.

how could you tell?

Well you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well there's a reason for the things that I have on
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin' in the hopeless hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime
But is there because he's a victim of the times
I wear the black for those who've never read
Or listened to the words that Jesus said
About the road to happiness through love and charity
Why you'd think he's talking straight to you and me
Well we're doin' mighty fine I do suppose
In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there oughta be a man in black
I wear it for the sick and lonely old
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold
I wear the black in morning for the lives that could have been
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men
And I wear it for the thousands who have died
Believin' that the Lord was on their side
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died
Believin' that we all were on their side
Well there's things that never will be right I know
And things need changin' everywhere you go
But till we start to make a move to make a few things right
You'll never see me wear a suit of white
Oh I'd love to wear a rainbow every day and tell the world that everything's okay
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
Till things're brighter I'm the man in black
[This message was edited Fri Sep 12 4:45:10 PDT 2003 by Anxiety]

I wish I lived in a world where they printed the above picture in every newspaper obituary for this man who dared to walk the line.
RIP Johnny.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

On a serious note, how did Johnny Cash die?

I truly believe that "death" is not an ending, only a transition into another form of life, another existence...still, there's sadness at the news...

Rest & begin living peacefully, Mr. Cash...

He was alive?

bkw said:

More alive than most people ever were.

wait a minnit

John Ritter AND Johnny Cash???



I think I need to go back to bed, today's a sad day!

Anxiety said:

I'm really sad about this...I had a feeling he might not live long after his wife passed.

applekisses said:

Yeah - you hear about people who have been in long marriages and when one of them dies, the other passes soon after - it was a really safe bet that this was going to be the case with June & Johnny. It's cool that they weren't apart very long, I suppose.

Anxiety said:

I know... but it's such a loss...he was an amazing human being.

Death is the culmination of life. In death life seeks rest..

May he and his love walk hand in hand amongst the clouds, forever more.

"Every man knows he's a sissy compared to Johnny Cash." - Bono

I already posted this in the non-Prince music forum. but damn it, he deserves a thread in every forum, so i'm cutting and pasting it here




This is very sad, and I don't think most people here (or many young people, in general) realize what the world lost today.


That said, I'm not surprised. After seeing him on TV late least year and earlier this year, knowing that June died early this summer, and hearing that he was in the hospital again recently, I was almost expecting it.


If you haven't seen it, try checking out his video "Hurt" today. I'm sure it'll be on a lot. It's a wonderful eulogy for him (and his wife) and it's rare that one gets to do that for oneself.


Every time I've seen it, it's affected me, and after today, probably even more.


Much love to the man in black. And best wishes to the Carter family, for losing both he and June this year. They'll be missed.

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.

Johnny Cash is The ORIGINAL Man In Black.

R.I.P my friend.

'dre

gainsbourg said:

cool . . .

oh shit i thought you said carson

damn

I like 2 think he didnt wanna stick around anymore and wanted 2 be with June.
I truly respected the guy's artistry - especially these past few years when he seemed 2 steer his career down a more esoteric, 'fuck you' avenue!
He'll be missed - but WHAT a legacy he's left us all...
*awaiting Bono's eulogy Edit*
[This message was edited Fri Sep 12 10:09:47 PDT 2003 by bananacologne]

mtv couldnt give him that god damn award

idiots

http://story.news.yahoo.c...0912181958


The legend of Johnny Cash, the inimitable "Man in Black"
40 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AFP to My Yahoo!



NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AFP) - Johnny Cash, the prolific country music legend who has died at the age of 71, was a modern-day Everyman, the very embodiment of the all-American hero.


Throughout his nearly 50-year-long career, Cash -- known as "The Man in Black" for his ebony attire -- embraced practically every modern musical style, and his rich, somber baritone became the voice of the underdog and the outcast.


His subject matter was life itself, as he sang about coal miners, share-croppers, railroad men, blue-collar workers, Native Americans, prisoners, cowboys and family men in songs bearing his hallmark of rugged simplicity.


"If country music is the poetry of America's common man, then surely Johnny Cash is its poet laureate," the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts -- which lauded Cash with its prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 1996 -- said on its website.


Cash died at 2:00 am (0700 GMT) Friday at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, with family members at his bedside, a hospital spokeswoman said.


"Johnny died due to complications from diabetes, which resulted in respiratory failure," his manager Lou Robin said in a statement, adding: "I hope that friends and fans of Johnny will pray for the Cash family to find comfort during this very difficult time."


Robin said Cash, who had been released from the same hospital Tuesday after three weeks of treatment for pancreatitis, had been trying to finish an album with songs written after his wife, fellow country singer June Carter Cash, died in May. She was 73.


Cash was present at the very birth of rock and roll, although he never felt comfortable as a rocker, and he subsequently was inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll and Nashville Songwriters Foundation halls of fame.


Born the son of a poor Arkansas share-cropper in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, he almost died of starvation as a child.


Later, he worked the cotton fields, got a job on the production line at an auto plant in Michigan, joined the air force and became an appliance salesman in Memphis, Tennessee.


But all that changed in 1955, when he was one of the first artists to sign for the legendary Sam Phillips and his Sun label, where his stablemates included Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis -- the "Million-Dollar Quartet" of rock legend.


After the success of his double A-side "Doggone Lonesome," Cash went full time in 1956.


In rapid succession, he produced the songs on which the bedrock of his fame was built: "I Walk the Line" and "Ring of Fire."


But like many a star before and since, he succumbed to a serious drug and alcohol problem in the 1960s and his life was in a desperate mess by 1965, when he split up with his first wife, Vivian Liberto.


He was pulled back from the brink by fellow singer June Carter, whom he married in 1968, and the couple found solace in a lasting religious faith.


He went on to record classics like "Folsom Prison Blues," which contains the chilling line "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die."


Health problems began to plague him from 1998, when he almost died of pneumonia, and he was diagnosed as having a nervous system disorder akin to Parkinson's disease (news - web sites).





Cash was at the height of his considerable powers by this time, playing up to 200 concerts a year, a tribute to his stamina, and producing two albums recorded in front of audiences of convicted criminals -- "Live at Folsom Prison" and "Live at San Quentin."

His career has produced more than 150 hit records -- more than any other artist in the history of popular music -- and the importance of his output and influence was reflected by the high regard and affection in which he has been held in all corners of the world throughout his career.

Cash received 23 GMI Awards for penning such American classics as "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk The Line," "Five Feet High and Rising," "Don't Take Your Guns To Town," "Big River" and "Get Rhythm."

He recorded nearly 1,500 songs, which appeared on more than 470 albums, and he won 11 Grammy Awards, including two for duets with Carter Cash. He received a 1987 Grammy nomination for his participation on the historic "Class of '55" album with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison.

Just last month, Cash won an MTV Video Music Award for best cinematography for his video "Hurt," a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song, but he was hospitalized at the time and was unable to attend the ceremony.