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.
Crazy
Johnny Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Women come knock on my door
I've lived to the limit
Maybe a little bit more
There are so many stories
About how I got out of control
Some say its a woman
Some say its my troubled soul
I'm like a crazy old soldier
Fighting a war on my own
Just me and the wiskey
And the bottles are ten thousand strong
You'd think I'd give up as many times I've been hit
But like a crazy old soldier
I just don't know when to quit
Barrooms and bedrooms
Are just faces and places and names
Once for the pleasure
And Lord knows once for the pain
I've tried to forget her
And all the things that we've done
But as long as there are memories
I'll never hang up my gun
I'm like a crazy old soldier
Fighting a war on my own
Just me and the wiskey
And the bottles are ten thousand strong
You'd think I'd give up as many times as I've been hit
But like a crazy old soilder
I just don't know when to quit
that my love could hold you is a song by the legendary country artist Johnny Cash. The song, which was released in 1961, is one of Cash's most notable hits, and it remains popular today. The lyrics to the song are simple but powerful and speak to the emotions of loneliness, loss, and heartbreak.
The song tells the story of a person who is deeply in love with someone who he knows will eventually leave him. He is aware that the person he loves may not love him forever, and he feels crazy for continuing to love them. He is consumed by worry and anxiety, wondering what he did to drive his lover away. Despite his pain, he cannot stop loving this person, which makes him feel even crazier.
The song's melody and Johnny Cash's voice perfectly capture the emotional pain and longing in the lyrics. The melody is simple and haunting, and Cash's deep and resonant voice adds to the emotional impact of the song. The song is a classic country ballad that has been covered by many artists over the years.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm crazy, crazy for feeling so lonely
I feel the weight of loneliness intensely, and it makes me feel insane.
I'm crazy crazy for feeling so blue
I'm feeling extremely sad and hopeless, and it's making me feel insane.
I knew that you'd love me as long as you wanted
I believed that you would love me forever, until you decided you no longer wanted to.
And then some day you'd leave me for somebody new
I knew that someday you would leave me for another person.
Worry, why do I let myself worry
I am constantly worried, and I can't seem to help it.
Wondering what in the world did I do
I'm constantly questioning my own actions, trying to understand what I did wrong.
I'm crazy for thinking that my love could hold you
I realize now that it was foolish for me to believe that my love alone could keep you with me.
I'm crazy for trying and crazy for crying
I'm feeling out of control in my attempts to keep you, and my emotions are overwhelming me.
And I'm crazy for loving you
Despite everything, I still love you and can't seem to help it.
I'm crazy for thinking that my love could hold you
I understand now that my love is not enough to keep you with me.
But now I see that I was just fooling myself
I know now that my beliefs about our love were based on my own illusions.
And I'm crazy for crying over you
I am overwhelmed with sadness and can't help but cry over losing you.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TROY HAROLD SEALS, PAUL HARDY KENNERLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@frankanaria1
I love all of this music, it's great and the best..
@aliciahernandez2914
Beautiful
@musicisart2
there's an mp3 out there that has an intro/outro - starts with Nelson riffing out (on Cash's guitar) and Cash say's..."hmm, that's the 1st time that guitar's ever been played" and then at the end Nelson telling the story of the original title being "stupid, but it didn't sound very euphonious" - think it's from one Cash's TV show
@tonymontana3949
I remember this when download from limewire
@yudimandel
It's actually a track from this album
@Wysefool
yes I have the album I think it's VH1 with the two of them
@mannerforspammer
I dont like how they both sang it because its two men singing about love:/ just seems a bit weird to me
@thommytaranto
What a homophobic thing to say. It's 2014 you fuckwit.
@PedroSantos00
mannerforspammer O único detalhe é que Johnny não cantou nesta música.
@MetalMarauder
I’d expect nothing less from an idiot trumper