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.
Cocaine Blues
Johnny Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I took a shot of cocaine and shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that lovin' forty-four beneath my head.
Got up next mornin' and I grabbed that gun
Took a shot of cocaine and away I run
Made a good run but I run too slow
Laid in the hot joint takin' the pill
In walked a sheriff from Jericho Hill
He said Willy Lee your name is not Jack Brown
You're the dirty hack that shot your woman down.
Say yes oh yes my name is Willie Lee
If you've got a warrant just read it to me
Shot her down because she made me slow
I thought I was her daddy but she had five more.
When I was arrested I was dressed in black
They put me on a train and they took me back
Had no friends for to go my bail
They slapped my dried up carcass in the county jail.
Early next morning about a half past nine
I spied a sheriff comin' down the line
Coughed and coughed as he cleared his throat
He said come on you dirty hack into that district court
Into the court room my trial began
Where I was handled by twelve honest men
Just before the jury started out
I saw that little judge commence to look about.
In about five minutes in walked a man
Holding the verdict in his right hand
The verdict read in the first degree
I hollered Lordy Lordy have mercy on me
The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen
Ninety nine years in the Folsom pen
Ninety nine years underneath that ground
I can't forget today I shot that bad bitch down
Come on you gotta listen unto me
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be
These man have receptions. Matlock, eight five oh six three two
And Batshelter, eight three nine eight seven nine
They have receptions
I doubt that.
The lyrics of Johnny Cash's song "Cocaine Blues" tell a story of a man named Willy Lee who shot his woman down after taking a shot of cocaine. He went to bed with the gun beneath his head and the next morning took another shot of cocaine before fleeing. However, he was later captured in Juarez, Mexico and put in jail for killing his woman. In the court, he admitted to killing his woman but explained that she made him slow, and he thought he was her daddy before finding out she had five more.
The song is a classic example of the "murder ballad" genre, which was popular in country music in the early 20th century. It tells a tragic story of a man who commits a terrible crime and ends up paying for it. The song highlights the dangers of drug abuse and its potential consequences. It also shows how the law can bring justice to those who commit violent crimes.
Line by Line Meaning
Early one mornin' while makin' the rounds
The singer was making his usual rounds in the morning
I took a shot of cocaine and shot my woman down
He shot his woman after taking cocaine
I went right home and I went to bed
After shooting his woman, he went home and slept
I stuck that lovin' forty-four beneath my head.
He kept his gun under his head while sleeping
Got up next mornin' and I grabbed that gun
In the morning, he took his gun
Took a shot of cocaine and away I run
He took cocaine before running away
Made a good run but I run too slow
He tried to escape but was caught
They overtook me down in Juarez, Mexico.
He was caught in Juarez, Mexico
Laid in the hot joint takin' the pill
He was in jail and taking drugs
In walked a sheriff from Jericho Hill
A sheriff entered from Jericho Hill
He said Willy Lee your name is not Jack Brown
The sheriff addressed the singer as Willy Lee instead of Jack Brown
You're the dirty hack that shot your woman down.
The sheriff accused the artist of killing his woman
Say yes oh yes my name is Willie Lee
The singer confirmed that his name is Willie Lee
If you've got a warrant just read it to me
He asked the sheriff to show him the warrant
Shot her down because she made me slow
He killed his woman because he thought she was seeing other men
I thought I was her daddy but she had five more.
The artist thought he was the only man in his woman's life, but she had multiple partners
When I was arrested I was dressed in black
He was wearing black clothes when he was arrested
They put me on a train and they took me back
He was taken back on a train
Had no friends for to go my bail
He had no one to pay his bail
They slapped my dried up carcass in the county jail.
He was put in the county jail
Early next morning about a half past nine
The following morning at 9:30 AM
I spied a sheriff comin' down the line
He saw a sheriff walking towards him
Coughed and coughed as he cleared his throat
The sheriff cleared his throat by coughing
He said come on you dirty hack into that district court
The sheriff asked him to accompany him to the district court
Into the court room my trial began
His trial started in the courtroom
Where I was handled by twelve honest men
Twelve men judged him
Just before the jury started out
Before the jury made its decision
I saw that little judge commence to look about.
The judge looked around the court
In about five minutes in walked a man
A man walked in after five minutes
Holding the verdict in his right hand
The man held the verdict in his right hand
The verdict read in the first degree
The verdict was guilty
I hollered Lordy Lordy have mercy on me
He asked for mercy
The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen
The judge smiled before giving his verdict
Ninety nine years in the Folsom pen
He was sentenced to 99 years in Folsom prison
Ninety nine years underneath that ground
He would spend 99 years in prison and then be buried
I can't forget today I shot that bad bitch down
He couldn't forget the day he killed his woman
Come on you gotta listen unto me
He asked the listener to listen to him
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be
He warns against using cocaine and alcohol together
These man have receptions. Matlock, eight five oh six three two
This line is seemingly unrelated to the rest of the song and is likely an advertisement for a phone service
And Batshelter, eight three nine eight seven nine
This line is seemingly unrelated to the rest of the song and is likely an advertisement for a phone service
They have receptions
This line implies that the phone services have good receptions
I doubt that.
This line seems skeptical of the idea that phone services have good reception, but the singer's tone is not clear and it may be difficult to fully understand the intended meaning.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: William A Nichols, T.J. Arnall
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anonymous
on Wayfaring Stranger
Wayfaring Stranger - The New Appalachians - Lyrics
I am a poor wayfaring stranger
Traveling through this world alone
There will be no sickness, toil or danger
In that grand land to which I roam
Well I'm going home to see my mother
I'm going home to a morning rose
I'm only goin' over Jordan
I'm only goin' over home
Musical Interlude
I know dark clouds will gather 'round me
I know my way is rough and steep
And beautiful fields lie just before me
Where God's redeemed there vigils keep
Well I'm going home to see my brothers
I'm going home no more to roam
I'm only goin' over Jordan
I'm only goin' over home
Musical Interlude
I'm going home to see my Father
I'm going home no more to roam
I'm only goin' over Jordan
I’m only goin’ where no one roams
I want to wear that crown of glory
When I get to that good land
I want to shout out salvation story
In concert with that blood washed band.
I'm going there to see my saviour
I’ll see his face no more to roam
I'm only going over Jordan
I'm only going over home
I'm only goin' over home