Johnny Cash Found Inspiration From 1 of His Life’s Most Tragic Moments
Johnny Cash remains on the shortlist of all-time great country music artists. He didn’t write one of his most famous songs, but that doesn’t change the fact that he had dozens of hit tunes during his career. His music influenced many who followed him, but Cash once revealed that the biggest inspiration came from one of his life’s most tragic moments.
Johnny Cash was close with his older brother, Jack
Cash grew up in rural Arkansas during the Great Depression, and life wasn’t easy. The future singer helped the family farm cotton, and his dad and brother took side jobs to make ends meet.
He discovered a love of music working the fields with his family, but the tough life took a devastating turn during Cash’s childhood. While working a job cutting wood, his older brother, Jack, was pulled into a table and was nearly cut in half. Jack survived the accident but died a week later.
His brother’s death was brutal, but Cash found inspiration from one of his life’s most tragic moments.
Cash revealed his brother’s death impacted his whole life: ‘It was more of an inspiration to me than anything else’
The Cash family understandably gravitated to Jack’s bed as he fought for his life. Johnny Cash was there when his brother’s spirit gave out and recalled his dying words in Johnny Cash: The Life and Legacy of the Man in Black: “It’s so wonderful, and what a beautiful place that I’m going.”
Those last words left a lasting impression on Cash. He said it might have been the most inspirational moment of any man’s life in his 1976 autobiography Man in Black (per Johnny Cash: The Life and Legacy):
“The memory of Jack’s death, his vision of heaven, the effect his life had on the lives of others, and the image of Christ he projected have been more of an inspiration to me, I suppose, than anything else that has ever come to me through any man.”
Johnny Cash on finding inspiration in his brother’s death
Cash sang many songs that discussed spirituality during his career, and it’s not hard to fathom that his brother’s death inspired those tunes.
Still, the Man in Black dealt with demons throughout his life. His first marriage ended in divorce. The Man in Black also struggled with addiction throughout his life. The authorities arrested Cash seven times in his life, including for drug possession and public drunkenness.
The final verse from Cash’s “The Highwayman” almost sums up his light and dark sides. He first sings of flying across the universe to see if he can find a place to rest his spirit. He closes the tune singing, “I will remain / And I’ll be back again and again and again / And again and again and again.”
The Man in Black battled poor health to make the last album he saw released
Cash recorded a series of albums using American in the title with the help of producer Rick Rubin. The 2002 record American IV: The Man Comes Around was the last Cash album to be released during his lifetime.
The Man in Black was in poor health while making The Man Comes Around. He suffered from autonomic neuropathy, which causes the nervous system to function improperly. A 1998 bout of pneumonia damaged his lungs, which made singing difficult. He borrowed a trick from Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page during the recording process. If a song wasn’t working or if he hit a roadblock, Cash and Rubin would move on to something else.
Covers comprise most of The Man Comes Around, including his heartbreaking cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt.” He didn’t write many of the songs, but Johnny Cash still found a way to tap the inspiration of his brother’s tragic death to sing of life, love, hurt, and regret.
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