Old Five and Dimers Like Me

Album: Honky Tonk Heroes (1973)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Old Five and Dimers Like Me" was the title track to Billy Joe Shaver's 1973 debut album. When Waylon Jennings needed songs for his Honky Tonk Heroes album released later that year, he filled it with Shaver's songs, including this one. In true outlaw country style, the song finds Shaver reflecting on his lot in life, which is filled with excess and turmoil.

    Shaver writes from the heart, and draws from personal experiences. He said in his Songfacts interview: "I've always been real blunt. Most people from Texas are that way. And it seems like all the great writers, they're not afraid to say anything. I've always been pretty blunt, and sometimes it seems, brutally honest, but it's real close to the bone."

Comments: 1

  • Robert PenhollowBut what does it mean?
see more comments

Editor's Picks

90s Metal

90s MetalFact or Fiction

Test your metal - Priest, Maiden, and Beavis and Butt-head show up in this one.

Taylor Dayne

Taylor DayneSongwriter Interviews

Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

How The Beatles Crafted Killer Choruses

How The Beatles Crafted Killer ChorusesSong Writing

The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."