Folsom Prison Blues
| "Folsom Prison Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "So Doggone Lonesome" |
| "Folsom Prison Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Folsom Prison Blues" is an American country music song credited to Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career. It has become one of Cash's signature songs.
In the lyrics, the jailed protagonist listens to the whistle of a train outside his cell and recounts his crimes ("I shot a man in Reno/just to watch him die"), imagines the free people inside the train ("They're probably drinking coffee and smoking big cigars") and dreams of what he would do if he were free. "I know I had it coming/I know I can't be free," sings the imprisoned man. "But those people keep a'moving/and that's what tortures me."
History
Cash was inspired to write this song after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force. Cash recounted how he came up with the "Reno" line: "I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that's what came to mind."[1]
Another source for the song was Gordon Jenkins's 1953 Seven Dreams concept album, specifically the song "Crescent City Blues".[2] Cash used the same melody, and borrowed many of the lyrics without crediting or getting permission from Jenkins when he recorded the song, now entitled with his trio in 1955 for the Sun Records label. Jenkins later filed an infringement lawsuit and received a settlement after Cash's 1968 live recording achieved widespread success.
Cash included the song in his repertoire for decades. The definitive live performance is considered to be the opening song of a concert recorded at Folsom Prison itself on January 13, 1968. This version was eventually released on the At Folsom Prison album the same year. That opening song is more up-tempo than the Sun studio recording, as befits a concert-opening number. However, the recording's most notable feature — the whoops from the audience at the "Reno" line — was actually added in post-production, according to Michael Streissguth. A special on the Walk the Line DVD indicates that the prisoners were careful not to cheer at any of Cash's comments about the prison itself, fearing reprisal from guards.
Legacy
Cover versions
- Charley Pride covered the song on "Country Charley Pride" (RCA, 1966) before it hit number one on the charts.
- Brooks & Dunn, along with Cash himself, covered the song on the 1994 album Red Hot + Country, released by the Red Hot Organization. This cover is notable in that, unlike other Brooks & Dunn songs, both members of the duo (Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn) share lead vocals.
- Merle Haggard recorded the song on his 1968 Album Mama Tried
- The The International Submarine Band recorded the song on their only EP Safe at Home in 1968.
- Brad Paisley has been known to cover this song at some of his shows.
- The song was covered by Screaming Jets on their 1992 EP Living in England.
- The band Reverend Horton Heat covered the song on their 1999 greatest hits album, Holy Roller.
- Keb Mo does a cover version of the song on a Johnny Cash tribute album. He changes the famous Reno line to "They say I shot a man down in Reno, but that was just a lie." In a later verse, instead of "I know I had it comin', I know I can't be free," he changes the lines to "I didn't hurt nobody, I should be roamin' free." He has stated that the original line "turned his stomach." [1]
- Kentucky based cowpunk band Nine Pound Hammer covered this song on their second album, Smokin' Taters!.
- Canadian country music singer George Canyon covered the song on his 2007 album Classics.
- Everlast covered the song on his album "Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford".
- Black Stone Cherry often play this song live, and it featured on their live album "Live At The Astoria".
- Volbeat uses the music as a tribute to Johnny Cash in the song "Sad Man's Tonque".
- Bob Dylan recorded a cover that has never been released commercially.
- Celtic rock band Blaggards blended the song with Pete St. John's "Fields of Athenry" to create a medley called "Prison Love Songs".
- The New York-based indie rock band Firewater covers Folsom Prison Blues on their 2004 album, Songs We Should Have Written.
- White supremecist band Kilgore covered the song on their debut album, .44 Magnum Opus.
- Slim Harpo recorded the song for Excello Records in 1969
Succession
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References
- Streissguth, Michael. Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece, Da Capo Press (2004). ISBN 0-306-81338-6.
Footnotes
- ^ Anecdotage.Com - Thousands of true funny stories about famous people. Anecdotes from Gates to Yeats
- ^ Los Angeles Times: Roots of Cash's hit tunes, Robert Hilburn, 22 August 2006
