Johnny Cash (born J.R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an… Read Full Bio ↴Johnny Cash (born J.R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer, guitarist, actor, songwriter, author. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. Although primarily remembered as a country music icon, his genre-spanning songs and sound embraced rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel.

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 Loose
Johnny Cash Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain
Ev'ry 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 is 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

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Johnny Cash's song Born to Lose convey a sense of hopelessness and despair as the singer reflects on a life filled with disappointment and sorrow. The repeated mention of being "born to lose" highlights the idea that the singer feels as though he was destined for failure and was never meant to experience happiness. He laments the fact that every dream he has pursued has resulted in pain and a deep sense of longing.

The singer is particularly affected by the loss of a loved one who has grown tired and has decided to leave him. This loss is particularly difficult to bear because that person was the only source of happiness that he had ever known. He is left to face a life of utter loneliness and despair. The song suggests that the singer sees no hope for a better future and believes that he is resigned to a life of misery.

Line by Line Meaning

Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain
I was born to lead a life filled with failures and disappointments, where everything I worked for never turned out well.

Ev'ry dream has only brought me pain
Even my happiest dreams ended up bringing me sadness and disappointment, making it difficult to find hope and happiness.

All my life I've always been so blue
I have never felt happy, content, or joyful throughout my life, as everything I wanted never materialized.

Born to lose, and now I'm losing you
I was already destined to fail, and losing you only adds to my miseries, as you were the only person who brought happiness in my life.

Born to lose, it seems so hard to bear
It is extremely difficult to cope with the realization that my fate is sealed, and I cannot escape the constant loss and disappointments accompanying me.

how I long to always have you near
I wish to hold on to you and keep you close, as you are the only comfort and source of joy in my life.

You've grown tired, and now you say we're through
You have given up on me and the relationship we had, and that makes it even harder for me to cope with the loss.

Born to lose, my every hope is gone
I have lost all my hopes for the future, and the realization that my destiny is unwaveringly doomed is overwhelming.

It's so hard to face that empty dawn
Waking up every morning to the bleak and mundane life, with no hope or joy to look forward to, is a daunting experience.

You were all the happiness I knew
You were the only source of happiness and love in my life, and losing you has made it almost impossible for me to find any joy or hope.

There is no use to dream of happiness
It is futile and pointless to dream about finding happiness, as my destiny deprives me of any chance to attain it.

All I see is only loneliness
I am surrounded by loneliness and despair, and the constant loss has become a recurring theme in my life.

All my life, I've always been so blue
The overwhelming sorrow and despair have been the constants in my life, as nothing seems to change my fate.

Born to lose, and now I'm losing you
Losing you has only reaffirmed the fact that I was born to fail and suffer throughout my life.

Contributed by Alexander M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Roman

6y↑15

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

4y↑2

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