Una pequeña introduccion:
A Johnny Cash siempre lo conocieron en casa como JR: las iniciales que sus padres habían anotado en su certificado de nacimiento al no llegar a un acuerdo sobre su nombre de pila en febrero de 1932. Se convirtió en 'John' al alistarse en la Fuerza Aérea en 1950 y en 'Johnny' durante sus primeros balbuceos como cantante de la mano del legendario productor Sam Phillips, unos años después.
Música y religión siempre fueron ámbitos indistinguibles para Cash, que nunca se habría convertido en un cantante profesional sin el aliento de su madre, que escuchó sorprendida la voz de barítono de su hijo adolescente y le dijo: "Tienes un don para cantar. Dios ha puesto su mano sobre ti para llevar el mensaje de Jesucristo".
Los himnos baptistas no fueron la única influencia que moldeó la música de Cash, que escuchaba los éxitos de estrellas del folk como Hank Williams en la radio de su hermano Jack, que se reventó las tripas con una sierra en un accidente que marcó para siempre la conciencia de John.
Aquel adolescente empezó a pensar en una vida lejos de la autoridad de un padre violento y manipulador. Primero se fue a Michigan a trabajar en una fábrica de automóviles. Luego se enroló en la Fuerza Aérea, donde destacó descifrando los mensajes soviéticos gracias a una inteligencia inusual. "Sus colegas contaron que su cociente intelectual rondaba los 160 puntos",
"Al contrario que cualquiera de sus colegas en los años 50, su ambición no era colar otro éxito en la radio. De niño había visto cómo la música levantaba el ánimo de la gente que recogía el algodón y siempre quiso lograr lo mismo con su música. Su mensaje siempre fue el mismo. No importa lo mucho que hayas pecado: no debes perder la fe porque vendrán tiempos mejores".
Ahora 5 temazos de este artista:
'I walk the line' (1956)
Grabada en los legendarios Sun Studios (Memphis, Tennessee), este fue el primer número 1 en Billboard de Johnny Cash. Estuvo en las listas durante más de 40 semanas y vendió 2 millones de copias, convirtiéndose con el paso del tiempo en una de sus composiciones más celebradas.
La letra en ingles:
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
I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line
As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line
You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, 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
'Ring of fire' (1963)
Cash formó un exitoso dúo junto al amor de su vida, su esposa June Carter, con especial relevancia durante las décadas de los sesenta y setenta. Juntos compusieron este 'Anillo de Fuego', el mayor éxito de la dilatada trayectoria de Johnny, versionado aún en la actualidad por artistas de todo tipo y condición (Coldplay, por ejemplo). Pero ninguno ha podido nunca igualar al original con ese toque mariachi.
Letra en ingles:
Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
And I fell right into a great ring of fire and
And I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down as the flames were rising higher
It burns, burns, burns,
And it burns, burns, burns,
The ring of fire
The taste of love is sweet
When hearts just like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
But I jumped right in and the fire went wild
When I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down as the flames were rising higher
And it burns, burns, burns,
And it burns, burns, burns,
The ring of fire
Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
And I fell right into a great ring of fire
And I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down as the flames were rising higher
And it burns, burns, burns,
And it burns, burns, burns,
The ring of fire
'Jackson' (1967)
Escrita en 1963 por Billy Edd Wheeler y Jerry Leiber, fueron finalmente Cash y Carter quienes la popularizaron cuatro años después. Nadie como ellos para cantar sobre una pareja que ha perdido la chispa y decide viajar a Jackson para tratar de encenderla de nuevo
Letra en ingles:
We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout,
We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went out.
I'm goin' to Jackson, I'm gonna mess around,
Yeah, I'm goin' to Jackson,
Look out Jackson town.
Well, go on down to Jackson; go ahead and wreck your health.
Go play your hand you big-talkin' man, make a big fool of yourself,
Yeah, go to Jackson; go comb your hair!
Honey, I'm gonna snowball Jackson.
See if I care.
When I breeze into that city, people gonna stoop and bow. (Hah!)
All them women gonna make me, teach 'em what they don't know how,
I'm goin' to Jackson, you turn-a loose-a my coat.
'Cause I'm goin' to Jackson.
"Goodbye, " that's all she wrote.
But they'll laugh at you in Jackson, and I'll be dancin' on a Pony Keg.
They'll lead you 'round town like a scalded hound,
With your tail tucked between your legs,
Yeah, go to Jackson, you big-talkin' man.
And I'll be waitin' in Jackson, behind my Jaypan Fan,
Well now, we got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper Sprout,
We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went.
I'm goin' to Jackson, and that's a fact.
Yeah, we're goin' to Jackson, ain't never comin' back.
Well, we got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout'
And we've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went...
'Highwayman' (1985)
Tras alcanzar la cima de su popularidad con sus recitales en prisiones (Folsom y San Quintín) y disfrutar de su propio programa televisivo, llegaron los malos tiempos. Desde mitad de los setenta hasta su resurección en los noventa, Cash lo pasó mal. Pero actuó en películas y formó un supergrupo con Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson y Waylon Jennings llamado The Highwaymen. Este fue su único número 1.
Letra en ingles:
I was a highwayman
Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive
I was a sailor
I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still
I was a dam builder
Across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around
I'll always be around and around and around and around and around
I fly a starship
Across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again
'Hurt' (2002)
En 1994, Cash se puso en manos del productor Rick Rubin para grabar 'American Recordings', un disco de versiones austeras registradas en el salón de su casa. Este trabajo supuso el descubrimiento de 'El Hombre de Negro' para toda una nueva generación, que le alzó a los altares del éxito masivo.
En vida publicó tres discos más de esta musical saga (con versiones de U2, Depeche Mode o Neil Young, por citar algunos), y aún otros dos se editaron tras su muerte. El videoclip para la versión de 'Hurt' de Nine Inch Nails es considerado su (emotivo y crepuscular) epitafio.
Letra en ingles:
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liars chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I will keep myself
I would find a way
yapa:
'Folsom prison blues' (1955)
Junto con I walk the line, esta canción es la más reconocible de Johnny Cash. Mención especial merece el concierto en directo que el artista dio en la misma prisión de Folsom en enero de 1968: los presos lo amaron y Cash aprovechó para sacar un nuevo disco llamado At Folsom Prison.
Letra en ingles:
I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' '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
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 bet there's rich folks eatin'
In a fancy dining car
They're probably drinkin' coffee
And smokin' big cigars
But I know I had it comin'
I know I can't be free
But those people keep a-movin'
And that's what tortures me
Well, if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move out over 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
A Johnny Cash siempre lo conocieron en casa como JR: las iniciales que sus padres habían anotado en su certificado de nacimiento al no llegar a un acuerdo sobre su nombre de pila en febrero de 1932. Se convirtió en 'John' al alistarse en la Fuerza Aérea en 1950 y en 'Johnny' durante sus primeros balbuceos como cantante de la mano del legendario productor Sam Phillips, unos años después.
Música y religión siempre fueron ámbitos indistinguibles para Cash, que nunca se habría convertido en un cantante profesional sin el aliento de su madre, que escuchó sorprendida la voz de barítono de su hijo adolescente y le dijo: "Tienes un don para cantar. Dios ha puesto su mano sobre ti para llevar el mensaje de Jesucristo".
Los himnos baptistas no fueron la única influencia que moldeó la música de Cash, que escuchaba los éxitos de estrellas del folk como Hank Williams en la radio de su hermano Jack, que se reventó las tripas con una sierra en un accidente que marcó para siempre la conciencia de John.
Aquel adolescente empezó a pensar en una vida lejos de la autoridad de un padre violento y manipulador. Primero se fue a Michigan a trabajar en una fábrica de automóviles. Luego se enroló en la Fuerza Aérea, donde destacó descifrando los mensajes soviéticos gracias a una inteligencia inusual. "Sus colegas contaron que su cociente intelectual rondaba los 160 puntos",
"Al contrario que cualquiera de sus colegas en los años 50, su ambición no era colar otro éxito en la radio. De niño había visto cómo la música levantaba el ánimo de la gente que recogía el algodón y siempre quiso lograr lo mismo con su música. Su mensaje siempre fue el mismo. No importa lo mucho que hayas pecado: no debes perder la fe porque vendrán tiempos mejores".
Ahora 5 temazos de este artista:
'I walk the line' (1956)
Grabada en los legendarios Sun Studios (Memphis, Tennessee), este fue el primer número 1 en Billboard de Johnny Cash. Estuvo en las listas durante más de 40 semanas y vendió 2 millones de copias, convirtiéndose con el paso del tiempo en una de sus composiciones más celebradas.
La letra en ingles:
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
I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line
As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line
You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, 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
'Ring of fire' (1963)
Cash formó un exitoso dúo junto al amor de su vida, su esposa June Carter, con especial relevancia durante las décadas de los sesenta y setenta. Juntos compusieron este 'Anillo de Fuego', el mayor éxito de la dilatada trayectoria de Johnny, versionado aún en la actualidad por artistas de todo tipo y condición (Coldplay, por ejemplo). Pero ninguno ha podido nunca igualar al original con ese toque mariachi.
Letra en ingles:
Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
And I fell right into a great ring of fire and
And I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down as the flames were rising higher
It burns, burns, burns,
And it burns, burns, burns,
The ring of fire
The taste of love is sweet
When hearts just like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
But I jumped right in and the fire went wild
When I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down as the flames were rising higher
And it burns, burns, burns,
And it burns, burns, burns,
The ring of fire
Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
And I fell right into a great ring of fire
And I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down as the flames were rising higher
And it burns, burns, burns,
And it burns, burns, burns,
The ring of fire
'Jackson' (1967)
Escrita en 1963 por Billy Edd Wheeler y Jerry Leiber, fueron finalmente Cash y Carter quienes la popularizaron cuatro años después. Nadie como ellos para cantar sobre una pareja que ha perdido la chispa y decide viajar a Jackson para tratar de encenderla de nuevo
Letra en ingles:
We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout,
We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went out.
I'm goin' to Jackson, I'm gonna mess around,
Yeah, I'm goin' to Jackson,
Look out Jackson town.
Well, go on down to Jackson; go ahead and wreck your health.
Go play your hand you big-talkin' man, make a big fool of yourself,
Yeah, go to Jackson; go comb your hair!
Honey, I'm gonna snowball Jackson.
See if I care.
When I breeze into that city, people gonna stoop and bow. (Hah!)
All them women gonna make me, teach 'em what they don't know how,
I'm goin' to Jackson, you turn-a loose-a my coat.
'Cause I'm goin' to Jackson.
"Goodbye, " that's all she wrote.
But they'll laugh at you in Jackson, and I'll be dancin' on a Pony Keg.
They'll lead you 'round town like a scalded hound,
With your tail tucked between your legs,
Yeah, go to Jackson, you big-talkin' man.
And I'll be waitin' in Jackson, behind my Jaypan Fan,
Well now, we got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper Sprout,
We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went.
I'm goin' to Jackson, and that's a fact.
Yeah, we're goin' to Jackson, ain't never comin' back.
Well, we got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout'
And we've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went...
'Highwayman' (1985)
Tras alcanzar la cima de su popularidad con sus recitales en prisiones (Folsom y San Quintín) y disfrutar de su propio programa televisivo, llegaron los malos tiempos. Desde mitad de los setenta hasta su resurección en los noventa, Cash lo pasó mal. Pero actuó en películas y formó un supergrupo con Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson y Waylon Jennings llamado The Highwaymen. Este fue su único número 1.
Letra en ingles:
I was a highwayman
Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive
I was a sailor
I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still
I was a dam builder
Across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around
I'll always be around and around and around and around and around
I fly a starship
Across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again
'Hurt' (2002)
En 1994, Cash se puso en manos del productor Rick Rubin para grabar 'American Recordings', un disco de versiones austeras registradas en el salón de su casa. Este trabajo supuso el descubrimiento de 'El Hombre de Negro' para toda una nueva generación, que le alzó a los altares del éxito masivo.
En vida publicó tres discos más de esta musical saga (con versiones de U2, Depeche Mode o Neil Young, por citar algunos), y aún otros dos se editaron tras su muerte. El videoclip para la versión de 'Hurt' de Nine Inch Nails es considerado su (emotivo y crepuscular) epitafio.
Letra en ingles:
I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liars chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again
A million miles away
I will keep myself
I would find a way
yapa:
'Folsom prison blues' (1955)
Junto con I walk the line, esta canción es la más reconocible de Johnny Cash. Mención especial merece el concierto en directo que el artista dio en la misma prisión de Folsom en enero de 1968: los presos lo amaron y Cash aprovechó para sacar un nuevo disco llamado At Folsom Prison.
Letra en ingles:
I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' '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
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 bet there's rich folks eatin'
In a fancy dining car
They're probably drinkin' coffee
And smokin' big cigars
But I know I had it comin'
I know I can't be free
But those people keep a-movin'
And that's what tortures me
Well, if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move out over 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