[sparklite2]

I was wrong.  The article doesn't ignore Cash's drug problem.
However, in their efforts to shoehorn Jesus into JC's music
they seriously overreach.  Case in point, these lyrics:

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine.
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds.
Because you're mine, I walk the line.

From the article ---

That's just a touch deeper lyrically than "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll," both famously covered and performed by Elvis Presley. That's because Cash wasn't walking just any line. He was trying his best to walk a Christian line.

That's nice; but this stanza from the same song ---

I find it very very easy to be true.
I mind myself alone when each day's through.
Yes, I admit that I'm a fool for you.
Because you're mine, I walk the line.

Does that sound like he's pining for his soul, or an absent lover?

[HLPhat]

>>Does that sound like he’s pining for his soul, or an absent lover?

Or lamenting the metaphorical ties that bound him to a line of whatever and the deal he and many other “outlaws” made at some crossroads for fame and wherever?

I guess it could mean a lot of things - depending on the context.