recorded the classic Christmas song "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" which was released in 2002 on the album "A Classic Rock Christmas", a compilation of classic Christmas songs recorded by various Classic Rock artists.
As of 2007, Shaw leads Styx along with James "JY" Young. Shaw & Young are the only remaining members from Styx's heyday.
Hall of Fame
Tommy Shaw will be inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in February, 2008 at their awards banquet to be held in Tommy's hometown of Montgomery, AL..
Half A Mind
Tommy Shaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the very next train
This little town had got you down
And you wouldn't be back again
Yeah and I believed you
My world stood still
You said you had a half a mind
When it comes to leaving
I've done my share
Trouble would come
But you'd never find me there
You said you were leaving
So many times
And every time I tried to find
A way I could survive
I felt so lonely
All the times I cried
Now you say that I should see
How everything has changed inside you
When it comes to changing
I never saw the need
I never thought about anyone but me
Can't we see the past is gone
Half a mind from here
Where the seeds of love can grow
We'll gather it as we go
We'll never know
How lucky we are
Casting our fate
To the wind and the stars
And gather the love as we go
Gather the love as we go
Gather the love as we go
You said you were leaving
On the very next train
Those little things had got you down
And you wouldn't be coming back again
When it comes to leaving
I've done my share
Trouble would come
But you'd never find me there
Can't we see the past is gone
Half a mind from here
Where the seeds of love can grow
We'll gather it as we go
Gather the love
Gather the love
Gather the love as we go
I believed you
My world stood still
The song "Half A Mind" by Tommy Shaw is about a relationship that is coming to an end. The singer of the song is addressing a lover who has announced their intention to leave the little town they are in on the very next train. The lover's reasons for wanting to leave are not explicitly stated, but it is suggested that they are feeling trapped and unhappy in the town. The singer expresses their belief that the lover will not be coming back, and this news has caused their world to stand still. The lover also tells the singer that they have a "half a mind" to let them know how they feel, which implies that there is unresolved tension between them.
The song then goes on to describe how the singer feels in the wake of this announcement. They reflect on how many times the lover has threatened to leave before, and how each time they have tried to find a way to survive. The singer has felt lonely and has cried many times. However, the lover is now telling them that everything has changed inside them, and that they should see this change.
The singer insists that they never felt the need to change before, and that they never thought about anyone but themselves. However, they suggest that it is now time to move on and "gather the love as we go". They emphasize the importance of leaving the past behind and growing together in love, despite the difficulties that may come their way.
Line by Line Meaning
You said you were leaving
The other person mentioned leaving the town.
On the very next train
The other person mentioned taking the next mode of transportation out of town.
This little town had got you down
The other person was feeling down about this town.
And you wouldn't be back again
The other person said they wouldn't return.
Yeah and I believed you
The artist believed other person's words.
My world stood still
The other person's departure affected the singer very strongly.
You said you had a half a mind
The other person was indecisive.
To let me know the way you feel
The other person was considering telling the artist their feelings.
When it comes to leaving
The artist has left places before.
I've done my share
The artist has left enough places previously.
Trouble would come
The singer has faced trouble while leaving before.
But you'd never find me there
The artist wouldn't stay in a place where there is trouble.
So many times
The other person had mentioned leaving the town multiple times.
And every time I tried to find
The singer attempted to find a way for them to stay.
A way I could survive
The singer tried to find a way to be happy in the town.
I felt so lonely
The artist felt lonely without the other person.
All the times I cried
The artist was emotional about the other person's potential departure.
Now you say that I should see
The other person thinks the singer should understand their feelings.
How everything has changed inside you
The other person thinks they have changed.
When it comes to changing
The artist did not consider changing before.
I never saw the need
The artist did not feel like they needed to change.
I never thought about anyone but me
The artist only thought about themselves.
Can't we see the past is gone
The singer thinks they should not dwell on the past.
Half a mind from here
There is a chance for change if we let go of the past.
Where the seeds of love can grow
A place where love can grow exists.
We'll gather it as we go
The two of them will find love as they go along.
We'll never know
They will not know what will happen in the future.
How lucky we are
They should appreciate their current situation.
Casting our fate
They are leaving their future up to chance.
To the wind and the stars
They are throwing their fate to the whims of nature.
Gather the love as we go
The two of them will find love as they travel together.
I believed you
The artist initially trusted the other person's words.
My world stood still
The other person leaving felt like the end of the world for the artist.
Contributed by Tristan W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Scott Jackson
Alison Krauss' voice REALLY adds a lot. And her fiddle isn't exactly played in her normal bluegrass style. Tommy's voice is in fine form.
Scott Erwin
Favorite track from this album