[Verse 1]
The scene was a small roadside cafe
The waitress was sweeping the floor
Two truck-drivers drinking their coffee
And two okie-kids by the door
How much are them candies, they asked her
How much have you got, she replied
We have only a penny between us
Them’s two for a penny, she lied

[Chorus]
And the daylight grew heavy with thunder
And the smell of the rain on the wind
Isn’t it just like a human
Here comes that rainbow again

[Verse 2]
One truck driver called to the waitress
After the kids went outside
Them candies are not two for a penny
So what’s it to you, she replied
In silence they finished their coffee
Got up and nodded goodbye
She called, hey, you left too much money
So what’s it to you, they replied

[Chorus]
And the daylight grew heavy with thunder
And the smell of the rain on the wind
Isn’t it just like a human
Here comes that rainbow again

Johnny Cash (with surprise guest Waylon Jennings) singing “Here Comes That Rainbow Again” on Late Night with David Letterman. Airdate was approx 1985. Check out my other Johnny Cash video for the complete interview. Be sure to subscribe to me and check out my other music related videos! All comments welcome.

[Verse 1]
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain

[Chorus]
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
(Rugged cross)
Until my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
(Rugged cross)
And exchange it some day for a crown

[Verse 2]
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
Its shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away
Where His glory forever I’ll share

[Chorus]
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
(Rugged cross)
Until my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
(Rugged cross)
And exchange it some day for a crown

“The Old Rugged Cross” is a popular hymn written in 1912 by evangelist and song-leader George Bennard (1873–1958).

History

George Bennard was a native of Youngstown, Ohio, but was reared in Iowa. After his conversion in a Salvation Army meeting, he and his wife became brigade leaders before leaving the organization for the Methodist Church.^[1] As a Methodist evangelist, Bennard wrote the first verse of “The Old Rugged Cross” in Albion, Michigan, in the fall of 1912^[a] as a response to ridicule that he had received at a revival meeting.^[3] Bennard traveled with Ed E. Mieras from Chicago to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin where they held evangelistic meetings at the Friends Church from December 29, 1912 to January 12, 1913. During the meetings Rev. George Bennard finished “The Old Rugged Cross” and on the last night of the meeting Bennard and Mieras performed it as a duet before a full house with Pearl Torstensen Berg, organist for the meeting, as accompanist.^[4] Charles H. Gabriel, a well-known gospel-song composer helped Bennard with the harmonies.^[5] The completed version was then performed on June 7, 1913, by a choir of five, accompanied by a guitar^[6] in Pokagon, Michigan, at the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Pokagon. Published in 1915, the song was popularized during Billy Sunday evangelistic campaigns by two members of his campaign staff, Homer Rodeheaver (who bought rights to the song for $50 or $500^[3]) and Virginia Asher, who were perhaps also the first to record it in 1921. The Old Rugged Cross uses a sentimental popular song form with a verse/chorus pattern in ⁶
₈ time, and it speaks of the writer’s adoration of Christ and His sacrifice at Calvary. Bennard retired to Reed City, Michigan, and the town maintains a museum dedicated to his life and ministry.^[7] A memorial has also been created in Youngstown at Lake Park Cemetery.^[8] A plaque commemorating the first performance of the song stands in front of the Friend’s Church in Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Influence

“The Old Rugged Cross” has been a country gospel favorite ever since it became the title song of Ernest Tubb‘s 1952 gospel album; it has been performed by some of the twentieth century’s most important recording artists, including Al Green, Andy Griffith, Anne Murray, Brad Paisley, Chet Atkins, John Berry, Floyd Cramer, George Jones, Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Kevin Max, Mahalia Jackson, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, Ricky Van Shelton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans,^[9] The Oak Ridge Boys, The Statler Brothers, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, George Beverly Shea and John Prine on the 2007 CD “Standard Songs for Average People” with Mac Wiseman. British television dramatist Dennis Potter used the gospel song prominently in several of his plays, most notably Pennies from Heaven (1978); and the song also played a major part in “Gridlock” (2007), an episode of the long-running sci-fi drama series Doctor Who. In early 2009, the song was covered by Ronnie Milsap on his gospel album Then Sings My Soul.

You Just Can’t Beat The Fact…Jesus Paid it All…

[Verse 1]
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn’t leave much to ma and me
Just this old 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.”

[Verse 2]
Well, he must o’ thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a’ lots of folk
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I’d get red
And some guy’d laugh and I’d bust his head
I tell ya, life ain’t easy for a boy named “Sue.”

[Verse 3]
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean
My fist got hard and my wits got keen
I’d roam from town to town to hide my shame
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I’d search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name

[Verse 4]
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry
I thought I’d stop and have myself a brew
At an old saloon on a street of mud
There at a table, dealing stud
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me “Sue.”

[Verse 5]
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother’d had
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye
He was big and bent and gray and old
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: “My name is ‘Sue!’ How do you do!
Now you’re going to die!!”

[Verse 6]
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a’ gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer

[Verse 7]
I tell you, I’ve fought tougher men
But I really can’t remember when
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first
He stood there lookin’ at me and I saw him smile

[Verse 8]
And he said: “Son, this world is rough
And if a man’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn’t be there to help ya along
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you’d have to get tough or die
And it’s the name that helped to make you strong

[Verse 9]
He said: “Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn’t blame you if you do
But ya ought to thank me, before I die
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Because I’m the son-of-a-bitch that named you Sue

[Verse 10]
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son
And I came away with a different point of view
And I think about him, now and then
Every time I try and every time I win
And if I ever have a son, I think I’m gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

Silverstein’s own recording was released the same year as “Boy Named Sue”, a single on the album Boy Named Sue (and His Other Country Songs), produced by Chet Atkins and Felton Jarvis.^[1][2]

Plot

The song tells the tale of a young man’s quest for revenge on a father who abandoned him at three years of age and whose only contribution to his entire life was naming him Sue, commonly a feminine name, which results in the young man suffering from ridicule and harassment by everyone he meets in his travels. Because of this, Sue grows up tough and mean, and smartens up very quickly, though he frequently relocates due to the shame his name gives him. Angered by the embarrassment and abuse that he endures in his life, he swears that he will find and kill his father for giving him “that awful name”.

Sue later locates his father at a tavern in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, during the middle of a summer season, and confronts him by saying, “My name is Sue! How do you do? Now you’re gonna die!” This results in a vicious brawl that spills outdoors into a muddy street. After the two have beaten each other almost senseless, Sue’s father admits that he is the “heartless hound”^{[citation needed]} (“son of a bitch” in the Johnny Cash version) that named him Sue and explains that the name was given as an act of love. Because Sue’s father knew that he would not be there for his son, he gave him the name, believing (correctly) that the ensuing ridicule would force him to “get tough or die”. Learning this, Sue makes peace with his father and they reconcile. With his lesson learned, Sue closes the song with a promise to name his son “Bill or George, anything but Sue”.

Structure

The song has an unusual A-A-B-C-C-B rhyme scheme, broken only to mark the midpoint and ending. The song is performed mostly in the speech-like style of talking blues rather than conventional singing.^[3]

Censorship

The term “son of a bitch” in the line “I’m the son of a bitch that named you Sue!” was bleeped out in the Johnny Cash version both on the single and the At San Quentin album, and the final line was also edited to remove the word “damn”. Both the edited and unedited versions are available on various albums and compilations. The term “son of a bitch” was edited to “son of a gun” or altogether bleeped out in some versions. When performing the song live in later performances (such as in April 1970 at the White House and in 1994 at the Glastonbury Festival, for example), Cash would himself utter a bleep-censor sound in lieu of the word. The unedited version of the original San Quentin performance is included on later reissues of the At San Quentin album and on Cash’s posthumous The Legend of Johnny Cash album. Silverstein, for his part, does not utter any profanity in his original version, with Sue’s father instead identifying himself as the “heartless hound” that named him Sue.

Inspiration

The core story of the song was inspired by humorist Jean Shepherd, a close friend of Silverstein, who was often taunted as a child because of his feminine-sounding name.^[4]

The title might also have been inspired by the male attorney Sue K. Hicks of Madisonville, Tennessee, a friend of John Scopes who agreed to be a prosecutor in what was to become known as the “Scopes Monkey Trial“. Hicks was named after his mother who died after giving birth to him.^[5]

In his autobiography, Cash wrote that he had just received the song and only read over it a couple of times. It was included in that concert to try it out—he did not know the words and on the filmed recording he can be seen regularly referring to a piece of paper. Cash was surprised at how well the song went over with the audience.^[6] The rough, spontaneous performance with sparse accompaniment was included in the Johnny Cash At San Quentin album, ultimately becoming one of Cash’s biggest hits. According to Cash biographer Robert Hilburn, neither the British TV crew filming the concert nor his band knew he planned to perform the song; he used a lyric sheet on stage while Perkins and the band improvised the backing on the spot. While another song, “San Quentin”, was expected to be the major new song featured in the concert and subsequent album (so much so the album includes two performances of “San Quentin”), “A Boy Named Sue” ended up being the concert’s major find. ^[7]

Cash also performed it on his own musical variety show, ending the song with the line, “And if I ever have a son, I think I’m gonna name him… John Carter Cash“, referring to his newborn son. Cash also performed this variant at the White House in April 1970; in later years, however, he would restore the original “any name but Sue” ending, but change the wording to “if I ever have another son”.

According to Shel Silverstein’s biographer Mitch Myers, it was June Carter Cash who encouraged her husband to perform the song. Silverstein introduced it to them at what they called a “Guitar Pull,” where musicians would pass a guitar around and play their songs.

Silverstein later wrote a follow-up named “The Father of a Boy Named Sue” on his 1978 Songs and Stories in which he tells the old man’s point of view of the story. The only known recording of the song by a major artist is by Shel Silverstein himself. Various cover artists have covered this song since then.

Chart performance (Johnny Cash version)

Weekly charts

Impact on popular culture

MAD Magazine issue No. 137 (September 1970) included a parody titled A Boy Dog Named Lassie, based on the fact that the Lassie movies and TV series employed male Collies in the female title role.

On an episode of The Partridge Family, a part Native American character introduces himself as “Sioux” causing a reaction from the family members, “A boy name Sioux?”^{[citation needed]}

The gender-bending implications of the title have been adapted to explore issues of sex and gender, another use of the popular song title that goes beyond its original scope. The 2001 documentary A Boy Named Sue features a transgender protagonist and uses the song in the soundtrack. A Boy Named Sue: Gender and Country Music is the title of a 2004 book about the role of the gender in American country music.^[16]

In the film Swingers, one of the male characters is named Sue. The name is explained by another character by saying, “his dad was a big Johnny Cash fan.”^{[citation needed]}

“A Boy Named Sue” is referenced in the Red Hot Chili Peppers songs “One Big Mob” and “Save This Lady.”^{[citation needed]}

In the Dexter’s Laboratory episode ‘”A Boy Named Sue”, Mandark recalls through his infancy and early childhood when his Hippie parents named him Susan and how he discovered his manhood by science.^{[citation needed]}

The Stone Temple Pilots‘ song “Crackerman” references “A Boy Named Sue” in the second verse.^{[citation needed]}

Wyrd Miniatures a hobby company, produces a male Outcast model named Sue for their Malifaux miniature skirmish game.^{[citation needed]}

Chad Stokes Urmston references “A Boy Named Sue” in his 2014 song “Our Lives, Our Time”. He sings: “At least we got our bodies, we all a boy named Sue.”^{[citation needed]}

Johnny Cash’s official music video for ‘A Boy Named Sue’. Click to listen to Johnny Cash on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/JCSpot?IQid=JCBNS

As featured on At San Quentin. Click to buy the track or album via iTunes: http://smarturl.it/JCTLiTunes?IQid=JCBNS
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More from Johnny Cash
God’s Gonna Cut You Down: https://youtu.be/eJlN9jdQFSc
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I was totin’ my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road
When along came a semi with a high an’ canvas covered load
“If you’re goin’ to Winnemucca, Mack, with me you can ride”
And so I climbed into the cab and then I settled down inside
He asked me if I’d seen a road with so much dust and sand
And I said, “Listen, I’ve traveled every road in this here land”

I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the desert’s bare, man
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve a’had my share, man
I’ve been everywhere

I’ve been to Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota
Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota
Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma
Tampa, Panama, Mattawa, La Paloma
Bangor, Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo
Tocopilla, Barranquilla, and Padilla, I’m a killer

(Chorus)

I’ve been to Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana
Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana
Monterey, Faraday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa
Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa
Tennessee to Hennessey, Chicopee, Spirit Lake
Grand Lake, Devil’s Lake, Crater Lake, for Pete’s sake

I’ve been to Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Ombabika
Schefferville, Jacksonville, Waterville, Costa Rica
Pittsfield, Springfield, Bakersfield, Shreveport
Hackensack, Cadillac, Fond du Lac, Davenport
Idaho, Jellico, Argentina, Diamantina
Pasadena, Catalina, see what I mean’a

(Chorus)

I’ve been to Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravelbourg, Colorado
Ellensburg, Rexburg, Vicksburg, El Dorado
Larimore, Admore, Haverstraw, Chatanika
Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelaka
Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City
Sioux City, Cedar City, Dodge City, what a pity

(Chorus)

I’ve been everywhere

“I’ve Been Everywhere” is a song which was written by Australian country singer Geoff Mack in 1959, and made popular by Lucky Starr in 1962.

The song as originally written listed Australian towns. It was later adapted by Australian singer Rolf Harris with English and Scottish toponyms (1963),^[1] and by John Hore (later known as John Grenell) with New Zealand toponyms (1966). In 1962, the song was a number-one US country hit for Hank Snow.^[2] The song was also recorded by Lynn Anderson (US 1970), Asleep at the Wheel (US 1973), Johnny Cash (US 1996), Ted Egan, the “Farrelly Brothers” from the television series The Aunty Jack Show (Australia 1974, a parody version, on the album Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong),^[3] John Grenell (NZ 1966), Mike Ford (Canada, 2005), The Sunny Cowgirls and the Statler Brothers. Harvey Reid also included the song in his Dreamer or Believer album. Also recorded by Kacey Musgraves on her album Movin’ On(2003).

Original singer Lucky Starr released an EP called “Lucky’s Been Everywhere”, which contained four different versions: United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, and Australia.

Australian version

The Australian version starts: “Well, I was humpin’ my bluey^{[nb 1]} on the dusty Oodnadatta road, When along came a semi with a high and canvas-covered load, ‘If you’re goin’ to Oodnadatta, mate, um, with me you can ride,’ so I climbed in the cabin, and I settled down inside, He asked me if i’d seen a road with so much dust and sand, I said listen mate, I’ve travelled every road in this here land. ‘Cause…”

The toponyms listed are:

Verse 1

Tullamore, Seymour, Lismore, Mooloolaba, Nambour, Maroochydore, Kilmore, Murwillumbah, Birdsville, Emmaville, Wallaville, Cunnamulla, Condamine, Strathpine, Proserpine, Ulladulla, Darwin, Gin Gin, Deniliquin, Muckadilla, Wallumbilla, Boggabilla, Kumbarilla.

Verse 2

Moree, Taree, Jerilderie, Bambaroo, Toowoomba, Gunnedah, Caringbah, Woolloomooloo, Dalveen, Tamborine, Engadine, Jindabyne, Lithgow, Casino, Brigalow, Narromine, Megalong, Wyong, Tuggerawong, Wanganella, Morella, Augathella, Brindabella

Verse 3

Wollongong, Geelong, Kurrajong, Mullumbimby, Mittagong, Cooranbong, Grong Grong, Goondiwindi, Yarra Yarra,^[4] Bouindarra, Wallangarra, Turramurra, Boggabri, Gundagai, Narrabri, Tibooburra, Gulgong, Adelong, Billabong, Cabramatta, Parramatta, Wangaratta, Coolangatta

Verse 4

Ettalong, Dandenong, Woodenbong, Ballarat, Canberra, Milperra, Unanderra, Captains Flat, Cloncurry, River Murray, Kurri Kurri, Girraween, Terrigal, Fingal, Stockinbingal, Collaroy, Narrabeen, Bendigo, Dorrigo, Bangalow, Indooroopilly, Kirribilli, Yeerongpilly, Wollondilly

For some of the above, more than one place in Australia has the same name (e.g. Coolangatta, Gin Gin, and Fingal). The links given above are the most famous locations with those names.

North American version

Geoff Mack’s music publisher offered the song to Canadian-born country musician Hank Snow in 1962. Snow thought the song had potential for the Canadian and American markets, but only if the toponyms were adapted to North America. At his publisher’s urging, Geoff Mack consequently rewrote the song using a North American atlas supplied to him by the publisher. The North American version starts: “I was totin’ my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road”. Below are the places mentioned in this version of the song, most of which are in the continent of North America, but four are in Central and South America (Costa Rica, Barranquilla, Tocopilla, and Argentina):

First verse

Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota, Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota, Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma, Tampa, Panama, Mattawa, La Paloma, Bangor, Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo, Tocopilla, Barranquilla and Padilla.

Second verse

Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana, Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana, Monterey, Ferriday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa, Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa, Tennessee, Hennessey, Chicopee, Spirit Lake, Grand Lake, Devils Lake and Crater Lake.

Third verse

Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Ombabika, Schefferville, Jacksonville, Waterville, Costa Rica, Pittsfield, Springfield, Bakersfield, Shreveport, Hackensack, Cadillac, Fond du Lac, Davenport, Idaho, Jellico, Argentina, Diamantina, Pasadena and Catalina.

Fourth verse

Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravelbourg, Colorado, Ellensburg, Rexburg, Vicksburg, Eldorado, Larimore, Atmore, Haverstraw, Chatanika, Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelika, Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City, Sioux City, Cedar City and Dodge City.

New Zealand version

The New Zealand version starts: Well I was hitching a ride on a winding Hokitika road, when along came a lorry….

First verse

Kaparoa, Whangaroa, Akaroa, Motueka, Taramoa, Benmore, Pongaroa, Horoeka, Rimutaka, Te Karaka, Whangarei, Nuhaka, Waimahaka, Motuhora, Waikaka, Motunui, Hokonui, Papanui, Wainui, Matawai, Rongotai, Pikowai

Second verse

Woodville, Dargaville, Lumsden, Katikati, Naseby, Cambridge, Porirua, Mangaroa, Hastings, Tikitiki, Tauranga, Auckland, Naenae, Waitaha, Hamilton, Poroporo, Taupo, Timaru, Oamaru, Tihoi, Awanui, Wanganui, Pauanui

Third verse

Featherston, Palmerston, Woolston, Te Awamutu, Riverton, Queenstown, Picton, Ohinemutu, Morere, Korere, Rotorua, Kaikoura, Matamata, Ruakura, Ikamatua, Papakura, Waitaki, Pukaki, Taranaki, Te Kauwhata, Ropata, Ikowai, Waitemata

Fourth verse

Ruatoki, Mataura, Taupiri, Maketu, Kyeburn, Sowburn, Wedderburn, Mossburn, Washdyke, Arawhata, Paparoa, Kaponga, Te Aroha, Thames, Kerikeri, Kokoma, Tapanui, Porinui, Tawanui, Otahuhu, Ruatapu, Mosgiel, Whareroa

Fifth verse

Kapiti, Ngawaka, Onepu, Reporoa, Tongariro, Tomoana, Renwick, Papamoa, Karitane, Oxford, Parihaka, Karetu, Coalgate, Whitecliffs, Urenui, Mamaku, Waimea, Waharoa, Dannevirke, Ngahere, Gordonton, Kingston, Oban

Great Britain and Ireland version

Lucky Starr’s Great Britain and Ireland version starts: “I was peddlin’ me bike on a narrow road near Brighton sea, When along came a lorry and pulled up alongside o’ me, ‘Ere chuck your bike up on the back cop and with me you can ride, So I climbed up in the cabin and I settled down inside, He told me of the towns he’d seen and bashed me ear for several miles, I said ‘ere, mug it cop, I’ve been to every town in these ‘ere isles.”

First verse

Bradford, Guildford, Oxford, Littlehampton, Bedford, Chingford, Hereford, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Canterbury, Aylesbury, Liverpool, Scunthorpe, Sandthorpe, Mablethorpe, Hartlepool, Whitehall, Blackpool, Mildenhall, Davenport, Newport, Southport, Stockport

Second verse

Farnborough, Edinburgh, Peterborough, Felixstowe, Middlesbrough, Loughborough, Scarborough, Walthamstow, Blackburn, Lisburn, Bannockburn, Derry, Wicklow, Glasgow, Hounslow, Tipperary, Hempstead, Wanstead, Banstead, Woodstock, Bass Rock, Bell Rock, Tilbury Dock

Third verse

Weymouth, Yarmouth, Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Lewisham, Faversham, Petersham, Chesterfield, Southend, Mile End, Land’s End, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Nottingham, Gillingham, Holyhead, Cambridge, Tonbridge, Knightsbridge, Broadstairs, Edgware, Ross Wear, Carstairs

Fourth verse

Westminster, Southminster, Kidderminster, Accrington, Eastbourne, Southbourne, Sittingbourne, Paddington, Bolton, Paignton, Stockton, Inverness, Renwick, Brunswick, Chiswick, Dungeness, Mansfield, Sheffield, Enfield, King’s Cross, New Cross, Charing Cross, Banbury Cross

Covers of this version were also recorded by the British group The Mudlarks and by Australian singer Rolf Harris, who added a few tongue-twisting Scottish placenames but (humorously) found them so hard to pronounce he said, “Better get back to the English version,” and concluded with the final verse above.^[1]

Other notable versions

Aunty Jack

“I’ve been to Wollongong (x 14), Dapto, Wollongong.” (Dapto is a suburb of Wollongong.)

Canada

Stompin’ Tom Connors adds an extra spoken segment of locations in Ontario and a verse for locations in the Maritimes. He also substitutes Canadian cities, including Halifax and Montreal, at various points in the other verses. Mike Ford, formerly a member of Moxy Früvous, did an all-Canadian version for his album, Canada Needs You, in 2005. Ford’s version includes the fictional town of Melonville, home of SCTV. Canadian comedian Rick Moranis has a version called “I Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” where he sings about why he will not leave his easy chair. Canadian comedy duo MacLean & MacLean wrote a parody entitled “I’ve Seen Pubic Hair.” It first appeared on their 1976 album Bitter Reality as part of the live piece “Bland Ole Opry (Slim Chance, Stretch Marks)”, and then a studio version with an added verse was featured on their 1980 album Suck Their Way to the Top/Take the “O” Out of Country. The song lists various types of pubic hairs that the singer has seen, including “…great ones, straight ones, on my dinner plate ones, long ones, strong ones, little curly blonde ones, red ones, dead ones, layin’ on the head ones”. George Fox released his version in 1988.

Czechoslovakia (adapted by Ladislav Vodička)

“Já tu zemi znám“^[5]

Eugene Chadbourne

The US entertainer recorded a version on his 1988 album, also entitled I’ve Been Everywhere. He starts with Hank Snow’s opening verse and then rattles off city names from all over the world (including Bogota, Khartoum, and Nairobi), throws in a gentle poke at Neil Young and Farm Aid, and ends with Eugene declaring only one place he has not been to – Alcatraz.^{[citation needed]}

Finland (adapted by Turo’s Hevi Gee)

“Oon käyny kaikkialla“. The singer chats with a train conductor, and gives a list of Finnish places.^{[citation needed]}

Germany (adapted by Jackie Leven)

“I was walking down the Ku’damm in the City of Berlin.” Complete with an entire verse of Baden-Baden. Published on the 2007 album Oh What A Blow That Phantom Dealt Me!^{[citation needed]}

Louisiana (adapted by Choupique)

The Cajun band Choupique recorded and performed a version of the song that listed places and communities in Louisiana.

Springfield’s state (adapted by Tim Long)

The Simpsons episode “Mobile Homer” includes a version of the song listing the following various fictional towns in the series: Springfield, Shelbyville, Ogdenville, Cap City, Ogdenburg, Shelbytown, Spring City, Cap Field, West Springfield, Paris, Rome, and Shelbyville Adjacent.^{[citation needed]}

Texas (adapted By Brian Burns)

“I was totin’ my pack along the dusty Amarillo road”.^{[citation needed]}

Houston (adapted By Hayes Carll)

“I been to Houston, Houston, Houston, Houston…”.^{[citation needed]}

New York City (adapted by Cody Marshall)

Award-winning parodist and comedian Cody Marshall recorded and performed a version of the song that listed places and communities in New York.

World (adapted By Medeski Martin and Wood)

“This jazz group made a children-oriented version titled ‘Let’s Go Everywhere’, using city names from all over the world.”^{[citation needed]}

Other uses

Kris Kristofferson also did an abbreviated version in the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid during his escape scene.

In October 2003, the publisher Rightsong Music BMI granted permission to Frank Loconto to write new lyrics and title for the 2004 presidential campaign of Bob Graham. Title: “I’ve Done Every Job, Man” commemorating the more than 300 ‘workdays’ performed by Graham during his 30 plus years of public service to the people of Florida. The song recorded by Frank Loconto FXL Records was included in a promotional CD Bob Graham Charisma Album 2004.

Australian Peter Harris visited all the locations in the Australian version of “I’ve Been Everywhere” between December 2009 and July 2011. A record of his trip is located here.^[6]

In 2010, the Swedish band Movits! used the track for one of the episodes of their US tour movie, First We Take Manhattan.^[7]

Bruce Springsteen used the song as a snippet for “Light of Day” during his 1999-2000 Reunion tour.

Notes

‘humpin’ my bluey’ here means carrying my sleeping bag

[Chorus 1]
Hey, get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock and’ roll feeling in your bones
Put taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

[Verse 1]
A Little shoeshine boy he never gets low down
But he’s got the dirtiest job in town
Bending low at the peoples feet
On the windy corner of the dirty street
Well, I asked him while he shined my shoes
How’d he keep from getting the blues
He grinned as he raised his little head
Popped a shoeshine rag and then he said

[Chorus 2]
Get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
A jumpy rhythm makes you feel so fine
It’ll shake all your trouble from your worried mind
Get rhythm when you get the blues

[Chorus 1]
Hey, get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock and’ roll feeling in your bones
Put taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

[Verse 2]
Well, I sat down to listen to the shoeshine boy
And I thought I was going to jump for joy
Slapped on the shoe polish left and right
He took a shoeshine rag and he held it tight
He stopped once to wipe the sweat away
I said you’re a mighty little boy to be-a working that way
He said I like it with a big wide grin
Kept on a popping and he said again

[Chorus 3]
Get rhythm when you get the blues
Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues
It only costs a dime, just a nickel a shoe
Does a million dollars worth of good for you
Get rhythm when you get the blues

“Get Rhythm” is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter and musician Johnny Cash. It was originally released as the B-side to the single release “I Walk the Line” in 1956 on Sun 241. It was re-released with overdubbed “live” effects in September 1969 as an A-side single and reached number 60 on the Billboard Pop chart.

Content

The song is about optimism, centering on a shoeshine boy who “gets rhythm” to cope with the tedious nature of his job.

Critical reception

Alice Randall in the book “My Country Roots: The Ultimate MP3 Guide to America’s Original Outsider Music” asks the question, “racist, racialist, or race appreciating? You decide. Maybe the grinning “boy” hides something worth knowing in his mask as well as behind his mask.”^[3]

Chart performance

“Get Rhythm” was released in 1956 as the B-side to Cash’s first Number One hit, “I Walk the Line.” In 1969, the original recording of “Get Rhythm” was released as a single itself, with sound effects dubbed in to simulate the sound of a live recording.^[1] This rerelease went to #23 on the country charts.

Cover versions

Martin Delray version

In 1991, Martin Delray recorded a cover of the song on his debut album, also entitled Get Rhythm. Released as his debut single, Delray’s version featured guest vocals from Cash, as well as a guest appearance by him in the music video.^[6] It peaked at #27 on the country charts.

Chart performance

Other cover versions

• In 1986 British pub rock band Dr. Feelgood released a cover on their album Brilleaux.
• A cover by the guitarist Ry Cooder on his album Get Rhythm released in November 1987

[Verse 1]
Love is a burning thing
And it makes a firery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell in to a ring of fire

[Chorus]
I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire
The 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
The ring of fire
The ring of fire

[Verse 2]
The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire went wild

[Chorus]
I fell in to a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire
The 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
The ring of fire
The ring of fire

[Outro]
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire
The ring of fire
The ring of fire
The ring of fire
The ring of fire
The ring…

“Ring of Fire“, or “The Ring of Fire“, is a song written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore and recorded by Johnny Cash.^[1] The single appears on Cash’s 1963 album, Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash. The song was originally recorded by June’s sister, Anita Carter, on her Mercury Records album Folk Songs Old and New (1963) as “(Love’s) Ring of Fire”. “Ring of Fire” was ranked No. 4 on CMT‘s 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music in 2003 and #87 on Rolling Stone‘s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. and #^{[citation needed]} In June 2014, Rolling Stone ranked the song #27 on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.^[2]

The song was recorded on March 25, 1963, and became one of the biggest hits of Cash’s career, staying at number one on the country chart for seven weeks. It was certified Gold on January 21, 2010, by the RIAA and has also sold over 1.2 million digital downloads.^[3]

Conception

	“Ring of Fire” excerpt From the album Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash. This sample a portion of the chorus. Flourishes from the mariachi are also featured.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Although “Ring of Fire” sounds ominous, the term refers to falling in love – which is what June Carter was experiencing with Johnny Cash at the time.^{[citation needed]} Some sources claim that Carter had seen the phrase “Love is like a burning ring of fire,” underlined in one of her uncle A. P. Carter‘s Elizabethan books of poetry.^[4][5] She worked with Kilgore on writing a song inspired by this phrase as she had seen her uncle do in the past. She had written: “There is no way to be in that kind of hell, no way to extinguish a flame that burns, burns, burns”.^[6]

Cash’s first wife, Vivian Liberto, offered a different conception of “Ring of Fire” in her book I Walked the Line. She contended that June Carter Cash was not a co-writer of the song: “To this day, it confounds me to hear the elaborate details June told of writing that song for Johnny. She didn’t write that song any more than I did. The truth is, Johnny wrote that song, while pilled up and drunk, about a certain private female body part. All those years of her claiming she wrote it herself, and she probably never knew what the song was really about.” Liberto claimed that Cash decided to give Carter co-writer status because “She needs the money”.^[7]

The song was originally recorded by June’s sister, Anita Carter, on her Mercury Records album Folk Songs Old and New (1963) as “(Love’s) Ring of Fire”. Mercury released Anita’s version as a single and it was a featured “pick hit” in Billboard magazine.

After hearing Anita’s version, Cash claimed he had a dream where he heard the song accompanied by “Mexican horns”. Cash stated, “I’ll give you about five or six more months, and if you don’t hit with it, I’m gonna record it the way I feel it.”^{[citation needed]} Cash noted that adding trumpets was a change to his basic sound.^[8]

When the song failed to become a major hit for Anita, Cash recorded it his own way, adding the mariachi-style horns from his dream. This sound was later used in the song “It Ain’t Me Babe“, which was recorded around the same time. Mother Maybelle and the Carter sisters are prominently featured in the Cash recording singing harmony. Cash tinkered with a few of the original phrases in Anita Carter’s version of the song.

Cash’s daughter Rosanne has stated, “The song is about the transformative power of love and that’s what it has always meant to me and that’s what it will always mean to the Cash children.”^[9]

In 2004, Merle Kilgore, who shared writing credit for the song with June Carter Cash, proposed licensing the song for a hemorrhoid cream commercial. When performing the song live, Kilgore would often “mock dedicate” the song to “The makers of Preparation H“.^[10] However, June’s heirs were not of a like mind, and they refused to allow the song to be licensed for the ad.

Chart performance

Johnny Cash version

Eric Burdon and the Animals version

Alan Jackson version

Legacy

Numerous cover versions of “Ring of Fire” have been produced, the most commercially successful version being by Eric Burdon & the Animals. Their version was recorded at the end of 1968, and made the top 40 in four different countries.^[13] In late 1974, the Eric Burdon Band released a hard rock version. Wall of Voodoo debuted with a cover of the song on their self-titled 1980 EP and featured a pulsing synthesizer. Dwight Yoakam covered it on his debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. Punk rock band Social Distortion covered it on their 1990 self-titled LP. In 1991, Frank Zappa released a reggae-style live version on the album The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life, after claiming to have met Johnny Cash in the elevator before the show and inviting him to perform the song with his band that night. Cash did not follow through on the invite, but the band played the song anyway. A cover of the song by Alan Jackson with guest vocals from Lee Ann Womack was released as a single on December 6, 2010. It served as the lead-off single to his 34 Number Ones compilation album, and peaked at #45 in the Hot Country Songs, becoming his first single to miss the top 40 since “Just Put a Ribbon in Your Hair” peaked at #51 in 2004.^[15] It was his last single released by Arista Records.

Cash’s version of “Ring Of Fire” was never released as a single in the United Kingdom. However, in 1993 / 1994, the song gained significant radio airplay in the UK after it was used in a popular television commercial for Levi Jeans (entitled ‘Campfire’).

In 2014, British band DragonForce released a power metal version of the song on their sixth album Maximum Overload.

Madonna sang a cover version of Cash’s song on the Nashville date of her Rebel Heart Tour on 8 January 2016.

“Folsom Prison Blues” is a song written in 1953^[4] and first recorded in 1955 by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk styles, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash continued to use for the rest of his career. It was one of Cash’s signature songs. It was the eleventh track on his debut album With His Hot and Blue Guitar and it was also included (same version) on All Aboard the Blue Train. A live version, recorded among inmates at Folsom State Prison itself, became a #1 hit on the country music charts in 1968. In June 2014, Rolling Stone ranked if No. 51 on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.^[5]

Original recording, 1955

Cash was inspired to write this song after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force at Landsberg, Bavaria (itself the location of a famous prison). Cash recounted how he came up with the line “But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die”: “I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that’s what came to mind.”^[6]

Cash took the melody for the song and many of the lyrics from Gordon Jenkins‘s 1953 Seven Dreams concept album, specifically the song “Crescent City Blues“.^[7] Jenkins was not credited on the original record, which was issued by Sun Records. In the early 1970s, after the song became popular, Cash paid Jenkins a settlement of approximately US$75,000 following a lawsuit.^[8]

The song was recorded at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee on July 30, 1955. The producer was Sam Phillips, and the musicians were Cash (vocals, guitar), Luther Perkins (guitar), and Marshall Grant (bass).^[9] Like other songs recorded during his early Sun Records sessions, Cash had no drummer in the studio, but replicated the snare drum sound by inserting piece of paper (like a dollar bill) under the guitar strings and strumming the snare rhythm on his guitar. The song was released as a single with another song recorded at the same session, “So Doggone Lonesome“. Early in 1956, both sides reached #4 on the Billboard C&W Best Sellers chart.^[10]

Live recording, 1968

Cash opened most all of his concerts with “Folsom Prison Blues,” after greeting the audience with his trademark introduction, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” for decades. Cash performed the song at Folsom Prison itself on January 13, 1968, and this version was eventually released on the At Folsom Prison album the same year. That opening version of the song is more up-tempo than the original Sun recording. According to Michael Streissguth, the cheering from the audience following the line “But I shot a man in Reno / just to watch him die” was added in post-production. A special on the Walk the Line DVD indicates that the prisoners were careful not to cheer at any of Cash’s comments about the prison itself, fearing reprisal from guards. The performance again featured Cash, Perkins and Grant, as on the original recording, together with Al Casey (guitar) and W.S. Holland (drums).^[9]

Released as a single, the live version reached #1 on the country singles chart, and #32 on the Hot 100, in 1968.^[10] Pitchfork Media placed this live version at number 8 on its list of “The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s.”^[11] The live performance of the song won Cash the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, the first of four he won in his career, at the 1969 Grammy Awards.

Chart performance

Other versions

• Blues musician Slim Harpo released a version as a single in 1968.^[15]
• Organist Lenny Dee did an instrumental cover on his 1969 Decca Records release, Turn Around, Look At Me. It was also released as a promotional 45 RPM single with the title track.^[16]
• Jerry Lee Lewis on his 1981 album, Killer Country^[17]
• South African singer Ray Dylan covered the song on his album Goeie Ou Country – Op Aanvraag.^[18]

Lyrics:

I’ve wept for those who suffer long
But how I weep for those who’ve gone
Into rooms of grief and questioned wrong
But keep on killing

It’s in the soul to feel such things
But weak to watch without speaking
Oh what mercy sadness brings
If God be willing

There is a train that’s heading straight
To heaven’s gate, to heaven’s gate
And on the way, child and man,
And woman wait, watch and wait
For redemption day

Fire rages in the streets
And swallows everything it meets
It’s just an image often seen
On television
Come leaders, come you men of great
Let us hear you pontificate
Your many virtues laid to waste
And we aren’t listening

There is a train that’s heading straight
To heaven’s gate, to heaven’s gate
And on the way, child and man,
And woman wait, watch and wait
For redemption day

What do you have for us today?
Throw us a bone but save the plate
On why we waited til so late
Was there no oil to excavate
No riches in trade for the fate
Of every person who died in hate
Throw us a bone, you men of great

There is a train that’s heading straight
To heaven’s gate, to heaven’s gate
And on the way, child and man,
And woman wait, watch and wait
For redemption day

It’s buried in the countryside
It’s exploding in the shells at night
It’s everywhere a baby cries
Freedom
Freedom
Freedom