The Wall
Johnny Cash / June Carter Cash Lyrics

There's a lot of strange men in cell block ten
There are many unusual individuals in this prison block.

But the strangest of them all
Among all the prisoners, the one that stood out as the most unique was my friend.

Was a friend of mine who spent his time
The aforementioned individual was someone I knew well, and he spent his days doing the following:

Staring at the wall
Gazing blankly at the wall in front of him.

Staring at the wall
Continuing to observe the wall.

As he looked at the wall
While he was examining the wall,

So strong and tall
A wall which seemed impenetrable and towering.

You could hear him softly curse
He would occasionally mumble curses under his breath,

Nobody at all ever climbed that wall
Despite the many inmates throughout history, no one had ever succeeded in scaling the wall.

But I'm gonna be the first
However, my friend expressed complete certainty in his ability to accomplish it:

I'm gonna be the first
He was determined to be the initial person to accomplish said feat.

Well the warden walked by and said son don't try
A prison official informed my friend not to make the attempt:

I'd hate to see you fall
As it would be unpleasant if he were to fail and get injured.

For there is no doubt they'll carry you out
The warden ensured him that regardless of the outcome, he would need to leave the area.

If you ever touch that wall
In the event that he attempted to climb the wall.

Well a years went by since .....that's the truth
Several years have passed since this conversation.

Well a years gone (them mean bastards ain't they?)
A few years have gone by since the previous exchange (and those jailers are unpleasant, aren't they?).

Well a years gone by since he made his try
It has been at least a year since he attempted to climb the wall.

But I can still recall
Nevertheless, I still remember the following:

How hard he tried and the way he died
He put forth a great deal of effort yet failed, and the cause of his death was as follows:

But he never made that wall
He was unsuccessful in his attempt to scale the wall.

Well there's never been a man ever shook this can
The can ('jail') has never been disrupted in the past.

But I knew a man who tried
However, I was acquainted with a person who gave it a shot.

The newspapers called it a jailbreak plan
The media referred to his action as a prison escape plan.

But I know it was suicide
I, on the other hand, am aware that it was an act of self-destruction.