Cash johnny - folsom prison blues lyrics

“Folsom Prison Blues” is a song written and first recorded in 1955 by Johnny Cash.

Cash johnny - folsom prison blues lyrics

The song combines elements from two popular folk styles, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career. It was one of Cash’s signature songs.

It was the eleventh track on his debut album With His Hot and Blue Guitar and it was also included (same version) on All Aboard the Blue Train.

A live version, recorded among inmates at Folsom Prison itself, became a #1 hit on the country music charts in 1968.

Cash was inspired to write this song after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force at Landsberg, Bavaria (itself the location of a famous prison).

Cash recounted how he came up with the line “But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die”: “I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think