Excerpt:
Though Cash battled drug addiction for much of his life, he held strong Christian beliefs and often quoted the Bible. (search) He was deeply sympathetic to the downtrodden -- whether American Indians or convicts -- and gave them voice in his songs.
His faith seemed to grow stronger as his body grew weaker, Turner wrote. In his final months, he had a light box that projected pages of the Bible onto a screen so he could read it. He also spoke regularly with Graham, "someone whom he'd always relied on as a rock to lean on in times of trouble," Turner wrote.
"I think that's the only way he made it," his niece Kelly Hancock said. "I think he had the utmost faith in God and he looked to God for his faith and direction."
As late as Aug. 14, he was in the studio working on a humorous song called "Asthma Coming Down Like the 309" and another song called "1 Corinthians 15:55" (Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?).
His last song, "Engine 143," was recorded Aug. 21 about an engineer rushing to get to the station on time. He crashes the train and dies, and the song ends with the words, "And the very last words poor Georgie said were, 'Nearer my God to thee."'