Johnny Cash: The Life

I am abashed to say it but what turned me on to Johnny Cash was the trailer for Walk The Line. The summer of 2005 was one of my darkest most lonely periods. I was a camp counselor at an affluent all boys 9 week camp in northern Wisconsin. I hated the entitlement of the boys, I hated the elitism of my co-workers(most former campers), and I hated the dirty mediocrity of the grounds. I felt trapped. Three weeks in I crashed and totaled my beloved 1999 Buick Regal in the woods while driving under the influence. I was almost fired but was allowed to stay through the remainder of my contract. I was in a hellish purgatory. Stranded and alone I found my solace in movies. The Woodruff movie theater offered little in the way of variety, with nothing else to do and with a blossoming depression I went to Stealth. Easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Before the movie they ran the preview for the Johnny Cash biopic. I saw a solitary man dressed in black and heard the haunting beginnings of the track Folsom Prison Blues. I was inspired. I felt like someone was telling my story.


When the summer was over I got a pair of black cowboy boots, a couple black button ups, and a couple pairs of black slacks. I wore all black almost every day for a year. I began to voraciously consume as much Johnny Cash music as I could. From the original Sun records to the American records. I began to learn his songs on guitar. He became my hero. The music and the man resonated with me- love, loneliness, rebellion, addiction, compassion, struggle, and redemption.


I still wear black often and listen to Johnny Cash but his influence has become more internal. He contributed to my sense of justice and individuality. I still turn to his music for comfort and motivation. I recently finished the biography Johnny Cash The Life which was exhaustive in its detail. The most interesting was the extensive discography- why songs were written, what inspired them, what influence they had. The most surprising thing was the debunking of certain Cash myths. His sobriety and fidelity were the two big ones. It was unsettling.


This past week I burned the midnight oil racing through the book. I couldn't put it down. I learned more about the real life of Johnny Cash. The truth from the fiction. A line often repeated in the book is "he never let the facts get in the way of a good story" and after reading it I decided I like the fiction better. Whatever the ups and downs in the personal life of Johnny Cash, whatever his flaws, they ultimately don't change or undermine what he means to me. It doesn't change the singular way in which I hear his music. Doesn't effect his artistic impact. And for the man and the music I will be eternally grateful.