Billy Joe Shaver – Live Forever

I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now

Phil from The Cactus Notes mentioned this artist on the Flatlanders post last week and I thank him. Between CB, Phil, Lisa, and Randy…I’m learning more and more about Texas singer/songwriters. Whatever they have in the water there has worked for a long time. This is a song I love. I’ve heard it before somewhere but it has a great melody and I love the meaning behind the words.

I really like this song. It could be country/pop/rock it doesn’t matter. I like the philosophy of it…you can’t live forever but the impact one leaves behind can endure indefinitely. . There are 14 different covers of this song. Artists such as Johnny Cash, The Highwaymen, Willie Nelson, Robert Duvall, and Joe Ely. You know…it’s like walking in a crowded city and on every single corner I see Joe Ely! He is so deeply ingrained in Texas music and music in general. He has popped up in so many configurations while exploring this genre.

Billy Joe Shaver was part of the Outlaw Country movement, he co-wrote Live Forever with his son Eddy, a talented guitarist and songwriter. This song was part of their collaborative album, Tramp on Your Street, released in 1993.

Shaver was born in Corsicana, Texas. Raised primarily by his grandmother, he experienced a difficult childhood (many ordeals that you should read about). Shaver moved to Nashville in the late 1960s, where he initially struggled to make a name for himself. His break came when he met Kris Kristofferson, who became a mentor and helped him get a songwriting contract.

His major breakthrough came with Waylon Jennings’ 1973 album “Honky Tonk Heroes,” which featured nearly all Shaver-penned songs. This album is credited with helping to define the Outlaw Country movement.

This song was released in 1993. This song went to #96 on the Canadian Country Charts. Billy Joe Shaver passed away in 2020 at 81.

Live Forever

I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now
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 always be around
Just like the songs I leave behind me
I’m gonna live forever now

You fathers and you mothers
Be good to one another
Please try to raise your children right
Don’t let the darkness take ’em
Don’t make ’em feel forsaken
Just lead them safely to the light
When this old world has blown asunder
And all the stars from fall this sky
Remember someone really loves you
We’ll live forever you and I

I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now

I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now

I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now

I’m gonna live forever
I’m gonna cross that river
I’m gonna catch tomorrow now

I’m gonna live forever now
I’m gonna live forever now
I’m gonna live forever now
I’m gonna live forever now

Dream of angels and sunshine
Rivers of red wine, and orange peel blues
Dream of angels and sunshine
Rivers of red wine, and orange peel blues

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

18 thoughts on “Billy Joe Shaver – Live Forever”

  2. I know his name but not his music. Corsicana’s not too too far from here. Not exactly my sound but it’s a decent tune…one might think it could’ve done a little better

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    1. It always depends on what era… country radio sometimes goes through a dumbed down”bro country” phase where all that hits are country songs that I personally hate…and many times a great song won’t hit.
      Well hell….pop radio goes through this also…as we all know.

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  3. Good music, and I learned a lot about father and son in your post. They are new to me but I went out and listened to Waylon sing some of the songs off Honky Tonk Heroes and they sound familiar. It’s a genre of music I do appreciate. Thanks for the nod on TX musicians. It’s funny how music happens into your life and then you get to connect with others through it. Never thought I’d be talking with anyone about Townes yet here we are 🙂

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    1. Yea the more I find from this genre…the more I like. It’s like a giant tree that keeps going and the quaility is outstanding.

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      1. Good analogy. Anyone who never made it big but got recordings of their music, may one day come to light. It’s one of the best things about the digital age.

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  4. Yes, I think there is a lot more depth to Country than there used to be. Once all you needed was a stetson, a John Deere T-shirt peeking discreetly out from under a spangly shirt and a guitar, toss in a ‘yeehaw’ and a yodel or two in and you were set.

    We have a Country competition called the Gold Guitars in a Southern town called Gore, (yep, pardners, there’s an aptly named place any dusty, thirsty cowpoke and his horse could ride in and hitch up to) and you wouldn’t get me within 50 miles of the place till recently. Stuck in Old School Country time.

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      1. As I might have said(!) I like the Country flavour, not the whole honey baked family meal. Then Mama’s sweet apple pie on top? Nope, too much for this guy.

        (Work hard for the man this week Max, make us all proud!)

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  7. Good stuff, Max. Back in 2005, Robert Duvall’s wife made a documentary on Billy Joe at the insistence of Robert since he and Billy Joe were buddies. I was involved with the Deep Ellum Film Festival at that time, and the festival showed the film and booked a party at the Sons Of Herman Hall in Deep Ellum, and the only act was Billy Joe and his band. Momo and me got there a bit early and were standing around in the upstairs ballroom chatting with folks we knew. Going down the stairs to get a beer because the bar was downstairs, Billy Joe and Robert Duvall were coming up the stairs. Momo, ever the shy one, ran smack into Billy Joe. She couldn’t think of anything to say except, “Billy Joe, can I have a hug?” Sure, nuff darlin, and he gave her a big ole Texas hug and a God Bless ya to boot. She looked at me and said if we weren’t already hitched, she’d marry that man. After we scored a few Lone Star longnecks, we went upstairs again and watched Billy Joe put on a great show. He was really into his religion at that time, and after every song, he preached a bit. He did everything but call witness at the edge of the stage, and he could have saved or healed a few that night. Robert Duvall and his wife danced, drank beer, and had a good time. Momo and me visited with Billy Joe after the show and found out we knew a lot of the same folks in the biz. He even knew my father from The Light Crust Doughboys, my late father’s band. His song, “Freedom’s Child,” he wrote as a tribute to his son, who died from a heroin overdose in 2000. It’s one of my favorites, as are most of his songs. At my son’s funeral in 2012, I included that song in the music for his service, and now, when I play it, it can hit me well or hit me hard; I never know which it will be, but I thank Billy Joe for giving us such a beautiful song.

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    1. What a story to tell Phil… that is great that you all had common ground to talk… but your wife stole the story with that hug.
      Duvall always seemed like a down to earth guy…not one of the Hollywood phony kind of guys.
      Phil I can’t imagine losing a child. I could see where it could hit both ways.

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