Cash was known for his deep, calm bass-baritone voice, the distinctive sound of his Tennessee Three backing band characterized by train-sound guitar rhythms, a rebelliousness coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor, free prison concerts, and a trademark, all-black stage wardrobe, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black." He traditionally began his concerts by simply introducing himself, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," followed by his signature song "Folsom Prison Blues".
Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his career. His other signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm", and "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous numbers like "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue"; a duet with his future wife, June Carter, called "Jackson" (followed by many further duets after their wedding); and railroad songs including "Hey, Porter", "Orange Blossom Special", and "Rock Island Line". During the last stage of his career, Cash covered songs by several late 20th-century rock artists, notably "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails and "Rusty Cage" by Soundgarden.
Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas, to Ray Cash and Carrie Cloveree (nΓ©e Rivers). He was the fourth of seven children, who were in birth order: Roy, Margaret Louise, Jack, J. R., Reba, Joanne, and Tommy (who also became a successful country artist). He was primarily of English and Scottish descent. As an adult he traced his surname to 11th-century Fife, after meeting with the then-laird of Falkland, Major Michael Crichton-Stuart. Cash Loch and other locations in Fife bear the name of his family.
At birth, Cash was named J. R. Cash. When Cash enlisted in the United States Air Force, he was not permitted to use initials as a first name, so he changed his name to John R. Cash. In 1955, when signing with Sun Records, he started going by Johnny Cash.
In March 1935, when Cash was three years old, the family settled in Dyess, Arkansas, a New Deal colony established to give poor families a chance to work land that they had a chance to own as a result. Cash started working in cotton fields at the age of five, singing along with his family while working. The Cash farm experienced a flood during the family's time in Dyess, which led Cash later to write the song "Five Feet High and Rising". His family's economic and personal struggles during the Great Depression inspired many of his songs, especially those about other people facing similar difficulties. Consequently, Cash had sympathy for the poor and working class throughout his life.
Cash was very close to his older brother, Jack. On Saturday May 12, 1944, Jack was pulled into an unguarded table saw at his high school while cutting oak into fence posts as his job and was almost cut in two. He lingered until the following Saturday, when he died. Cash often spoke of the horrible guilt he felt over this incident; according to Cash: The Autobiography, his father was away that morning, but Johnny, his mother, and even Jack himself, all had premonitions or a sense of foreboding about that day. His mother urged Jack to skip work and go fishing with his brother, but Jack insisted on working since the family needed the money at the time. On his deathbed, Jack said he had visions of Heaven and angels. Decades later, Cash spoke of looking forward to meeting his brother in Heaven.
Cash's early memories were dominated by gospel music and radio. Taught guitar by his mother and a childhood friend, Cash began playing and writing songs at the age of 12. When young, Cash had a high-tenor voice, before becoming a bass-baritone after his voice changed.
In high school, he sang on a local radio station. Decades later, he released an album of traditional gospel songs, called My Mother's Hymn Book. He was also significantly influenced by traditional Irish music, which he heard performed weekly by Dennis Day on the Jack Benny radio program.
In 1997, Cash was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease ShyβDrager syndrome, a form of multiple system atrophy. According to biographer Robert Hilburn, the disease was originally misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease, and Cash even announced to his audience that he had Parkinson's after nearly collapsing on stage in Flint, Michigan, on October 25, 1997. Soon afterwards, his diagnosis was changed to ShyβDrager, and Cash was told he had about 18 months to live. The diagnosis was later again altered to autonomic neuropathy associated with diabetes. The illness forced Cash to curtail his touring. He was hospitalized in 1998 with severe pneumonia, which damaged his lungs.
During the last stage of his career, Cash released the albums American III: Solitary Man (2000) and American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002). American IV included cover songs by several late 20th-century rock artists, notably "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails and "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails commented that he was initially skeptical about Cash's plan to cover "Hurt", but was later impressed and moved by the rendition. The video for "Hurt" received critical and popular acclaim, including a Grammy Award.
June Carter Cash died on May 15, 2003, at the age of 73. June had told Cash to keep working, so he continued to record, completing 60 more songs in the last four months of his life, and even performed a few surprise shows at the Carter Family Fold outside Bristol, Virginia. At the July 5, 2003, concert (his last public performance), before singing "Ring of Fire", Cash read a statement about his late wife that he had written shortly before taking the stage:
"The spirit of June Carter overshadows me tonight with the love she had for me and the love I have for her. We connect somewhere between here and Heaven. She came down for a short visit, I guess, from Heaven to visit with me tonight to give me courage and inspiration like she always has. She's never been one for me except courage and inspiration. I thank God for June Carter. I love her with all my heart. "
Cash continued to record until shortly before his death. His final recordings were made on August 21, 2003, and consisted of "Like the 309", which appeared on American V: A Hundred Highways in 2006, and the final song he completed, "Engine 143", which was recorded for his son John Carter Cash for a planned Carter Family tribute album.
10
Johnny Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And on the way he'd stop each day and look to Heaven and
Asked God for help as he could not withstand the task alone
And then one day he looked away and thereby lay a stone
God said write upon this stone these words I say to you
And if you all obey my rules I'll see you safely through
God opened Heaven's door and then He guided Moses' hands
And then He said go and tell my children these are my commands
Climb that mountain now and tell us what our Lord has had to say
Thou shalt have no Gods before me is my great command
And thou shalt not make any graven image by thy hand
Thou shalt not take my name in vain if thou would guiltless be
Remember thou to keep the sabbath day alone for me
Honor thy father and thy mother and thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not commit adult'ry and thou shalt not steal
Love thy neighbor as thyself and show thy neighbor peace
Covet not thy neighbor's house nor anything that's his
Go and climb that mountain...
Moses showed these words of God to all the children then
They pulled up stakes and headed out to find the promised land
That Moses had described to them and told of comforts there
The children of oppression thought they'd not find anywhere
But they were soon to part from him and push alone awhile
For it was never meant for him to walk that final mile
The children cried if we must go on Moses without you
Then talk to God just one more time and tell us what to do
Go and climb that mountain...
Thou shalt have no Gods before me...
The lyrics of Johnny Cash's "Climb That Mountain" tell the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and towards the Promised Land. The song describes Moses' daily pleas to God for help in his task, culminating in God instructing Moses to write the Ten Commandments on a stone. The Ten Commandments are then listed in the lyrics, as they were given by God to Moses.
The song focuses on the importance of following God's commands and the reverence due to Him. Moses' example of faithfulness in seeking God's guidance is held up as a model for all believers.
The repetition of the line "Go and climb that mountain, Moses" emphasizes the importance of seeking God's wisdom and direction, even when the way ahead is uncertain.
Line by Line Meaning
Moses led God's children out to find the promised land
Moses led the followers of God to search for the land that God promised.
And on the way he'd stop each day and look to Heaven and
During the journey, he would pause every day and look up to heaven.
Asked God for help as he could not withstand the task alone
He prayed for God to help him as he felt he couldn't complete the task alone.
And then one day he looked away and thereby lay a stone
One day he turned away, and there lay a stone.
God said write upon this stone these words I say to you
God instructed him to write His words on the stone.
And if you all obey my rules I'll see you safely through
God promised that if they followed His rules, He would help them safely get through.
God opened Heaven's door and then He guided Moses' hands
God showed him the way and helped him write down His commandments.
And then He said go and tell my children these are my commands
God tasked him with sharing His commandments with His children.
Go and climb that mountain Moses climb that mountain now and pray
God asked Moses to climb up and pray on the mountain.
Climb that mountain now and tell us what our Lord has had to say
He was asked to climb up and share what God had told him.
Thou shalt have no Gods before me is my great command
God's greatest commandment was to not have any other gods before Him.
And thou shalt not make any graven image by thy hand
Creating idols or physical representations of God is not allowed.
Thou shalt not take my name in vain if thou would guiltless be
It's necessary to respect God's name and not use it in a negative or disrespectful way.
Remember thou to keep the sabbath day alone for me
The Sabbath day is reserved for God and should be kept holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother and thou shalt not kill
Respect for parents is important, and murder is prohibited.
Thou shalt not commit adult'ry and thou shalt not steal
Committing adultery or stealing is not allowed.
Love thy neighbor as thyself and show thy neighbor peace
Love and peace should be extended to one's neighbors.
Covet not thy neighbor's house nor anything that's his
It's not acceptable to desire or wish for what belongs to one's neighbor.
Moses showed these words of God to all the children then
Moses shared God's commandments with His children.
They pulled up stakes and headed out to find the promised land
They left and continued to search for the land promised by God.
That Moses had described to them and told of comforts there
Moses had earlier described the land to them and told them of the comforts there.
The children of oppression thought they'd not find anywhere
The oppressed people believed they would never find a place to call their own.
But they were soon to part from him and push alone awhile
But they had to leave Moses behind and continue alone for a while.
For it was never meant for him to walk that final mile
Moses was not meant to complete the journey with them and had to leave.
The children cried if we must go on Moses without you
The children pleaded with Moses to not leave them behind.
Then talk to God just one more time and tell us what to do
They asked Moses to talk to God one last time and guide them.
Lyrics Β© BMG Rights Management
Written by: LEW DEWITT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hacker X
Tracklist to a lot of my favourite country songs by the great Johnny Cash:
0:00 Folsom Prison Blues
2:52 Ring Of Fire
5:31 Cocaine Blues
8:33 I Walk The Line
12:27 A Boy Named Sue
15:59 Ghost Riders In The Sky
19:19 Jackson
21:50 Man In Black
24:54 Cool Water
28:13 One Piece At A Time
31:48 Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
35:43 Ain't No Grave
39:13 Hey Porter
41:35 Get Ryhthm
43:16 Rusty Cage Leno
46:14 Redemption Live
49:19 Cry Cry Cry
50:43 The General Lee
53:33 Don't Take Your Guns To Town
56:20 Guess Things Happen That Way
58:15 Big River
1:00:00 Home Of The Blues
1:02:15 Daddy Sang Bass
Hacker X
Tracklist to a lot of my favourite country songs by the great Johnny Cash:
0:00 Folsom Prison Blues
2:52 Ring Of Fire
5:31 Cocaine Blues
8:33 I Walk The Line
12:27 A Boy Named Sue
15:59 Ghost Riders In The Sky
19:19 Jackson
21:50 Man In Black
24:54 Cool Water
28:13 One Piece At A Time
31:48 Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down
35:43 Ain't No Grave
39:13 Hey Porter
41:35 Get Ryhthm
43:16 Rusty Cage Leno
46:14 Redemption Live
49:19 Cry Cry Cry
50:43 The General Lee
53:33 Don't Take Your Guns To Town
56:20 Guess Things Happen That Way
58:15 Big River
1:00:00 Home Of The Blues
1:02:15 Daddy Sang Bass
luis alvarado
Someone mark this
Elena Baca-Vigil
THANKS FOR TAKIN THE TIME TO CREATE THIS PLAYLIST FOR US ALL! I REALLY APPRECIATE U!!! TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS YOU!!!!
Hacker X
@Elena Baca-Vigil You're welcome :)
PolarGames
The hero we needed
wwsoft
Thank you. This should be at the top of the comments.
Mo
I remember when I was a kid, my dad would play his guitar in the backyard in his shop and singing Johnny Cash's songs. I lost my dad back in 2003 due to cancer. He was 59. He was my step dad and I miss him so much. He was the best dad in the world. Rest in heaven, dad. I'll see you soon. β€οΈ
Kathryn McMorrow
Awesome. Sounds like a great man.
Mo
@Kathryn McMorrow yes ma'am he was and thank you very much. π€
andre prud'homme
Take care of yourself, life is passing for all of us.
Enjoy life honestly and you will leave, one day, with your mind free because your mission will be done. π