Happy Earth Day, which started in 1970 as a day to spread education about and support for our environment. Today, the day is celebrated around the world, reminding us of our common interest in the earth and the environment.
During the same month as Earth Day in 2001, Shaver released the album, The Earth Rolls On (2001). On first look, the album has nothing to do with Earth Day. Shaver was a collaboration between country legend Billy Joe Shaver and his son Eddy Shaver, who played some mean guitar. My favorite song on the album is the wonderful title track that closes the album, “The Earth Rolls On,” where Billy Joe Shaver sings “The earth rolls on/Even though you’re gone/The earth rolls on, and on, and on. . . .” So the song is really about loss.
The song carries a heavy weight for Billy Joe Shaver. He wrote the song about losing his wife Brenda, who passed away from a lenghty illness in 1999 (Shaver had divorced her twice but married her three times). His son Eddy, who plays guitar on the album, passed away suddenly from an accidental drug overdose in December 2000. Although that is Eddy’s guitar wailing at the end of “The Earth Rolls On,” one can almost hear in that incredible solo that he foresaw the pain his father felt not only of Brenda’s death but what a father would feel in losing his son.
So, in addition to the title, “The Earth Rolls On” is a perfect song for Earth Day. It is about how fragile life is and how we have to cherish and take care of what we have while we have it because everything is temporary. May you celebrate the earth and your loved ones today and every day this year.
What is your favorite song about the earth? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Billy Joe Shaver is a genius but not an environmentalist. So, it isn’t the perfect song for Earth Day. But still a great song. I think Woody’s This Land is Your Land is probably the perfect Earth Day song.
“This Land is Your Land” is certainly a great song. Chimesfreedom previously wrote about the history for the song as a protest song, so check it out. Thanks for the comment.