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.
Cold Cold Heart
Johnny Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That you're my every dream
Yet you're afraid each thing I do
Is just some evil scheme
A memory from your lonesome past
Keeps us so far apart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
Another love before my time
Made your heart sad and blue
And so my heart is paying now
For things I didn't do
In anger, unkind words are said
That make the teardrops start
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
You'll never know how much it hurts
To see you sit and cry
You know, you need and want my love
Yet you're afraid to try
Why do you run and hide from life?
To try it just ain't smart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
There was a time when I believed
That you belonged to me
But now I know your heart is shackled
To a memory
The more I learn to care for you
The more we drift apart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
Johnny Cash’s “Cold, Cold Heart” is a hauntingly beautiful song that tells the tale of a protagonist attempting to woo and ultimately connect with his love interest. Despite all his efforts, the woman he adores remains convinced that he will hurt her just as she has been hurt before. As the song opens, the singer shares how he has poured his heart into demonstrating his love to his sweetheart. He is "trying so hard" to show that she is "his every dream", but she is convinced that he is simply trying to play some kind of game to hurt her.
The woman is haunted by a past lover who broke her heart and this past makes it challenging for her to let go of her doubts and trust the singer. The singer pleads with her to let him help her overcome her doubts and heed her heart’s desire. He understands that her reservations come from a painful experience that has left her “sad and blue." The singer recognizes that he is paying the price for the “cold, cold heart" of a former lover who has locked away his sweetheart's heart.
The chorus of the song (“Why can’t I free your doubtful mind, and melt your cold, cold heart?”) not only serves as the title but as a constant reminder that the singer is doing everything he can to connect with his love interest. Yet, the harder he tries, the more he realizes that the wounds in her past have created a barrier between them. Despite his heartache and the woman’s coded objections, the singer cannot give up on his love.
Line by Line Meaning
I tried so hard, my dear, to show
That you're my every dream
Yet you're afraid each thing I do
Is just some evil scheme
The singer has made every effort to convey his devotion to his beloved but she harbors distrustful thoughts about his intentions.
A memory from your lonesome past
Keeps us so far apart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
His partner’s bitter history with a previous partner still troubles her, keeping the current partners distant.
Another love before my time
Made your heart sad and blue
And so my heart is paying now
For things I didn't do
The partner’s previous relationship has impacted her significantly and unfairly causing distant relations with the singer.
In anger, unkind words are said
That make the teardrops start
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
Negative and cutting words are exchanged in conversations leading to emotional breakdowns, while the singer struggles to heal the partner’s wavering mind.
You'll never know how much it hurts
To see you sit and cry
You know, you need and want my love
Yet you're afraid to try
It hurts the singer immensely to see his partner in emotional distress even though she knows she needs his love, she is still unwilling to try.
Why do you run and hide from life?
To try it just ain't smart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
The singer wonders why his partner is hesitant to face life, and despite wanting to help, is unable to relieve her skeptical mind and cold heart.
There was a time when I believed
That you belonged to me
But now I know your heart is shackled
To a memory
There was a time when the singer thought of his partner as his, but now he understands that her immovable past is the reason her heart is bound in memory and away from him.
The more I learn to care for you
The more we drift apart
Why can't I free your doubtful mind
And melt your cold, cold heart?
The more the singer tries to care for his beloved, the further they drift away, leaving him to ponder why he cannot relieve her doubts or heartache.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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