Folsom Prison Blues (1968) – Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash is all present here: the rolling, train-like rhythm, the hypnotic repetition of the melody, his deep, raw Southern voice. “Folsom Prison Blues” is not only one of his hallmark songs, it’s also one that cemented his status as the archetypal outlaw country artist.

A song by Gordon Jenkins called Crescent City Blues written in 1953, was the source for Johnny’s Folsom Prison Blues, but our outlaw Johnny Cash avoided openly acknowledging the extent of the borrowing for many years. Johnny first recorded the song in 1955, and it was included on his debut record Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!. It might just be me, but as far as album titles go, that one leaves me cold.

1st verse of Crecent City Blues:

I hear the train a-comin, it’s rolling ’round the bend
And I ain’t been kissed lord since I don’t know when
The boys in Crescent City don’t seem to know I’m here
That lonesome whistle seems to tell me, Sue, disappear

Cash said he was inspired to write the song after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force. But what he clearly did was change some of the words of Crescent City Blues to make it an outlaw country tale, while reshaping the melody and turning it musically into a country rockabilly train song. That’s still no small feat, but remarkably Johnny didn’t originally give Jenkins credit and was later accused of plagiarising Crescent City Blues. Oh, that reminds me – a lot of the information in this article comes from the Wikipedia reference below.

The recording below is from when Cash performed it live to a crowd of inmates at California’s Folsom State Prison in 1968 for his live album At Folsom Prison. I presented another song from this legendary performance last year called Cocaine Blues. It was this live version of Folsom Prison Blues that became a major hit, reaching No. 1 on the country charts and No. 32 on the Billboard. This version also won the Grammy Awards for Best Country Vocal Performance.

In the early 1970s, after the song became hugely successful, Cash paid Jenkins a settlement of around US$75,000 following a lawsuit. When photographer Jim Marshall asked Cash why the song’s main character was serving time in California’s Folsom Prison after shooting a man in Reno, he responded, “That’s called poetic license.”

Cash opened almost all of his concerts with “Folsom Prison Blues” after greeting the audience with his trademark introduction, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” for decades.

Rolling Stone ranked it number 51 on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.

[Verse 1]
I hear the train a-comin’, it’s rolling ’round the bend
And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when
I’m stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin’ on
But that train keeps a-rollin’ on down to San Antone

[Verse 2]
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

[Verse 3]
I bet there’s rich folks eatin’ in a fancy dining car
They’re probably drinkin’ coffee and smoking big cigars
Well, I know I had it coming, I know I can’t be free
But those people keep a-movin’, and that’s what tortures me

[Verse 4]
Well, if they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine
I bet I’d move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom prison, that’s where I want to stay
And I’d let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away

References:
1. Folsom Prison Blues – Wikipedia