Man in Black was honest about his flaws

By D.S. Martin and ChristianWeek | August 1, 2010

He's a walkin' contradiction; partly truth and partly fiction/ Takin' every wrong direction on his lonely way back home... In 1970, Kris Kristopherson sang these words in "The Pilgrim...": a song inspired by his friend, Johnny Cash. Right down to the end—even with his strong, stirring proclamations of faith—Cash has been a bit of a conundrum.

The biopic Walk The Line, showed the long familiarity Cash had with the gospel, but also his intimacy with the follies of drink and drugs. Even as he turned from these problems, he remained as ready to sing about the rough side of life as he was to direct his listeners to the narrow way.

Since Cash passed away in 2003, his record company has continued to release his music. His 2006 CD American V: A Hundred Highways was billed as his "final recordings." This new album is called "Johnny's final studio album;" all of this suggests that they probably have a live recording eventually to appear as installment VII.

The most startling thing, for those long-familiar with Cash, is that on these recordings Johnny's powerful baritone voice frequently shows weakness. Rather than this being a detriment, though, producer Rick Rubin uses the quavering and cracking to effectively show us the intensity of this legendary performer.

Most songs on these last two CDs are covers—gospel-tinged numbers from surprising sources, classics from well-known songwriters and a few country songs that drip with sentimentality. Both albums are mixed bags. Ain't No Grave clearly collects the songs not included on A Hundred Highways. Juxtapose the credit list, and you'll see that all the major players, and even most additional musicians, are the same for both albums—including Mike Campbell and Benmont Trench of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers. I am not suggesting that Ain't No Grave is a scraping together of leftovers.

The highlights of the earlier release, A Hundred Highways, are varied: the traditional song "God's Gonna Cut You Down," two great Canadian folk compositions "If You Could Read My Mind" and "Four Strong Winds," Bruce Springsteen's "Further On Up The Road" and Cash's own "I Came To Believe." Surprisingly, the syrupy, sentimental songs are mainly on this disc.

Clearly Ain't No Grave was planned before the earlier CD came out, for they never would have left so many excellent songs in the can. Take the gripping title track, where Cash sings—in a worn, ghostly voice—accompanied by banjo and footstomps:

There ain't no grave can hold my body down
When I hear that trumpet sound
I'm gonna rise right outta the ground
Ain't no grave can hold my body down.

This is one of three clear proclamations of faith, expressed in the album's first four songs. The other two are Sheryl Crow's "Redemption Day" and Johnny's original piece "First Corinthians Fifteen Fifty-Five."

To contrast with these, the third song on the CD is Kris Kristopherson's "For The Good Times." Cash has often taken on another's persona—a murder convict, a thief, a would-be gun-slinger—and so has no trouble singing a song that includes a compromising relationship. Even so, his audience is used to him expressing the multiple sides of life. Other songs include "Cool Water" originally recorded by the Sons of the Pioneers, "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream" which appeared on Simon & Garfunkel's first album, and "Satisfied Mind" which was the first song on Dylan's gospel album Saved.

What we clearly see from these releases, is what was important to "the man in black" during his final days. He loved a good story, sung convincingly, loved folk and country music and he loved his Saviour. His relationship with his wife, June Carter Cash, was also of great significance; when she died in May 2003, Johnny only lasted another four months.

Johnny Cash holds a significant place in Christian music, even though—or especially because—he was too honest about his own flaws to be seen as an ideal role model.