Johnny Cash and his music are one-blending to produce the kind of songs that bridge the gap from heart to heart. As Johnny says, "There are three things you can't get away from. Loneliness, that certain kind of woman, and God." And so the songs in this album echo the sincerity of Johnny's words and the universal truth of his experience.
When it comes to loneliness, You'd think Johnny invented the word. Naturally endowed with a rangy, big, hollow voice, Johnny's melancholy comes through strong on such blues ballads as his composition, "So Doggone Lonesome" or the old railroad folk song, "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow."
If there is an answer to man';s loneliness, it's Woman. A woman can change a man;'s life completely. This is what Johnny says, -a bit teasingly- in "I Walk The Line" (another Cash tune). This record, on single release, hit the top in the country and western field and also made "Top 20 in the Nation" in the pop field. Of course you have to take the bitter with the sweet-hence, "Cry, Cry., Cry."
Coming to the third inescapable element, Johnny in this album sings one song of spiritual nature. There's religious conviction in the strong sensitive voice of Johnny Cash when he sings "I WAS There When It Happened." Those who know him say Johnny's religion to him is a very real thing, source of the peace he sings of so knowingly.
How does a young man of 23 get to be so serious, so soon? In Johnny's case, it was a matter of facing hard, cold facts from childhood. Brought up on a 40-acre cotton farm at Dyess Colony, Ark., Johnny was one of six children. The Cash family, through of necessity hard-working, always had time to sing together, and it was at home Johnny acquired his love of music.
At 18, Johnny enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. It was while serving "three long, miserable years" in Germany that he bought a guitar and taught himself to play. It went along way in combating blues and boredom, and to Johnny it was fun to work out original melodies now and then.
Service life completed, Johnny enrolled in a Memphis radio school, determined to become an announcer. On an impulse, he went to Sun Records Company one day and rather shyly asked Sun Records President Sam Phillips to audition him.
That was perhaps the most fateful day in Johnny's life, because he was immediately signed by Sun and his musical career was launched. That was late in '55, and one year later, Johnny was named the most promising country and western artist of the year in four separate polls.
Johnny writes nearly all of his songs "when I'm on the road, feeling homesick....When an idea comes into my head, I jot it down. Later, at home, I fish out maybe 40 or 50 scraps of paper and see what I've got."
Backing up Johnny are two long-time friends, electric guitarist Luther Perkins and bass player Marshall Grant. They supply a strong country beat that never lags.
To hear Johnny Cash Album is to know Johnny Cash-the man, the lonely dreamer with a stubborn streak of realism which makes for unforgettable conversation in song.
JOHNNY CASH
THE HOLY LAND
Columbia CS-9726January/1969
Produced by Bob Johnston
Vocals:The Carter Family, The Statler Brothers
Recorded and mixed:
1968, Columbia Recording Studio, Nashville
1.
PROLOGUE (HOLY LAND)
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
We are in the Holy Land
The ground upon which I stand is sacred to the Jew the Christian Moslem Islam
To millions of people the world over and has been throughout the ages
This is the promised land
The land that God showed to Moses from a top Mount Nebo
Which we can see in the distance
At this place in Galilee the sound of God's voice has been heard
As He spoke to the prophets
Once man heard God's voice when He said of his son Jesus Christ
This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased
Such a blessing to be able to hear the voice of God has been given to very few
But such a blessing was given to the Land of Israel
**********
2.
LAND OF ISRAEL
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
From the top of Sinai to the Sea of Galilee
Ev'ry hill and plain is home ev'ry place is dear to me
There the breezes tell the stories oh what stories they do tell
Of the mighty things that happened in the land of Israel
Here where Moses and the Prophets spoke of one who would be king
Of a heavenly Messiah and the blessings he would bring
Oh to hear again the call all is peaceful all is well
Upon ev'ry rock and mountain in the land of Israel
[ strings ] From the rolling plain of Sharon to Mount Tebor's lofty heights
To the deserts of Beersheba all is calm all is right
Green the trees are on the mountains sweet the water in the well
May there never more be sorrow in the land of Israel
Here where Moses and the Prophets...
**********
3.
MOTHER'S LOVE
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
We are in Nazareth within a few feet of this place Jesus lived as a child
With his father Joseph the carpenter and his mother Mary
In Jerusalem the mother of Jesus watched her son die on the cross
She stood by to give him the only thing that she had left a mother's love
It was my mother who first told me of Israel stories of this land
That made it so dear to me that I'm drawn like a prodigal son to relive these stories
Here's a two thousand year old story that tells of the strength of a mother's love
Once a young man lived with his mother beside a great forest
The young man was in love with a beautiful girl who lived in the forest
He told the girl in the forest that if she would marry him
He would bring her anything that she asked
Knowing that the young man lived with his mother the girl said
Take your dagger and cut out your mother's heart
And bring it to me and I will marry you
Well this made the young man very sad
But he wanted to marry the girl so he killed his mother and cut out her heart
Running through the forest with his mother's heart in his hands
He stumbled and fell and dropped the heart
As he was getting up his mother's heart cried out from the ground
My son did you hurt yourself when you fell
**********
4.
THIS IS NAZARETH
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
The noises you hear in the background are the different little shops
Here in the market place in Nazareth
There's a man beatin' out some pans with a hammer there
You know lookin' at Nazareth especially in this part of Nazareth
You'd be inclined to feel like Nathaniel did when he said to Phillip in the Bible
Can there be any good thing ever come from Nazareth
And John the Baptist preachin' repentance down on the Jordan River
Which we'll be seein' later on today
Said there's one comin' after me the latches of whose shoes
I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose
And the prophets had said referrin' to this place right here
He shall be called a Nazarene
**********
5.
NAZARENE
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
Caesar ruled Rome in all its glory ev'ry land called Alexander Great
But no man can compare in any story with the one man who controls so many's fate
Yes along the dusty road came the Nazarene
Baptized by John was the Nazarene
Preachin' on the top of the mountain was the Nazarene
Followed by a multitude was the Nazarene
Tried and condemned they laid their stripes on Him
But like He said back from the dead came the Nazarene
[ guitar ] Nothing good had ever come from Nazareth an unimportant place in Galilee
But the soul of any man could fall into bondage
And God had promised man could be set free
And then along the dusty road...
**********
6.
TOWN OF CANA
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
We are in the Town of Cana
It is a short distance from Nazareth toward the Sea of Galilee
And on his way to Capernaum Jesus stopped at a wedding feast
Here which he was invited to
And when he came to the feast he was told that the family was so poor
That they didn't have wine for the wedding feast
So Christ at this very spot that we are entering right now
Of which a church stands over
Jesus ordered the jugs filled with water
And then when they were served at the feast
When the jugs were poured around to the different people
It was wine of the finest wine that was known in Galilee at that time
We are entering now down into a kind of a crypt-like place underneath the church
Where the miracle actually took place
And there is one of the jugs here
That supposedly was one of those he used to pour the wine from that had been water
And the well where the water was drawn from
We are at the place where the water cintern was
It is all undeground as most people lived back then under ground because it was cool
This is where the water came from
He turned the water into wine
**********
7.
HE TURNED THE WATER INTO WINE
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
He turned the water into wine he turned the water into wine
In the little Cana town the word went all around that he turned the water into wine
Well he walked upon the Sea of Galilee he walked upon the Sea of Galilee
Shouted far and wide he calmed the raging tide and walked upon the Sea of Galilee
He turned the water into wine...didn't my Lord now
He healed the leper and the lame he healed the leper and the lame
He said go and tell no man but they shouted it through the land
That he healed the leper and the lame
He turned the water into wine...didn't my Lord now
He fed the hungry multitude yes he fed the hungry multitude
With a little bit of fish and bread they said ev'ryone was fed
He fed the hungry multitude
He turned the water into wine...didn't my Lord now
**********
8.
MY WIFE JUNE AT SEA OF GALILEE
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
[ June ]
This is the 23rd of April no May 23rd of May and John and I are
sittin' on the veranda of a hotel that is in Tiberias Israel
It is right on the Sea of Galilee
We can see to our left the place where they held the Sermon On The Mount
And across the lake is now the land of Israel
But up until eleven months ago was held by Syria
On down to the right further down the Jordan River joins the Sea of Galilee
And it's a beautiful day with the birds
You can hear the motor boats on the lake only one that I can see
And then a big pleasure boat that is comin' across the other side
from the Sea of Galilee
The lake at this point I'd say is about eight miles wide and it's fourteen miles long
[ Johnny ] Hmm that's right June Israel is really again in its glory
This is a beautiful place
It's in much greater glory that she was in the days of King Herod
I'm proud to say for the Jews today King Herod gained the throne like a fox
Ruled like a lion and died like a dog
**********
9.
BEAUTIFUL WORDS
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
We're at the place of the Sermon on the mount
Beautiful words beautiful words He spoke beautiful words
The wind lay still and the whole world listened as He spoke beautiful words
Blessed are the poor in spirit for their is the Kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the Children of God
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake
For their is the Kingdom of Heaven blessed are ye when men shall revile ye
And persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake
Beautiful words beautiful words He spoke beautiful words
The wind lay still and the whole world listened as He spoke beautiful words
**********
10.
OUR GUIDE JACOB AT MOUNT TABOR
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
We are now up on top of Mount Tabor
And Jacob you're our guide so how about tellin' us in your own words
Just what happened at this place
I hope the wind is not makin' too much noise we are at a great height up here
(Here we are this is Mount Tabor
We are standing on the highest of the lower Galilee mountains watching around us
A most magnificent view really one can expect to see
This of course is the Mountain of Trans-Figuration
Where Christ with his three elder disciples climbed up the mountain
And that is when at the same time they all spoke saying
Master Master can we have three tents made here
The place is so beautiful we want to stay
And at that same moment they saw Christ was conversing
With Moses and Elijah the prophet
A cloud came from which the voice of the Lord was heard saying
This is my son my chosen son Thou shalt obey
They watched to the face of Christ at that time
And saw that there was light around it
He was transfigured His tunic became as white as snow
So it's called the Mountain of Trans-Figuration
This is where it happened)
Thank you very much Jacob and you know there was another time that Moses
That you were talkin' about Moses climbed the mountain
**********
11.
TEN COMMANDMENTS
(Lew De Witt)« © '68 Wallflower Music, BMI »
Moses led God's children out to find the promised land
And on the way he'd stop each day and look to Heaven and
Ask God for help as he could not withstand the task alone
And then one day he looked away and thereby lay a stone
God said write upon this stone these words I say to you
And if you all obey my rules I'll see you safely through
God opened Heaven's door and then He guided Moses' hands
And He said go and tell my children these are my commands
Go and climb that mountain Moses climb that mountain now and pray
Climb that mountain now and tell us what our Lord has had to say
Thou shalt have no Gods before me is my great command
And thou shalt not make any graven image by thy hand
Thou shalt not take my name in vain if thou would guiltless be
Remember thou to keep the sabbath day alone for me
Honor thy father and thy mother and thou shalt not kill
Thou shalt not commit adult'ry and thou shalt not steal
Love thy neighbor as thyself and show thy neighbor peace
Covet not thy neighbor's house nor anything that's his
Go and climb that mountain...
Moses showed these words of God to all the children then
They pulled up stakes and headed out to find the promised land
That Moses had described to them and told of comforts there
The children of oppression thought they'd not find anywhere
But they were soon to part from him and push alone awhile
For it was never meant for him to walk that final mile
The children cried if we must go on Moses without you
Then talk to God just one more time and tell us what to do
Go and climb that mountain...
Thou shalt have no Gods before me...
**********
12.
DADDY SANG BASS
(Carl Perkins)« © '68 Cedarwood Publishing, BMI / House Of Cash, BMI »
I remember when I was a lad times were hard and things were bad
But there's a silver lining behind every cloud
Just poor people that's all we were tryin' to make a livin' out of black land dirt
But we'd get together in a family circle singin' loud
Daddy sang bass (mama sang tenor
Me and little brother would join right in there)
Singin' seems to help a troubled soul
One of these days and it won't be long I'll rejoin them in a song
I'm gonna join the family circle at the throne
No the circle won't be broken by and by Lord by and by
Daddy sang bass (mama sang tenor
Me and little brother would join right in there) in the sky Lord in the sky
[ guitar ] Now I remember after work mama would call in all of us
You could hear us singin' for a country mile
Now little brother has done gone on but I'll rejoin him in a song
We'll be together again up yonder in a little while
Daddy sang bass...
In the sky Lord in the sky
**********
13.
AT THE WAILING WALL
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
We're approaching the Wailing Wall now
Which is all that remains of the ancient temple the holiest place of the Jews
Jews of all sects all tribes from all over the world are comin' to the Wailing Wall
You can hear some of the faithful
Praying in the background here before the Wailing Wall
**********
14.
COME TO THE WAILING WALL
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
Oh my Lord what a mornin' oh my Lord what a day
The sound of battle's over and the smoke has blown away
Come to the Wailing Wall come to the Wailing Wall
Thank God you can stand upon this Holy Land
And touch the hallowed rock that God delievered to our hand
Come to the Wailing Wall come to the Wailing Wall
Shout it cross the mountain shout it cross the sea
We have been delivered Israel is free
Come to the Wailing Wall...
Bring the lost ones homeward lead them to this shore
The city gates are open heaven's blessing pour
Come to the Wailing Wall...
**********
15.
IN BETHLEHEM
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
Now we are in the city of Bethlehem
At the door of the Church of the Nativity where Christ was born
The gate has been walled up that enters into the church because of the horsemen
That used to come attack the place and sack the church
It's been walled up to where there's just a very narrow opening of about
Three and a half feet where you enter into the Church of Nativity
So now we enter into the place where Christ was born
This is the place where Christ was born to the world over it's a mighty big place
Actually physically it's a small cave underneath the Church of the Nativity
Many other people are here today to see this place
Before me is the actual spot where Christ was born undisputed to the ages
This place was found and confirmed that it was the place of the Nativity
By St Helene mother of Constantine the Emperor of Rome
In the third in the fourth century
Just a few feet away from this place where Christ was born
Where there is a Star of Bethlehem in the manger
Where he was taken wrapped in swaddling clothes
Meaning loose-fitting clothes laid in the manger
Where he was come and visited at this very spot by the three Wisemen from the east
One of the holiest of holy places
In the Christian tradition the Holy Family retreated here
During the massacre of the holy innocence ordered by King Herod
And just as we left the Church of the Nativity a few minutes ago
We saw another cave where so many of the children
That King Herod had killed under two years old were buried
**********
16.
IN GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
We are on the Mount of Olives now just outside the gate of the Garden of Gethsemane
Where Jesus prayed where he sweated blood where he was betrayed
Denied and finally at this place He was arrested
We are entering at the gate now of the Garden of Gethsemane
Ash and olive trees beautiful flowers it's a very beautiful place
Where Christ often cften came to pray to meditate
Olive trees are probably two thousand years old or more
And now there's a possibility and a very strong possibility
That beneath or around some of these very same olive trees
That we see here Jesus himself sat or stood with his Disciples
You know Jesus knew his divine purpose right from the very beginning
And that last night of his life here in the Garden of Gethsemane
He knew that His hour had come
He was born human just like any of us and He didn't wanna die
He prayed and as a matter of fact He prayed to be spared the death
That He knew that was very near
Here within a very few feet of where I'm standing Jesus stood
And when they came to arrest him he said I am He whom you seek
And they took him away
If Jesus had not had a divine purpose in dying
He through his divine power could have been delivered as it's indicated
That He delivered Shadrack Meshack and Abednigo from the fiery furnace
Many many years before the time of Christ
King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fiery furnace
And saw that the three men were walkin' around in the fire
And he said of the spirit that was there protecting them
The form of the fourth is like the Son of God
**********
17.
FOURTH MAN
(Arthur Smith)« © '60 Clay Music, BMI »
They wouldn't bend (they held on to the will of God so we are told)
They wouldn't bow (they would not bow their knees to the Idol made of gold)
They wouldn't burn (they were protected by) the Fourth Man in the fire
They wouldn't bend they wouldn't bow they wouldn't burn
Now the prophet Daniel tells about three men who walked with God
Shadrach Meshach and Abednigo before the wicked king they stood
And the king commanded them bound and thrown into the fiery furnace that day
But the fire was so hot that the men were slain that forced them on their way
They wouldn't bend ...
Now when the three were cast in and the king rose up to witness this awful fate
He began to tremble at what he saw in astonished tones he spake
Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire
Well Lo I see four men unhurt unbound and walkin' down there
There's Shadrach Meshach and Abednigo and the fiery coals they trod
But the form of the Fourth Man that I see is like the Son of God
They wouldn't bend ...
They wouldn't bend ...
**********
18.
ON THE VIA DOLOROSA
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
We are on the Via Dolorosa the way of the Cross having just left the Praetorium
Where Pilate said to Christ I washed my hands of the matter
And turned him over to the people and told them to do what they would with him
There's no traffic here the streets's very narrow
Little children playing along the street the street's about ten feet wide
You see the third station of the Cross
Where Christ almost fell under the weight of the Cross
He's kneeling and the fourth station of the Cross on about
Over forty or fifty feet farther toward Calvary
Where His mother came up to Him and said my Son what's happened
And he's leaning under the heavy weight of the Cross too
Continuing on now toward Calvary from the fourth station of the Cross
We left the Praetorium where Christ was sentenced and where he was turned over
To the Jewish people and they were offered Barabbas and they said
No give us Christ we'll crucify him
Following along the stations of the Cross passing station No 5
And it's said at this point that Simon a Cyrenean coming out of the country
On him they laid the Cross that he might bear it after Jesus
And they continued on the way of the Cross as we are now
Leaving place No 5 toward Calvary it's a long long way from here
You can see standing here between station No 5 and No 6
Two hundred yards at least up the steps toward Calvary's hill
All along it's a very narrow street ten or twelve feet wide
Shops on each side little children playin' old men and women
Carryin' their bread dressed in their long robes
Just as they did two thousand years ago
The music here in the background is a radio playin' (what's that an Arab station)
Still continuin' up the way of the Cross toward Calvary
The voices you hear in the background are pilgrims from all over the world
All along the Via Dolorosa here there are beggars (I suppose mostly Arab beggars)
Pass station No 10 continuing on to Calvary they are all along the way
They say that they are all blind
They say that the reason there are so many blind along
This part of the country is because of the dust
Ev'rywhere the wind is blowin' and the dust is flyin'
And of course there are germs in the dust that diseases their eyes
And the dust itself puts 'em out
On toward Calvary we pass another beggar sittin' along the way
All kinds of shops pilgrims continuin' on the same way that we're goin'
Now closer to Calvary the way really gets crowded
It's still the same very narrow street though
**********
19.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
Approaching the shrine now where the Cross was now where Christ was crucified
Also the place of the Holy Sepulchre where Christ was buried
Entering into the actual church now which is covered not only the tomb
Where Christ was buried but also the place where he was crucified
There is a very interesting story about this place of Golgotha
They say that when Christ was crucified and His blood came down the cross
And incidentally we are climbin' the steps right now
Going up to the place where He was crucified
When He was crucified and His blood ran down the Cross
It ran into the ground and His blood touched the skull of Adam
The very first man ever on earth created by God Adam
And that just for an instant the skull of Adam came to life
From the blood of Christ touchin' it
**********
20.
AT CALVARY
(Johnny Cash)« © '68 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
And now here we stand in the approximate spot where the Cross stood
In this very spot supposedly on this very spot is
Where Christ was nailed to the Cross layin' flat on the ground
I don't think at this time that it really
After what I've seen today and what is just before me now
That it makes a lot of difference whether or not
This was exactly the very spot where Christ was crucified
And I feel proud in that I am able in my lifetime to come and stand
If not in the exact spot within a few feet or a few yards
At least of where it all happened
Where our Christianity began the most holiest of holy spots for the Christians
Now I would like myself to kneel before this place here underneath the table that is
Where the Cross was supposed to have stood
It is definitely if not the place it's near the place
After Christ was crucified He lay upon the Cross dying
After He was dead the Roman soldiers cast lots for His clothes
There was a Roman soldier Marcellus
Who won this purple robe of Christ in a dice game
And legend has it story has it that Marcellus was affected very strongly by this robe
And the effects of having seen the Crucifixion he almost lost his mind
And ev'rywhere he would go for months and years after that he was like a mad man
He would go to this one or that one standin' near and say were you out there
Were you there were you there when they crucified Him
**********
21.
GOD IS NOT DEAD
(Johnny Cash)« © '67 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
When Jesus called to God upon the cross no answer came for his will must be done
Then how the world trembled at his voice when he said this is my beloved son
It isn't God but man that's dead when love is locked outside
Do you deny that there's a God or is God just denied God is not dead he never died
What man on earth can make one blade of grass
And who can make one seed then make it grow
With all the power and wisdom in our hands
Who can command which way the wind to blow
And who can match the miracle in an eagle's eye or hang a rainbow in a cloudy sky
God is not dead he did not die God is not dead God is not dead
**********
22.
EPILOGUE
(Johnny Cash)« © '67 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
This Jesus of Nazzareth even after His cruel death left us with His hope and promise
In my father's house are many mansions
And as if to His own children he said if it were not so I would have told you
I go to prepare a place for you and if I go to prepare a place for you
I will come again and recieve you unto myself
That where I am there you may be also
**********
