4 Songs to Celebrate the Late Great Billy Joe Shaver on What Would Have Been His 85th Birthday

Today, Billy Joe Shaver is hailed as a hero of the Outlaw Country movement by those in the know. Johnny Cash once called Shaver his favorite songwriter. Willie Nelson named him the “greatest living songwriter” before his death. Waylon Jennings recorded nearly an entire album of Shaver’s songs—Honky Tonk Heroes—in 1973. The list of artists who recorded his songs is long and full of names like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and John Anderson.

Shaver was more than a singer and songwriter, though. He told stories from his life in many of his songs in such a way that listeners could relate deeply to them. More than that, he was a flawed man who, in the latter years of his life, worked hard to be the best person he could be. The chapters of his life story are full of wild nights, gun fights, and redemption.

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[RELATED: 4 Timeless Country Songs Written by Outlaw Legend Billy Joe Shaver]

Shaver tragically passed away in October 2020 after suffering a stroke. If he was still here, he would be celebrating his 85th birthday today. Today, we remember and celebrate the man who gave the world so many great songs by revisiting a few of his best.

“Ain’t No God in Mexico”

This isn’t just a quintessential Outlaw Country song. It’s also the song that helped put Billy Joe Shaver on the map. It’s likely that he wouldn’t be as well-known as he is today without Waylon Jennings featuring nine of his songs on Honky Tonk Heroes. In an interview with The Washington Post, Shaver revealed that this is the song that got his foot in the door.

After a heated conversation about a forgotten agreement to record some of his songs, Jennings pulled Shaver into an office and told him to start playing him songs. If he didn’t like the first one, he’d throw him out and never see him again.

“I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal”

This song has gone under many names, but Billy Joe Shaver first recorded it as “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be a Diamond Someday)” and used it as the title track of his 1981 album. It’s a song about striving to be the best version of oneself.

Shaver told NPR that this song started with a vision of Jesus sitting at the foot of his bed shaking his head in disgust. At the time, he was, by his estimation “the king of sinners.” Drugs, alcohol, and infidelity filled his life. After seeing the vision, he drove to the Harpeth River and climbed a treacherous trail to a cliff. “I got up there and I decided that was either going to end it or whatever was going to happen with me. And I found myself on my knees right there at the edge of that cliff with my head down in my hands asking the Lord to forgive me,” he recalled.

At that time, he hadn’t written a song in a long time. However, by the time he got back to his vehicle, he had the first half of this song written.

“The Devil Made Me Do It the First Time”

This one shows up a few times in Billy Joe Shaver’s discography under the titles “Black Rose” and “The Devil Made Me Do It the First Time.” Waylon Jennings recorded it under the former title for Honky Tonk Heroes.

Some have said that this song is about heroin or some other drug. But that’s not the case. Instead, Shaver said, it was about his first sexual experience when he was twelve years old.

“These boys talked me into the idea that if ya wanted to be a true Texas your first sexual encounter had to be with a Black woman and I bought into it,” he recalled. “So I was standing in line there with my three dollars in my hand and all of a sudden, the line disappeared and there weren’t no one but me. The woman grabbed my three dollars. You’d be amazed at how fast you can become a true Texan,” he added.

“Live Forever”

Billy Joe co-wrote this song with his late son and guitarist Eddy Shaver. He released it on his 1993 album Tramp on Your Street. A little over 20 years ago, this was Shaver accepting that he would one day die and leave a legacy of music behind him. In the autumn of 2020, we all learned how correct he was.

You’re gonna wanna hold me / Just like I always told you. / You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone. / Nobody here will ever find me / But I will always be around. / Just like the songs I left behind me, / I’m gonna live forever now.

Gone, but never forgotten. Shaver will, indeed, live forever.

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