Peace In The Valley
Johnny Cash And The Tennessee Three Lyrics


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Oh well, I'm tired and so weary
But I must go alone
Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes
Well the morning's so bright
And the lamp is alight
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me

Well the bear will be gentle
And the wolves will be tame
And the lion shall lay down with the lamb, oh yes
And the beasts from the wild
Will be lit by a child
And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, dear Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow




No trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Johnny Cash & The Carter Family's song "Peace In The Valley" speak of a tired and weary soul who longs for a peaceful existence. The first verse expresses a sense of loneliness as the singer feels they must go on this journey alone until the Lord calls them home. The second verse paints a picture of opposites – the brightness of morning and the darkness of night. The chorus offers hope for the future, where there will be peace and no more sadness, sorrow or trouble.


The third verse uses imagery from the book of Isaiah in the Bible, where enemies will become friends and predators will no longer attack their prey. The line "And the beasts from the wild will be lit by a child" refers to a verse in Isaiah that reads, "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain" (Isaiah 65:25, ESV). The final line of this verse "And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am" speaks to the transformative power of peace and the hope that one day we can all become better versions of ourselves.


Overall, the song speaks to the human desire for peace in a world often marked by conflict, pain, and suffering.


Line by Line Meaning

Oh well, I'm tired and so weary
I am exhausted and drained both physically and mentally.


But I must go alone
I must travel alone on this journey.


Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes
I will continue until the time of my departure comes when the Lord calls upon me.


Well the morning's so bright
The daylight is shining bright, dazzling and colorful.


And the lamp is alight
The light from the lamp is a guide, and it is shining brightly.


And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes
At night, the darkness is as deep and dense as the ocean.


There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
I am hopeful that one day there will be peace in my surroundings.


There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
I pray to the Lord that there will be peace in my life and surroundings.


There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
There will be no anguish nor despair.


No trouble I see
I will not confront any problems or challenges.


There will be peace in the valley for me, for me
Peace will come upon me regardless of my sins and shortcomings.


Well the bear will be gentle
The fierce wild bear will become mild and gentle.


And the wolves will be tame
Even the untamed ferocious wolves will be transformed and subdued.


And the lion shall lay down with the lamb, oh yes
The king of the beasts, a lion, will lay with a harmless lamb, displaying peace and harmony.


And the beasts from the wild
Even the wildest animals and beasts-


Will be lit by a child
Will be guided and pacified by a child.


And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes
As a result of this change, I myself shall be transformed into a new being, free of the evil habits that afflict me currently.




Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: THOMAS A. DORSEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@triplucid3563

“I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing.
Because you are too old or too young or too fat or too slim or too ugly or too this or too that.
Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck or hard travelling.
I am out to fight those songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood.
I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color,
what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work...
And the songs that I sing are made up for the most part by all sorts of folks just about like you. I could hire out to the other side, the big money side, and get several dollars every week just to quit singing my own kind of songs and to sing the kind that knock you down still farther,
and the ones that poke fun at you even more and the ones that make you think that you've not got any sense at all. But I decided a long time ago that I'd starve to death before I'd sing any such songs as that.
The radio waves and your movies and your jukeboxes and your songbooks are already loaded down and running over with such no good songs as that anyhow.”
― Woody Guthrie



@faisalmj7283

Oh well, I'm tired and so weary
But I must go alone
Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes
Well the morning's so bright
And the lamp is alight
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes
There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me
Well the bear will be gentle
And the wolves will be tame
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes
And the beasts from the wild
Shall be lit by a child
And I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes
There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me



All comments from YouTube:

@tylerlucas1936

These old songs have a soul that today's christian music severely lacks. They just sing it, the old gospel singers felt it and sent it to all of us!

@froter1

I met Johnny in Pensacola 1969 ... he was staying at the same Holiday Inn as we were ... we ending up playing in his room with acoustic guitars and just singing away ... this is one we sang ❤️

@Enaz19

if thats true thats amazing

@gooniesneversaydie3699

What an incredible night

@saveamerica3393

Awesome

@vladimirvladimir4952

Dear sir, you are a really really lucky man!

@jamescarrington5521

I once had this album as a kid, about 8 or 9 years old....my mom's friend, Peggy Carpenter, gave it to me....along with so many other great albums, like Melanie Safka's "Candles in the Rain" album (finally got to meet her a few years ago!) ALL of The Four Seasons' albums (she had many of those) and so many other albums that she gave me....Lovin' Spoonful, Aretha Franklin (I actually got to meet her, too!) I think there was a Tom Jones album in there, on and on. Peggy was always plugged in to whatever was currently hot, of course, but this was a woman who, if she had an extra 10 or 15 minutes in her day, would stop at a church, light a candle for someone, often recently passed, but definitely not always, and she'd pray. She's gone now, but she will never be forgotten to me. This brings back so many memories.

3 More Replies...

@inspirationmovemebrightly9627

Mother Maybell and the Carter sisters are absolutely beautiful. Those harmonies give me chills every time.

@rossmorebaz

he was just one of the coolest men that ever lived.. he had such presence.. what an amazing talent Johnny was

@iwannacausetrouble2700

And the carter family

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