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.
Dirty Old Egg Suckin' Dog
Johnny Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh he's shaggy and he eats like a hog
And he's always killin' my chickens
That dirty old egg-suckin' dog
Egg-suckin' dog
I'm gonna stomp your head in the ground
If you don't stay out of my hen house
Now if he don't stop eatin' my eggs up
Though I'm not a real bad guy
I'm gonna get my riffle and send him
To that great chicken house in the sky
Egg-suckin' dog
Your always hangin' around
But you'd better stay out of my hen house
You dirty old egg-suckin' hound
In Johnny Cash's "Suckin' Dog," the lyrics tell a story of a farmer who is fed up with his neighbor's dog who constantly kills his chickens and eats their eggs. The farmer describes the dog as shaggy and disgusting, and vows to take action against it. He threatens to stomp the dog's head into the ground if it doesn't stay out of his hen house. Despite not considering himself a bad guy, he warns that if the dog keeps eating his chickens, he will have to take more drastic measures and shoot it with his rifle, sending it to the "great chicken house in the sky."
On a deeper level, the song may elicit metaphors for larger themes like oppression and resistance. The dog could symbolize an oppressive force, while the farmer represents one who resists it. The farmer's vengeful attitude towards the dog may imply feelings of anger towards a power that has dominated and taken resources for too long. Alternatively, the song could be interpreted as a simple story of a farmer protecting his livelihood, with no symbolic meaning intended.
Line by Line Meaning
Well he's not very handsome to look at
The dog in question is not aesthetically pleasing.
Oh he's shaggy and he eats like a hog
The dog's unkempt appearance and voracious appetite are unappealing.
And he's always killin' my chickens
The dog regularly kills the singer's chickens.
That dirty old egg-suckin' dog
The artist refers to the dog as a filthy animal that sucks the eggs out of chickens.
Egg-suckin' dog
The artist addresses the dog in a derogatory manner, emphasizing its chicken egg eating habits.
I'm gonna stomp your head in the ground
The singer threatens physical harm to the dog as retaliation for its actions.
If you don't stay out of my hen house
The singer demands that the dog stop entering their hen house.
You dirty old egg-suckin' hound
The artist continues to deride the dog for its behavior.
Now if he don't stop eatin' my eggs up
The artist discusses potential consequences for the dog's continued egg-eating habits.
Though I'm not a real bad guy
The artist wants to establish that they are not a cruel person, despite the threat made to the dog.
I'm gonna get my riffle and send him
The singer intends to shoot the dog with a firearm.
To that great chicken house in the sky
The artist intends to kill the dog and send it to the afterlife where it will no longer harm chickens.
Your always hangin' around
The singer continues to criticize the dog's persistent presence in their property.
But you'd better stay out of my hen house
The singer reiterates their demand that the dog stop entering their hen house.
You dirty old egg-suckin' hound
The singer repeats their derogatory term for the dog as a final insult.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JACK CLEMENT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@flatusm
My dad had the Johnny Cash Everybody Loves a Nut album when I was a baby, in 1966 I was four. By the time I was six or seven, my brother and I had our little record player with a built in speaker, to play our Read-Along books and Disney records. We wore the Cash album out playing it. Luckily Father wasn't too enamored of it.
If you get a chance, play that whole album, it is the best kid's comedy album every recorded.
Last night I was tossing some eggshells out of the sink from the pasta salad, and my wife's little dogs came in the kitchen. They always come in when I'm cooking, and it insults me because they expect me to cook sloppy and drop stuff on the floor for them. As if. So I tell them without thinking, "You best get out of my kitchen, you dirty little egg suckin dogs." and BAM my brain went back fifty years and I started singing this song (very well, I can do the same low key as Cash now that I'm old).
My high school sons came out and just looked at me. Like I was a biology experiment gone bad, needing to be washed down the drain. So I sang louder. Then I went in the bedroom where my wife was relaxing and brought her the salad to taste for spices, and I was still rasping the song out. Surprisingly, she approved, but never heard the song before.
I'm going to cut me an mp3 of this and blast it in the Chrysler on the way to work, loud enough to make the mirror blur and singing along to troll the other commuters. Amen.
@joshuabrooks4907
Johnny Cash was probably better known for his story songs, but every once in a while, he could make you laugh with songs like this one, a boy named sue, one piece at a time, and chicken in black.
@StiffyTheBand
Jack Clement wrote this.
@williammontroy9024
His best was 25 minutes to go lol
@drcatdog216
I always liked Boa Constrictor
@luv2lindy
@DrCatDog I JUST discovered Boa Constrictor in the old 45 in the records I inherited. I saw the title Boa Constrictor, and I figured it wasn't the same song. Dropped the needle and moments later, that gem started playing and I was grinning from ear to ear. Saw the title of the album it was from and started checking out what other odd songs he's sung and ended up here. Fun little rabbit hole to explore.
@deeptruthfordeepwounds3706
Boy named Sue was actually written by Shel Silverstein, along with 25 Minutes to Go
@flatusm
My dad had the Johnny Cash Everybody Loves a Nut album when I was a baby, in 1966 I was four. By the time I was six or seven, my brother and I had our little record player with a built in speaker, to play our Read-Along books and Disney records. We wore the Cash album out playing it. Luckily Father wasn't too enamored of it.
If you get a chance, play that whole album, it is the best kid's comedy album every recorded.
Last night I was tossing some eggshells out of the sink from the pasta salad, and my wife's little dogs came in the kitchen. They always come in when I'm cooking, and it insults me because they expect me to cook sloppy and drop stuff on the floor for them. As if. So I tell them without thinking, "You best get out of my kitchen, you dirty little egg suckin dogs." and BAM my brain went back fifty years and I started singing this song (very well, I can do the same low key as Cash now that I'm old).
My high school sons came out and just looked at me. Like I was a biology experiment gone bad, needing to be washed down the drain. So I sang louder. Then I went in the bedroom where my wife was relaxing and brought her the salad to taste for spices, and I was still rasping the song out. Surprisingly, she approved, but never heard the song before.
I'm going to cut me an mp3 of this and blast it in the Chrysler on the way to work, loud enough to make the mirror blur and singing along to troll the other commuters. Amen.
@8ballgaming732
God bless you wherever you are Mr.Fart
@wildhaaschic11
My Dad had this album decades ago, I used to listen to it ALL of the time. EPIC & Timeless Artist.
@daviddriggers4729
This is one obscure song that should have been mainstream. I belive that this was one of Johnny Cash's best songs if only people only gave it a chance.