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FREDERICK
E. DANKER
The Repertory
andStyleof a CountrySinger
JohnnyCash
1 Henry Glassie, Edward D. Ives, and John F. Szwed, Folksongs and Their Makers (Bowling
Green, Ohio, n.d.); Almeda Riddle, A Singer and Her Songs: Almeda Riddle's Book of Ballads, ed.
Roger D. Abrahams, (Baton Rouge, La., 1970); Edward Ives, Lawrence Doyle: The Farmer-Poet
of Prince Edward Island-A Study in Local Songmaking (Orono, Me., 97I ); Edward Ives, Larry
Gorman: The Man Who Made the Songs (Bloomington, Ind., 1964); Loman D. Cansler, "He
Hewed His Own Path: William Henry Scott, Ozark Songmaker," Studies in the Literary Imagina-
tion, 3 (1970), 5-34; Roger D. Abrahams, "Creativity, Individuality, and the Traditional Singer,"
Studies in the LiteraryImagination, 3
(I970), 37-63.
2 In particular,Dan Ben-Amos,"Toward a Definition of Folklore in Context,"JOURNAL OF
AMERICAN FOLKLORE, 84 (I971), 3-15; Roger D. Abrahams, "Personal Power and Social Restraint
in the Definition of Folklore," JOURNALOF AMERICAN FOLKLORE, 84 (I97I), 16-30; Kenneth S.
Goldstein, "On the Application of the Concepts of Active and Inactive Traditions to the Study of
Repertory," JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLKLORE, 84 (197I), 62-67.
310 FREDERICK E. DANKER
Repertory
Cash'srepertoryis wide-rangingin both active and passiveaspects.In exam-
ining Cash'spublic-performance repertoryof over 350 songs, I draw upon nu-
merouslive performances,single and albumrecordings,televisionperformances,
films, and song folios. Of great assistanceis the recentpublicationby the John
EdwardsMemorialFoundationof JohnL. Smith'sdiscographyand the Dial Press
Songs of JohnnyCash.5As has been noted frequently,the time limitationof ap-
proximatelythreeminutesper side and the demandsof recordproducerson folk
musicians (often alreadyfolk professionalsbefore they entered the recording
studio) in the i920s and i930s resultedin the eventualdepletionof their tradi-
tional song repertories.The demandfor two differentsongs for each recording
led to the compositionof new songs, sometimesmodeled closely on traditional
lyrics,but just as often revelatoryof new contextsfor songmakingalong the lines
of the urban/ruralsyndrome.The rise of the individual recordingstar on the
model of Vernon Dalhart,JimmieRodgers,and, later,Roy Acuff and his associ-
ates at the GrandOle Opry in the 1940s and 195os, alongsidethe presenceof
the stringbandsand vocal duos, broughtgreatchangesin the life stylesand per-
formancecontextsof countrysingers.At the same time the spreadof the record
8 Henry Glassie, "Artifacts: Folk, Popular, Imaginary and Real," in Icons of Popular Culture, ed.
Marshall Fishwick and Ray B. Browne (Bowling Green, Ohio, 1970), xo6.
4 Ibid., I09.
5 John L. Smith, Johnny Cash Discography and Recording History (1955-1968), John Edwards
Memorial Foundation, Special Series, no. 2 (Los Angeles, 1969), John Cash, Songs of Johnny Cash,
ed. Bob Cornfield (New York, 1970). All recording dates are taken from Smith.
THE REPERTORY AND STYLE OF A COUNTRY SINGER 31I
9 Reference to John Smith's discography will provide single record and album release numbers
for all material. Throughout this paper in indicating composer credits for songs I rely on informa-
tion supplied on record labels, album jackets, and in the following song folios: I Walk the Line and
Other Johnny Cash Hits (New York, 1970); Johnny Cash Songs and Picture Folio, No. 1
(New York, 1959); Johnny Cash Song and Picture Folio, No. 2 (New York, 960o); Johnny Cash
at Folsom Prison (New York, 1969); Johnny Cash: Hymns from the Heart (New York, 1962);
Johnny Cash Motion Picture Songs (New York, 1970); Johnny Cash Show Souvenir Picture and
Song Book (Los Angeles, n. d.); Hello, I'm Johnny Cash (Miami, 1970); and Songs of Johnny
Cash. I have found some contradictions in credits; there may be inaccuracies still in my attributions,
but I have tried to cross-check as much as possible.
10 D. K.
Wilgus, "Record Reviews," JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLKLORE, 83 (1970), 99.
314 FREDERICKE. DANKER
the mid 1950s was a transmitterand creativeadapterof folk material.In fact,his
own ballad "Give My Love to Rose" from as earlyas 1957 seemsclearlybased,
becauseof its lyrics,on the traditional"Give My Love to Nell" (also known as
"Jackand Joe"), even if the musicis quite different.Cashrecaststhe balladas a
first-personnarrativeabout a man (the "I") who finds by the railroadtracksa
nearlydead ex-convictwho servedten yearsin Friscoand then receivesthe con-
vict's final words to give his money and love to his son and his wife, Rose. The
originalballadconcernstwo friends, Jackand Joe, who sail "acrossthe foam" to
seek their fortune.Jackmakesit first and sails for home, takingJoe's words of
love to Nell. But, when Joe finallydoes returnhome, he findsthat Jackhas done
morethanconveya messageof love-he has marriedthe girl himself.Joe forgives
the blackguard.Usually appearingwith three main narrativestanzas (double)
and a long chorusthat concludes"Don't forget to give my love to Nell" (com-
pare Cash's"Don't forget to give my love to Rose" in the same position), the
song has been widely collectedin the United States,including the Ozarksand
Texas." Cash's rewriting (while reducing the main narrativeto two double
stanzas) is tragicand starkernot only in its contemporary setting but also in the
generally narrower range of the vocal line and its repetitivenote melody.The par-
ticularqualitythat Cashgives to the song is made evident fully only when heard
on the variousrecordingshe has madeof it. The originalSun single employsjust
the TennesseeTwo and a chorusthat alternatelyhums and backs Cash on the
choruswith the lyrics;sung slowly with a subduedelectricguitaraccompaniment
(even the instrumentalbreakis just a phrase) the narrativecomesacrossin all its
starkness.His firstre-recordingfor Columbiaon I Walkthe Line is shorter(2:20
vs. the original 2:44), althoughall the lyricsare included.It is performedat a
pace that seems hurried and not too deeply felt. Without the chorus,just the
TennesseeThree (W. S. Holland on drumsbeing the new member) accompany
Cash. But it is the final recordingof the song in JohnnyCashat Folsom Prison
that in its own way echoesthe firstrecording;the paceis aboutthe sameand the
TennesseeThree accompany,but the acousticsof the prison recreationhall and
Cash'sraspy,almostbroken,voice againstthe slowly moving electricguitarand
electricbasshelp conveythe neardespairof the song. I havetakenthe time in the
caseof this song to discusssomemusicalaspectsbecauseI thinkthattheyareoften
an essentialaspectof examiningthe role of the individualsingerand his altering
of traditionalmaterials.
Since the earlyyearsCashhas continuedto expandhis traditionalrepertoryby
recordingsuch songs as "Sam Hall" (Laws L5), "BuryMe Not on the Lone
Prairie"(Laws B2), "'SweetBetsy from Pike" (Laws B9), "The Streetsof La-
redo" (LawsBI), "I Ride an Old Paint" (Cashalso adaptedthis song in a variant
entitled "SlowRider"for his earlyalbumof i96o, Ride This Train), "TheWa-
bashCannonball,"and "TheOrangeBlossomSpecial"(a fiddletuneattributedto
ErvinRousewhom Cashmet in Floridaand to whom he paystributein the liner
notesto OrangeBlossomSpecial,althoughone wondershow muchof the dialogue
11 Representative texts in standard collections, such as Randolph, IV, 336; Brown, II, 635-638
(lyrics), and IV, 307-308 (music); Owen, Texas Folksongs, 199-201. A recording by Roy Acuff
is available on Roy Acuff Sings American Folksongs (Hickory LPM-II5). Almeda Riddle also has
it in her repertory as reported by Abrahams, A Singer and Her Songs, 189.
THE REPERTORY AND STYLE OF A COUNTRY SINGER 315
in the song is Cash'sratherthan Rouse's). Most interestingof these morerecent
traditionalitems in his repertoryis "MisterGarfield."As Cash indicatesin his
extensivenotesfor the album,Balladsof the True West,he learnedthe song from
Jack Elliott under the title "The Ballad of CharlesGuiteau" (Laws E I) but
wrotemost of the dialoguehimself, thus transformingit into a cantefable,a form
Cash favors. D. K. Wilgus assumesthat JackElliott learnedthe song from the
recordingof BascomLamarLunsfield.12Simplyin numbersthesetraditionalitems
do not dominateCash'srepertory;yet many of them remaincurrentin his live
performancerepertory.He also revealsan awarenessof the folksongcollectionsof
Sandburg,the Lomaxes,Botkin,Dobie, and others (all mentionedin his notes to
the doublealbumof cowboyand westernsongs referredto above) as well as the
influenceof Tex Ritteras a singerof traditionalmaterial.
BALLADS. For purposesof simplicityI use the term "ballad"for any song pri-
marilynarrative.Alternativeterms,suchas "narrativesong"or "storysong,"used
to distinguishforms variantfrom traditionalballadsseem to me less than useful
for this repertorystudy.
Cash'srepertoryincludesroughlyfifty-oddsongs I would classify as ballads.
Manyof these aretraditionalballadsor adaptationsas discussedabove;othersare
of his own composition;and perhapsthe largestnumberare in the subtypefre-
quently called "sagasongs." The saga song is a narrativeabout some event or
prominentperson in the past, sometimeshistoricallyaccuratebut often an em-
broideringon fact to highlight the heroicsor emphasizea theme. The songtype
becamea countrymusicfavoritein the late 1950s and early196os in the handsof
suchsingersas JohnnyHortonand StonewallJacksonand perhapsat its bestwith
MartyRobbins'seriesof sagasongsof the cowboyandthe West. Unlike the event
balladsof countryand folk music of the 1920s and 1930s (and recentlyin the
eventballadsof a singer-songwriter like Tom T. Hall), basedon disastersof vari-
ous sorts, the saga song has a tendencyto blend narrativeand lyric elements,to
be sentimentalor melodramatic,to emphasizerefrainsat the expenseof narrative
stanzas,and to be recordedwith humming and chantingchoruses,heavy drum
beats, and in a generallystridentmanner.JohnnyHorton's"The Battle of New
Orleans,""Sink the Bismark,""JohnnyReb," "The Battle of Bull Run," and
"Springtimein Alaska"are typical,althoughMartyRobbins'sagasongs are gen-
erally quieterand more orientedtowardnarrative.Like the event ballads,these
saga songs are in the broadsidetraditionin termsof both communications context
(records,sheetmusic) andesthetic.
Cashhas recordeda numberof theseballads,even if few of themhavebecome
a permanentpartof his repertory.Manywere releasedas singles and not reissued
in albumsuntil Columbiastartedto pourout Cashalbumsin the late sixties,coin-
cidingwith Cash'snationalpopularityon television.Possiblythe mostenduringof
these saga songs are "Rememberthe Alamo" (Jane Bowers), "The Long Black
Veil" (a song in the repertoriesof many singers), "The Ballad of Boot Hill"
(Carl Perkins), and Cash'sown "Dorraineof Ponchartrain," "HankandJoe and
Me," "Clementine,""LocomotiveMan,"and "Girlin Saskatoon"(with Horton).
Most arerecordedwith a chorus,prominentdrums,and echochamber,andwith a
sort of shoutingsinging style. Cash'sown "The Big Battle"--a Civil War saga
12
Wilgus, "Record Reviews."
316 FREDERICK
E. DANKER
ter," "FolsomPrison Blues," "The Wreck of the Old 97," and "So Doggone
Lonesome."Eight of the twelve songs are by Cash.The cover featuresa photo-
graph of Cash leaning against a pillar dressedin a subdued"Western"outfit:
brown jacket,stripedblacktrousers,gunbelt,wide-brimmedhat. He is rolling a
cigarette,looking dour,and sproutinga couple-of-days'growthof beard.A steam
locomotiveis directlybehindhim. The albumnotes indicatethat "loyalfans and
followers" asked for an album of "trainand relatedsongs." The album is en-
tirely appropriate;blues songs predominate,some in the train blues category
("Blue Train," "Trainof Love," "I Heard that LonesomeWhistle," "Folsom
Prison Blues," and "Give My Love to Rose" [the last two only tangentially]).
Othersare blues songs aboutleaving a loved one or returninghome and have no
train references:"ThereYou Go," "GoodbyeLittle Darling," "ComeIn Stran-
ger," "So Doggone Lonesome.""Hey, Porter"is a Cash lyric about returning
hometo the Southon a train.Both "RockIslandLine" (more lyricthannarrative)
and "The Wreckof the Old 97" are traditionalrailroadsongs. For the folklorist
this albumconstitutesprimeevidenceof the importanceof commerciallyreleased
countrymusicin comingto termswith the continuumof folk and countrymusic.
No folkloristput the albumtogether:nor did Cash. Sun Records'management
took what they had of Cash'sspecificrailroadand train songs and filled out the
needed twelve bands with other Cash songs. They sensed the relationof these
non-railroadsongs to the others,for all the songs do makea unifiedimpression;
as an artifactthe albumin some measureexpressesan esthetic.Interestingly,the
notes speakof "nostalgicsentiments,"the "magicof our heritage,"the "greatro-
mantictraditionof the earlyera of the train,"and "thisromanticage of the 'big
blackwheel'."The contentstell us somethingquitedifferent.
On the otherhand, the Columbiaalbumis not a collectionof railroador train
songs; the sounds of trains are in the backgroundas Cash narratesa tour of
America with adapted traditionalsongs and folk-countrylyric songs used to
exemplify occupationsand aspectsof the Americanlandscape.This albumlater
servedas the impetusfor Cash'sexpandedversionof the narrativesong form in
his televisionshow and indicatesmuchof the directionof his workin recentyears.
The dominanceof blues songs on the Sun album (several of the songs ap-
peared on his first Sun album in 1957) suggests the communalityof blues,
trainblues, and manyrailroadsongs in Cash'srepertory.Somethingmorethan a
romanticauraor nostalgiapervadesthese songs. All echo the lonelinessand root-
lessnessof manon the land, the hardshipsand disastersbothpersonaland occupa-
tional comingto the Americanforging a nationand who finds his place in it less
than secure.Cash'sdominantlystarksinging style with its semi-monotonemove-
ment over a narrowscalealwayscomplementedby the equallystark,deep instru-
mental accompanimentbringsan auraof despairto these songs-as it does, for
instance,to his earlyrecordingof the traditional"New Mexico,"anothersong of
losers.Etchedout with somepain from a felt life, this style makesa unityof im-
pression for a variety of songs. For, in a metaphorical sense, we are all aboard
the Blue Train in the Sun album; it becomes the broken dream train of the
imagination.
Sharecropper songs. Songs of this type have assumed greater prominence as
Cash has started to speak more openly on stage and television about his poor
320 FREDERICK E. DANKER
PerformanceStyle
In discussingrepertoryI unavoidablytouchedon mattersof performancestyle.
Now I would like to considerin further detail aspectsof Cash'sperformance
stylein relationto generalmoderncountrymusicstyles.
Cash,like othermoderncountrysingerssince the 195os, has broughtinto his
recordingsextra instrumentsnot part of his basic band: dobro, autoharp,trom-
bones,the mariachitrumpetsound,timpani,bongos,and so forth. Sincethey are
recording-studioadditionsby non-countrymusic orientedproducersor by those
who are consciouslyaping pop music formulas and are not absorbedinto the
interplayof traditionalinstrumentalgroupings,these additionsare inimical to
maintainingcountrymusicas it is. On the otherhand, if their use reflectsinstru-
mentaltraditionswithin a broadrange of folk culturesabsorbedby the artistor
his band (such as western swing, Mexican mariachistyles) and are suitable
then to the song type in emphasizingits folksongorigins,they canbe evidenceof
enculturation.There are further examples of acculturationand enculturation:
Cash'suse of the dobroon severalrecordingsand of the bongos in "I Want to
Go Home";his frequentplayingof the harmonicain recentyears;the use of the
CarterFamilyand the StatlerBrotherson gospel songs, not so much as a chorus
underpinningor "sweetening"his lead vocalbutmoreas antiphonalandalternate
solo voices.In some of the Sun recordingsa chorus(presumablythe Gene Lowry
Singers) was used like an additionalinstrumentto emphasizerhythmsor to
heightenvocalimpactin close-upunisonor tightharmony.
One cannot consider Cash's vocal style apart from his preferencefor the
simplest of string band instrumentalaccompaniment,ornamentedonly by oc-
casionalelectricguitarbreaksor phrases.Evenon recordingshe has avoidedlarge
instrumentalconglomerates,and since 1956 has added just the drummerW. S.
Holland to his original Tennessee Two-Luther Perkins on electric lead and
rhythmguitarand MarshallGranton stringbass (electricbasssinceabout1968).
Bob Wooten took over on electricguitar after Perkins'deathin 1968. This sta-
bilityin personneland soundis highly unusualin countrymusic,consideringthe
vicissitudesof the musicbusiness.It is the sametype of bandPresleystartedwith
and, judging from recordings,resemblesthe backupgroupsfor other Sun artists
in the mid-i950s. W. S. Holland was, in fact, originallythe drummerwith Carl
Perkins'band.Both Cashand Perkinsstartedaboutthe same time in the country
musicfield andworkedfor Sun.Likemanyof the "rockabilly" singerson Sunand
otherlabels in the mid-195os,Cashhas not used the steel guitarto anyextent;it
is rarelyevident except on the album of countrystandards,Now There ITWas a
Song. Cash himself uses the six-stringacoustic
guitar,sometimes switchingoverto
a twelve-string.In recentyearshe has done some picking on the guitar to ac-
companyhis own songs or to add short melodic phrasesin breaks.He has de-
velopedsome facilitywith the harmonica,playinga seriesof smallharmonicasto
some effect on his version of "The Orange Blossom Special." Although I have
never witnessed a piano in his live performances, quite a few of his recordings
employ one. Above the dcloserhythmic work of electric guitar and bass (often
"slapped"), Cash sings in a sort of parlando rubato manner, letting every word
be heard. Luther Perkins' electric guitar breaks were bluesy but simple, most often
328 FREDERICKE. DANKER
BostonStateCollege
Boston,Massachusetts