Posted on 09/12/2003 5:20:45 AM PDT by Conspiracy Guy
Farewell
We all know that boy named Sue, And heard that train a comin. We all loved his craggy voice, And the guitar he was strummin. We'll miss ol John but he'll be here, We'll hear him in our hearts. He's gone home to be with June, And now the music starts.
Flurry 9/12/3
Go back and read/listen through the first 100 posts.
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JimRob, we're about the same age, similar backgrounds (wild youth ... military at a young age), and I'm certain you are very familiar with Johnny Cash's music. I hope you don't mind me using so much of FR's bandwidth with all these songs.
Every time I hear "Folsom Prison Blues", I'm transported back in time to another place -- 1971, Hill 270, Central Highlands, VN. I was basically an FO, for DivArty, but used a high-tech (for it's time) integrated instrument system, atop a tower, on an isolated firebase, to find targets visually, get coordinates and range, call in arty or air strikes, and adjust fire. Operational 24/7, regardless of weather conditions. Most evenings after chow, several of the infantry soldiers, whose one-man dug-in hootches were located around the base of the tower, would gather and sit on the sandbags atop those hootches and have a few beers while listening to cassette tapes on a small, battery powered player. I knew all of them and was always off duty, since I always had the after midnight shift in the tower. Johnny Cash's Greatest Hits tape was played every night, usually several times. An Infantry Master Sergeant, who was finishing his 30 year career with a third tour in VN (along with 3 years in WWII and 1 and a half years in Korea), would always appear out of nowhere, it seemed, whenever the Johnny Cash tape was played. He was well liked and highly respected by all, and would join us for a few beers -- regulations cast to the wind. He'd sing along with Johnny on 'Folsom Prison', his favorite. He had a deep, gravelly voice that could put fear into any man -- or inspire confidence and courage. To this day, when I hear Johnny Cash singing "I hear the a comin', it's rollin' aroun' the bend, and I ain't seen the sunshine since .... I don't know when ..............", I hear MSG Davis growlin' out his accompaniment, and a fine one it was.
A good example of why I so rarely post replies.
Dec. 4, 1956: Carl Perkins (second from left) was cutting some records
at Sun Studio when Elvis dropped in. So did Cash (right). Jerry Lee Lewis
was already there. Elvis headed for the piano, and the jam session began.
(Gomemphis.com)
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In the fifties, that photo was called "The Million Dollar Quartet".
There's an online slideshow, 11 photos, at the following link. Once you're there on that website, look to the right of the story and see Related Links and the purple link 'Slideshow: Johnny Cash, 1932-2003'.
Man in black came out of Sun to sing for all - GoMemphis.com
All the songs I posted here, and many more, are in that great compilation.
September 13, 2003
NOTABLE SONGS
1955: Cry, Cry, Cry
1956: Folsom Prison Blues; I Walk the Line; Get Rhythm
1957: Next in Line; Home of the Blues; Give My Love to Rose
1958: Ballad of a Teenage Queen; Big River; Guess Things Happen That Way; The Ways of a Woman in Love
1959: Don't Take Your Guns to Town; I Got Stripes; Five Feet High and Rising
1961: Tennessee Flat-Top Box
1963: Ring of Fire
1964: Understand Your Man; The Ballad of Ira Hayes; It Ain't Me, Babe, with June Carter
1965: Orange Blossom Special
1967: Jackson, with June Carter; Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man, with June Carter
1968: Daddy Sang Bass
1969: A Boy Named Sue
1970: If I Were a Carpenter, with June Carter Cash; What is Truth; Sunday Morning Coming Down
1971: Man in Black
1972: A Thing Called Love; If I Had a Hammer, with June Carter
1974: Ragged Old Flag
1976: One Piece at a Time
1978: There Ain't No Good Chain Gang, with Waylon Jennings
1979: I Will Rock and Roll With You; (Ghost) Riders in the Sky
1985: Desperados Waiting for a Train; Highwayman, with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson
1994: Delia's Gone
2002: Hurt
NOTABLE LYRICS
I Walk the Line
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.
Folsom Prison Blues
When I was just a baby, my mama told me, "Son,/ Always be a good boy; don't ever play with guns."/ But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die./ When I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and cry.
I Still Miss Someone
At my door the leaves are falling/ A cold wild wind has come/ Sweethearts walk by together/ And I still miss someone./ I go out on a party./ And look for a little fun/ But I find a darkened corner/ because I still miss someone.
Ring of Fire
Love is a burning thing/ And it makes a fiery ring/ Bound by wild desire/ I fell into a ring of fire.
I fell into a burning ring of fire,/ I went down down down,/ and the flames went higher,/ and it burns, burns, burns,/ that ring of fire, that ring of fire.
A Boy Named Sue
My daddy left home when I was three/ And he didn't leave much to ma and me,/ Just this ol' guitar and an empty bottle of booze. / Now, I don't blame him 'cause he run and hid/ But the meanest thing that he ever did/ Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Sunday Morning Coming Down
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,/ so I had one more, for dessert./ Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes/ And found my cleanest dirty shirt. ... On a Sunday morning sidewalk/ I'm wishing Lord that I was stoned/ 'Cause there's something in a Sunday/ That makes a body feel alone./ And there's nothin' short of dyin'/ That's half as lonesome as the sound/ Of a sleepin' city sidewalk/ And Sunday mornin' comin' down.
It was my pleasure to post links to some of his songs.
You have FReepmail.
Eagle
Howdy ! I saw you're helping expose the Libs along with SonsOfLiberty2000 on that threat. Great !I found this link on your profile page and thought I'd drop in to post this.
Rest in peace, Johnny Cash ...
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