Reed was born on the 20th March 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Robert and Cynthia Hubbard. Reed's parents separated four months after his birth, and he and his sister spent seven years in foster homes or orphanages. Reed was reunited with his mother and stepfather in 1944.
By high school (O'Keefe High School, Atlanta, Georgia) Reed was already writing and singing music, having picked up the guitar as a child. At the age of eighteen he was signed by publisher and record producer Bill Lowery to make his first record, "If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creeks Don't Rise". At Capitol Records, he recorded both country and rockabilly singles with little success, until label mate Gene Vincent covered his "Crazy Legs" in 1958. By 1958, Lowery signed Reed to his National Recording Corporation, and he recorded for NRC as both artist and as a member of the staff band, which included other NRC artists Joe South and Ray Stevens.
Reed married Priscilla Mitchell in 1959. They have two daughters, Charlotte Elaine Reed Stewart, and Seidina Ann Reed Hinesley.
After a two-year stint in the military, Reed moved to Nashville in 1961 to continue his songwriting career, which had continued to gather steam while he was in the armed forces, thanks to Brenda Lee's 1960 cover of his "That's All You Got to Do". He also became a popular session and tour guitarist. In 1962, he scored some success with the singles "Goodnight Irene" and "Hully Gully Guitar", which found their way to Chet Atkins, who produced Reed's 1965 "If I Don't Live Up to It".
In 1967 Reed had his first chart hit with "Guitar Man", which Elvis Presley soon covered. Presley had gone to Nashville to record in 1967, and one of the songs he was working on was "Guitar Man," which Reed had written and recorded. Jarvis hired Reed to play on the session. Reed also played the guitar for Presley's "Too Much Monkey Business" (1968), recorded at the same session. After Presley recorded another of Reed's songs, "U.S. Male", the songwriter recorded an Elvis tribute, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash", which became his first top-twenty hit.
After releasing the 1970 crossover hit "Amos Moses", a hybrid of rock, country, and Cajun styles, which reached number eight on the U.S. pop charts, Reed teamed up with Atkins for the duet LP Me & Jerry. During the 1970 television season, he was a regular on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and in 1971 he issued his biggest hit, "When You're Hot, You're Hot", which was also the title track of his first solo album and reached number nine on the pop charts.
A second collaboration with Atkins, Me & Chet, followed in 1972, as did a series of top-forty singles, which alternated between frenetic, straightforward country offerings and more pop-flavoured material. A year later, he scored his second number-one single with "Lord, Mr. Ford" (written by Dick Feller), from the album of the same name.
Reed was featured in animated form in a December 9, 1972 episode of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "The Phantom of the Country Music Hall". He sang and played the song "Pretty Mary Sunlite", which is played throughout the episode as Scooby and the gang search for Reed's missing guitar.
In the mid-1970s, Reed's recording career began to take a back seat to his acting aspirations. In 1974, he co-starred with his close friend Burt Reynolds in the film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. While he continued to record throughout the decade, his greatest visibility was as a film star, almost always in tandem with headliner Reynolds; after 1976's Gator, Reed appeared in 1978's High Ballin and 1979's Hot Stuff, which won the Best Picture award from the Pawn Shop Association of America. He also co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a number-two hit with the soundtrack's "East Bound and Down".
Reed also hosted a television variety show, filming two episodes of The Jerry Reed Show in 1976. The show featured music performances and interview segments, but did not contain the comedy skits that usually were a part of variety shows of the 1970s. Guests included Tammy Wynette, Ray Stevens, and Burt Reynolds.
Reed died on the 31st August 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from emphysema.
Folsom Prison Blues
Jerry Reed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's rollin' around the bend
And I ain't seen the sunshine
Since I don't know when
I'm stuck in Folsom prison
And time keeps draggin' on
But that train keeps a-rollin'
When I was just a baby
My mama told me, son
Always be a good boy
Don't ever play with guns
But I shot a man in Reno
Just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowin'
I hang my head and cry
I bet there's rich folks eatin'
In a fancy dining car
They're probably drinking coffee
And smoking big cigars
But I know I had it coming
I know I can't be free
But those people keep a-movin'
And that's what tortures me
Well if that freed me from this prison
And that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move it on
A little farther down the line
Far from Folsom prison
That's where I want to stay
And I'd let that lonesome whistle
Blow my blues away
Jerry Reed's song "Folsom Prison Blues" is a cover of Johnny Cash's classic song of the same name. The song is about a prisoner stuck in Folsom prison, who hears a train and wishes he could be on it, far away from his jail cell. He reflects on his life choices that led him to prison, particularly the time he shot a man in Reno "just to watch him die," expressing regret and sorrow for his actions. He also acknowledges the injustice of rich people enjoying their lives while he is trapped in prison.
The lyrics have a haunting quality that vividly captures the despair and hopelessness of life in prison. The train that keeps rolling on represents a sense of hope and freedom that is always just out of reach for the singer. His guilt and shame weigh heavily on him, as evidenced by the line "When I hear that whistle blowin', I hang my head and cry." The song concludes with the singer dreaming of being free from prison and the sound of the train, envisioning a life where he can leave his past behind and find a new sense of purpose.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear that train a-commin'
I hear the arrival of a train
It's rollin' around the bend
The train is curving towards its destination
And I ain't seen the sunshine
I have not encountered joy or hope
Since I don't know when
For an indeterminate amount of time
I'm stuck in Folsom prison
I am confined to and trapped in Folsom prison
And time keeps draggin' on
Time seems to move slower here
But that train keeps a-rollin'
But the train keeps moving forward
On down to San Antone
Towards the city of San Antonio
When I was just a baby
When I was a very young child
My mama told me, son
My mother advised me, her child
Always be a good boy
Always act like a respectable and well-behaved person
Don't ever play with guns
Never handle firearms as a form of amusement OR never engage in violence
But I shot a man in Reno
But I committed a murder in Reno, Nevada
Just to watch him die
Purely out of a desire to observe his death
When I hear that whistle blowin'
When I hear the sound of a train whistle
I hang my head and cry
I become emotional and feel regret
I bet there's rich folks eatin'
I am certain that wealthy individuals are dining
In a fancy dining car
Inside an elaborate dining car on the train
They're probably drinking coffee
They are most likely consuming coffee
And smoking big cigars
In addition to drinking coffee, they are likely smoking large cigars
But I know I had it coming
I am aware that I deserved to be punished
I know I can't be free
I realize that I cannot escape my incarceration
But those people keep a-movin'
But those individuals continue to move forward
And that's what tortures me
And that is the source of my suffering
Well if that freed me from this prison
If only that granted me my freedom from this imprisonment
And that railroad train was mine
If I owned and controlled the train
I bet I'd move it on
I am convinced that I would operate the train
A little farther down the line
A bit further down the tracks
Far from Folsom prison
A long distance away from Folsom prison
That's where I want to stay
That is my desired location to remain in
And I'd let that lonesome whistle
And I would permit the sad train whistle
Blow my blues away
To ease and relieve my sorrowful feelings
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Johnny R. Cash
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind