Cash released her first single in 1979, a duet with Bobby Bare called "We Don't Need No Memories Hangin' 'Round". Two years later, she had her first country No. 1 (and the biggest commercial hit of her career), "Seven Year Ache". Although Cash was a prominent country star throughout the '80s, alongside fellow decade-defining artists Emmylou Harris, Juice Newton, and Dolly Parton, her music was anything but traditional: She topped the charts with songs written not only by herself, but by her father ("Tennessee Flat Top Box"), John Hiatt ("The Way We Make a Broken Heart"), Tom Petty ("Never Be You") and the Beatles ("I Don't Want to Spoil the Party"), "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me", which won her a Grammy in 1985, and "It's Such a Small World", a 1987 duet with Rodney Crowell on his album Diamonds & Dirt, provided further hits. A sampling of these songs and more are included on the compilation Hits 1979-1989. In 1979, she married Rodney Crowell, who was to produce most of her hit records. Their stormy marriage lasted until 1992; its break-up is chronicled in Cash's Interiors and in Crowell's album Life Is Messy. Cash later married John Leventhal, who produced her albums The Wheel, 10 Song Demo, Rules of Travel, and Black Cadillac.
To date, Cash has had more than twenty top 40 country singles, including eleven chart-toppers, but none since 1990, and she has left Nashville in both spirit and body to pursue her artistic vision. Although she had recorded all of her hits for Columbia Records' Nashville division, she released 10 Song Demo for the pop division of Capitol. Cash resurfaced in 2003 with Rules of Travel. The album features guest appearances by Sheryl Crow and Steve Earle, as well as a tune penned by Joe Henry and the Wallflowers' Jakob Dylan. Cash's latest album, entitled Black Cadillac, was released by Capitol Records in January 2006 to critical acclaim. Many of the songs were written by Cash and address the losses (within a 24-month span) of her step-mother, her father, her step-sister (Rosey Nix Adams) and then finally her mother on Cash's fiftieth birthday.
Long Black Veil
Rosanne Cash Lyrics
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Someone was killed 'neath the town hall lights.
There were few at the scene, but they all did agreed,
That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me.
The Judge said son, what is your alibi,
If you were somewhere else, then you won't have to die.
I spoke not a word, though it meant my life,
[Chorus]
She walks these hills, in a long black veil.
She visits my grave, when the night winds wail.
Nobody knows, nobody sees,
Nobody knows, but me
The scaffold is high, and eternity near.
She stood in the crowd, and shed not a tear.
But some times at night, when the cold wind moans
In a long black veil, she cries over my bones
[Chorus]
Nobody knows, nobody sees,
Nobody knows, but me
Oooo
oh, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Long Black Veil by Rosanne Cash is a hauntingly beautiful and mysterious song about a man who is accused of a crime he didn't commit. The song begins with the story of a cold dark night when someone is killed under the town hall lights. The singer is then accused of the killing, but he insists that he is innocent. Despite the lack of evidence and the presence of other suspects at the scene, the judge demands an alibi from the singer. The singer remains silent, knowing that his alibi would incriminate him as he had been in his best friend's wife's arms on that fateful night.
Line by Line Meaning
Ten years ago on a cold dark night,
Remembrance of a tragic event that happened long ago.
Someone was killed 'neath the town hall lights.
A person was murdered in a public place.
There were few at the scene, but they all did agreed,
Eyewitnesses corroborated the event.
That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me.
The killer resembled the artist.
The Judge said son, what is your alibi,
Authority seeks the artist's justification.
If you were somewhere else, then you won't have to die.
The singer's freedom hinges on an alibi.
I spoke not a word, though it meant my life,
The singer's silence conveys an unspoken truth.
For I'd been in the arms of my best friends wife.
The artist was having an affair with his friend's wife, making him a likely culprit.
She walks these hills, in a long black veil.
The mistress mourns or wanders in isolation, disguised in black.
She visits my grave, when the night winds wail.
She has a connection to the artist even after death, often visiting his grave.
Nobody knows, nobody sees,
The affair was kept a secret.
Nobody knows, but me
The artist is the only one who knows the truth about his innocence.
The scaffold is high, and eternity near.
The ominous presence of a high scaffold looming suggests dark times, with the end of life approaching.
She stood in the crowd, and shed not a tear.
The mistress shows no remorse or sadness, possibly indicating betrayal.
But some times at night, when the cold wind moans
At night, the mistress suffers greatly.
In a long black veil, she cries over my bones
The mistress breaks down while mourning the artist.
Nobody knows, nobody sees,
They keep their secrets hidden.
Nobody knows, but me
Again, only the singer knows what truly happened.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Danny Dill, Marijohn Wilkin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind