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 (née 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 Shy–Drager 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 Shy–Drager, 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.
Born To Lose
Johnny Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every dream has only brought me pain
All my life, I've always been so blue
Born to lose, and now I'm losing you
Born to lose, it seems so hard to bear
How I long to always have you near
You've grown tired, and now you say we're through
Born to lose, my every hope is gone
It's so hard to face an empty dawn
You were all the happiness I knew
Born to lose, and now I'm losing you
There's no use to dream of happiness
All I see is only loneliness
All my life, I've always been so blue
Born to lose, and now I'm losing you
The song "Born to Lose" by Johnny Cash is a poignant and emotional ballad about the struggles of life and love. The lyrics convey a sense of hopelessness and despair, as the singer laments about how he has always been destined for failure and loss. The repetition of the phrase "born to lose" throughout the song reinforces this feeling of inevitability, as if the singer has resigned himself to a life of disappointment.
The first verse sets the tone for the rest of the song, with the singer expressing how every dream he has had has only caused him pain. He feels a deep sense of sadness and loneliness that has followed him throughout his life, and it seems like he can't escape it. The second verse is about his lover, who he longs for but is losing. He feels like he's losing the one thing that has brought him happiness, and this loss only compounds his sorrow.
The final verse is perhaps the most powerful, as the singer realizes that there's no point in dreaming of happiness because all he can see now is loneliness. The repetition of "born to lose" at the end of each verse becomes even more meaningful as the song progresses, as it seems to be both a lament and an acceptance of his fate.
Overall, "Born to Lose" is a poignant and deeply moving song that captures the struggles of life and love, and the feelings of loss and hopelessness that can accompany them.
Line by Line Meaning
Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain
I was born with no control over my fate, and no matter what I do, my life seems like it's been wasted.
Every dream has only brought me pain
No matter what aspirations I had, they've only led to disappointment and hurt.
All my life, I've always been so blue
I've lived with a constant sense of sadness that never seems to go away.
Born to lose, and now I'm losing you
As predicted, my life of disappointment and tragedy continues, and now I'm losing the one person who gave me any happiness.
Born to lose, it seems so hard to bear
It's difficult to bear the weight of a predetermined fate when all I wanted was to live a happy life.
How I long to always have you near
The one thing that made my life worth living was having you by my side, and I'll miss you dearly.
You've grown tired, and now you say we're through
You're no longer willing to bear witness to a life of pain and misery, and understandably so - it's too much for anyone to handle.
Born to lose, my every hope is gone
I've lost hope that things might ever turn around for me, and it feels like there's nothing to look forward to anymore.
It's so hard to face an empty dawn
Waking up each day has become torturous because there's nothing to look forward to and nothing to fill the emptiness.
You were all the happiness I knew
You were the one source of joy in my life, and now that you're gone, there's nothing left to keep me going.
There's no use to dream of happiness
Pursuing happiness has proven to be a futile endeavor, and there's no point in hoping for something that will never come.
All I see is only loneliness
I've been consumed by loneliness, and it's all I can see no matter where I look.
Born to lose, and now I'm losing you
The cycle of loss and despair continues, and now I'm losing the one person who made my life bearable.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Ted Daffan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Roman
Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain
Every dream has only brought me pain
All my life I've always been so blue
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
Born to lose, it seems so hard to bear
How I long to always have you near
You've grown tired and now you say we're through
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
Born to lose, my every hope is gone
It's so hard to face that empty dawn
You were all the happiness I knew
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
There's no use to dream of happiness
All I see is only loneliness
All my life I've always been so blue
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
Linus Johansson
Born to snooze, I sleep my life away
Ev’ry dream helps me through that long day
All my life I’ve always been so tired
Born to snooze, my time has now expired
Born to snooze, I’m longing for that bed
How I need to rest my weary head
I’ve retired, a sleepyhead, that’s true
Born to snooze, and now I’m snoring too
Born to snooze, my worries are all gone
World outside, it only makes me yawn
It’s the only happiness I’ve known
Born to snooze, lethargic to the bone
There's no use to dream of great success
All I need is to avoid that stress
All my life I’ve always been so tired
Born to snooze, my time has now expired
Roman
Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain
Every dream has only brought me pain
All my life I've always been so blue
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
Born to lose, it seems so hard to bear
How I long to always have you near
You've grown tired and now you say we're through
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
Born to lose, my every hope is gone
It's so hard to face that empty dawn
You were all the happiness I knew
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
There's no use to dream of happiness
All I see is only loneliness
All my life I've always been so blue
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
Born to lose and now I'm losing you
Jonathan Smith
Johnny Cash's versions of any one else's songs are wonderful, no doubt! Johnny Cash is American treasure
Jonathan Smith
Who hates Johnny Cash? Seriously!!! Cash is one of the true musical giants of our time like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and some others
Deke Rivers
Boring. Johnny Cash almost always sounds the same. I prefer Ray Charles‘ version. Elvis was much better.
Clileywes s.
I think he's the true king of country
precision Brown
Wow hahaa I have the deepest respect for
Johnny Cash but Johnny Thunders version rocks this song
Martin Glyndon
precision Brown it’s not the same!
David Wollman
Thank you for this johnny it is my live to a tee love your work
Howie G.
I love this song and I love Johny Cash but I just don't think anyone can top Ray Charles' Version.
Silmaril0
so much truth in one sentence. my qoute 4 my life: I'll be what i am ... im a solitary man.