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.
Casey
Johnny Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The stairway to the subway in the shadows down below
Following their footsteps through the neon-darkened corridors
Of silent desperation, never speakin' to a soul
The poison air he's breathin' has the dirty smell of dying
'Cause it's never seen the sunshine and it's never felt the rain
But Casey minds the arrows and ignores the fatal echoes
Of the clickin' of the turnstiles and the rattle of his chains
"Oh!" she said, "Casey it's been so long since I've seen you!"
"Here" she said, "just a kiss to make a body smile!"
"See" she said, "I've put on new stockings just to please you!"
"Lord!" she said, "Casey can you only stay a while?"
Casey leaves the under-ground and stops inside the Golden Crown
For something wet to wipe away the chill that's on his bone
Seeing his reflection in the lives of all the lonely men
Who reach for any thing they can to keep from goin' home
Standin' in the corner Casey drinks his pint of bitter
Never glancing in the mirror at the people passing by
Then he stumbles as he's leaving and he wonders if the reason
Is the beer that's in his belly, or the tear that's in his eye
"Oh!" she said, "I suppose you seldom think about me
"Now" she said, "now that you've a fam'ly of your own"
"Still" she said, "it's so blessed good to feel your body!"
"Lord!" she said" "Casey it's a shame to be alone!"
In Johnny Cash's song Casey, the singer portrays Casey's life as an underground dweller, someone who lives in the shadows and doesn't have much to look forward to. The first verse describes the setting where Casey lives and walks, which is the subway. He is mixed in with people who are equally desperate and silent, and the air he breathes is poisonous. Despite all of these factors, Casey keeps his focus and ignores the negative signals around him. In the second verse, Casey reunites with a former lover who suggests that he stays for a while, but Casey doesn't have the luxury to stay or the desire to reconnect. In the final verse, Casey stops at a bar to take the edge off, looking down on the customers who are equally lonely but trying to avoid going home. After a few drinks, Casey stumbles out of the bar, wondering if it's the alcohol that blurred his vision or the realization of his lonely state.
The song Casey is a cautionary tale about the dangers of living a life of subsistence and hiddenness, and Cash offers a powerful portrait of what it means to be alone in harsh surroundings. It's a stark reminder to the listener of the harshness of life below the surface, where one's sense of identity and purpose might be completely estranged from world above. The high point of the song is when Casey is reunited with his past love, but this moment is short-lived because he cannot allow himself to stay in the illusion of the conversation for long. The song forces the listener to grapple with loneliness and to see the traps of a lack of aspiration and not being able to pursue dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
Casey joins the hollow sound of silent people walking down
Casey becomes part of the emptiness of the people walking silently down the subway stairs
The stairway to the subway in the shadows down below
The entrance to the subway is dark and gloomy
Following their footsteps through the neon-darkened corridors
Casey is following the footsteps of other people in the dimly lit corridors of the subway
Of silent desperation, never speakin' to a soul
Everyone in the subway is silently desperate and never talks to anyone
The poison air he's breathin' has the dirty smell of dying
The air in the subway is toxic and smells disgusting due to lack of ventilation
'Cause it's never seen the sunshine and it's never felt the rain
The subway is underground and so it never exposed to the elements
But Casey minds the arrows and ignores the fatal echoes
Casey follows the signs and ignores the scary sounds like the click of the turnstiles and the rattle of chains
"Oh!" she said, "Casey it's been so long since I've seen you!"
A woman approaches Casey and greets him, expressing that it's been a long time since they last saw each other
"Here" she said, "just a kiss to make a body smile!"
The woman offers Casey a kiss to cheer him up
"See" she said, "I've put on new stockings just to please you!"
The woman tells Casey that she wore something special just to make him happy
"Lord!" she said, "Casey can you only stay a while?"
The woman expresses her disappointment that Casey can only stay for a short while
Casey leaves the under-ground and stops inside the Golden Crown
Casey exits the underground and enters the Golden Crown bar
For something wet to wipe away the chill that's on his bone
Casey orders a drink to warm himself up
Seeing his reflection in the lives of all the lonely men
Casey sees himself reflected in the lives of the other lonely men in the bar
Who reach for any thing they can to keep from goin' home
The other men are desperately trying to find something to occupy themselves with so they don't have to go home to their empty lives
Standin' in the corner Casey drinks his pint of bitter
Casey stands in the corner drinking his beer in silence
Never glancing in the mirror at the people passing by
Casey avoids looking at the other people in the bar, never glancing their way
Then he stumbles as he's leaving and he wonders if the reason
Casey trips and falls as he's leaving the bar and wonders why it happened
Is the beer that's in his belly, or the tear that's in his eye
Casey is unsure if he fell because he's drunk or because he's upset and crying
"Oh!" she said, "I suppose you seldom think about me
The woman from earlier speaks again, telling Casey that he probably doesn't think about her often
"Now" she said, "now that you've a fam'ly of your own"
She tells Casey that he probably has his own family now
"Still" she said, "it's so blessed good to feel your body!"
The woman admits that even though Casey has his own family, she still enjoys being close to him physically
"Lord!" she said" "Casey it's a shame to be alone!"
The woman expresses her sorrow that Casey is alone and not with her
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KRIS KRISTOFFERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lonotalonota5779
Nah, never involved in a union dispute. Also the RR company blamed his death on negligence. As a result, they dodged a lawsuit for failing to maintai9n a safe environment and his widow was screwed out of compensation for her husbands death, she settled in court but still.. If anything he should be a sympathetic character. Utah Phillips got this one wrong.@@stinkmonger
From wikipedia:
Illinois Central Railroad report on accident
A conductor's report filed five hours after the accident stated, "Engineer on No.1 failed to answer flagman who was out proper distance. It is supposed he did not see the flag." This was the position the IC held in its official reports.[6]
The final IC accident report was released on July 13, 1900, by A.S. Sullivan, the general superintendent of IC. It stated that "Engineer Jones was solely responsible having disregarded the signals given by Flagman Newberry." John M. Newberry was the flagman on the southbound No. 83 that Jones hit. According to the report, he had gone out a distance of 3,000 feet (910 m), where he had placed warning torpedoes on the rail. He continued north a further distance of 500 to 800 feet (150 to 240 m), where he stood and gave signals to Jones's train No.1. Historians and the press had questions about the official findings.
In the report Fireman Sim Webb states that he heard the torpedo explode before going to the gangway on the engineer's side and seeing the flagman with the red and white lights standing alongside the tracks. Going to the fireman's side, he saw the markers of the caboose of No. 83 and yelled to Jones. But it would have been impossible for him to have seen the flagman if the flagman had been positioned 500–800 feet (150–240 m) before the torpedoes as the report says he was. In any event, some railroad historians have disputed the official account over the years, finding it difficult if not impossible to believe that an engineer of Jones's experience would have ignored a flagman and fusees (flares) and torpedoes exploded on the rail to alert him to danger.
Contrary to what the report claimed, shortly after the accident and until his death Webb maintained, "We saw no flagman or fusees, we heard no torpedoes. Without any warning we plowed into that caboose."[6][7]
Other people involved
Jones's African-American fireman Simeon T. Webb (born May 12, 1874), died in Memphis on July 13, 1957,[12] at age 83.
Jones's widow, Janie Brady Jones (born October 29, 1866), died on November 21, 1958, in Jackson at age 92.[13] At the time of Jones' death at age 37, his son Charles was 12, his daughter Helen was 10 and his youngest son John Lloyd (known as "Casey Junior") was 4.
Jones's wife received $3,000 in insurance payments (Jones was a member of two unions, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and had a $1,500 policy with each union), and later settled with IC for an additional $2,650 (Earl Brewer, a Water Valley attorney who would later serve as Governor of Mississippi, represented her in the settlement).[7] Other than these payments, Mrs. Jones received nothing as a result of the wreck or Jones's service with the railroad, as the Railroad Retirement Fund was not established until 1937.
Jones's wife said she never had any thought of remarrying.[14] She wore black nearly every day for the rest of her life.[6]
Jones's tombstone in Jackson's Mount Calvary Cemetery gives his birth year as 1864, but according to information his mother wrote in the family Bible, he was born in 1863. The tombstone was donated in 1947 by two out-of-town railroad enthusiasts who accidentally got his birth year wrong. Until then, a simple wooden cross had marked his grave.[6]
_Man was screwed over in death.
@launcesmechanist9578
Fun fact: Casey Jones had a special steam whistle made for his locomotive. Whenever he pulled a night or early morning train, it was said the whistle was so loud people in bed would turn over in their sleep and so distinctive they all would say 'There goes Casey down the line.'
@launcesmechanist9578
@colins bike 2.0 Never said ‘funny’ said fun as in ‘interesting’.
@CorporalGrievous93
That is 100% a fun fact. Very interesting
@johnnyman2268
Sim Webb was interviewed about the incident in which Jones was killed. Don’t know how much truth and legend are mixed in this song. It is a great song though. Love that whistle!
@joel.ha.
Imagine being such a legend that you can go around intentionally waking up entire towns and they just say "there he goes"
@lisaduran2243
😊
@billcox8870
The man in black is a musical legend and an American icon. I am sad that he's gone but I am glad that he was here
@IHateAmer1ca
I'm*
@El_Rebelde_Toro
@@IHateAmer1ca He spelled right.
@ivanaycock1485
@@IHateAmer1ca no I am he spelled it right in plus why do u have to do that tbh that kinda mean