AllenLowe Posted July 19, 2009 Report Posted July 19, 2009 "The lonely voice of youth cries... what is truth?" -from a bad song by Johnny Cash Quote
Alexander Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 "The lonely voice of youth cries... what is truth?" -from a bad song by Johnny Cash Is such a thing possible? I sure haven't heard a bad song from Johnny... Quote
AllenLowe Posted July 20, 2009 Author Report Posted July 20, 2009 (edited) well, in the late 1960s, I think it was, Cash was walking a very thin line between his old-line country audience and the new generation of rock fans whom he wanted to court - when I saw him at Newport in 1969 he was uncomfortably trying to find common ground with that new audience, full of hippies and folksters, and coming up with songs like the above, which, much as I admired him, seemed forced and artificial. Edited July 20, 2009 by AllenLowe Quote
Alexander Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 well, in the late 1960s, I think it was, Cash was walking a very thin line between his old-line country audience and the new generation of rock fans whom he wanted to court - when I saw him at Newport in 1969 he was uncomfortably trying to find common ground with that new audience, full of hippies and folksters, and coming up with songs like the above, which, much as I admired him, seemed forced and artificial. Well, he'd been hanging with Dylan around that time. The funny thing, of course, is that Dylan was "going country" (he recorded "Nashville Skyline" around that time) at the same time that Cash was "going relevant." Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 My mom loved Johnny Cash. I never really got into him. I thought the later stuff he did during his "comeback", covering NIN and such, was a little forced. Quote
Noj Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 My favorites are "Springtime In Alaska" and "Long Black Veil." Quote
Teasing the Korean Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 His mid 60s Columbia albums are real hit and miss. Some great stuff and some absolutely phoned-in performances of substandard material. Quote
GregK Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 My mom loved Johnny Cash. I never really got into him. I thought the later stuff he did during his "comeback", covering NIN and such, was a little forced. Exactly what I've always thought about that era. Actually, it strikes me as gimmicky. Quote
thedwork Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 "The lonely voice of youth cries... what is truth?" -from a bad song by Johnny Cash i don't think it's his best either, but "bad"? nah. i can understand not digging the little bit of strings (totally unnecessary over-procuction), but they don't totally kill it for me. otherwise it seems like pretty straight ahead Cash to me (click on below to hear). What Is Truth? The old man turned off the radio Said, "Where did all of the old songs go Kids sure play funny music these days They play it in the strangest ways" Said, "it looks to me like they've all gone wild It was peaceful back when I was a child" Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys Are trying to be heard above your noise? And the lonely voice of youth cries "What is truth?" A little boy of three sittin' on the floor Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?" "son, that's when people fight and die" The little boy of three says "Daddy, why?" A young man of seventeen in Sunday school Being taught the golden rule And by the time another year has gone around It may be his turn to lay his life down Can you blame the voice of youth for asking "What is truth?" A young man sittin' on the witness stand The man with the book says "Raise your hand" "Repeat after me, I solemnly swear" The man looked down at his long hair And although the young man solemnly swore Nobody seems to hear anymore And it didn't really matter if the truth was there It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair And the lonely voice of youth cries "What is truth?" The young girl dancing to the latest beat Has found new ways to move her feet The young man speaking in the city square Is trying to tell somebody that he cares Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild Are going to be the leaders in a little while This old world's wakin' to a new born day And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way You better help the voice of youth find "What is truth?" as far as meditations on "truth" as relates to war, i'll take O'Brien's story "Good Form" from The Things They Carried over pretty much anything. but that doesn't mean i don't like this song. it's alright. for me, i try to see the whole picture, the whole spectrum before i actually say i think someone's work is "bad." To me, Britney Spears's "Whoops, I Did It Again" is bad. Cash's "What Is Truth," not so much. oh well... Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 I thought the later stuff he did during his "comeback", covering NIN and such, was a little forced. I can see where you're comin' from on that, Jim, and probably even agree to a point. But a little forced (or not), is just one supremely BAAAD performance in my book. Quote
JSngry Posted July 20, 2009 Report Posted July 20, 2009 Meditate on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyeyRHTHCNw...feature=related I liked Johnny Cash even when I didn't like country, which was, like, the first 22 or so years of my life. Johnny Cash always seemed real to me in a way that most of the rest of it didn't. And now that I better understand and appreciate that which I used to loathe, including the real-ness of it all (and after having fallen into a ring of fire or two of my own...), Johnny Cash still seems real to me in a way that most of the rest of it doesn't. Ring of Fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lhf9U5Wf3Q I only recently found that the song mixes bars of 4 with a bar here and there of 3. Who knew? Quote
.:.impossible Posted July 21, 2009 Report Posted July 21, 2009 isn't johnny cash the guy that river phoenix's brother played in that movie? remember that dude? Quote
AllenLowe Posted July 21, 2009 Author Report Posted July 21, 2009 weird...I started a thread without even realizing it. Gotta quit the smack. as for Cash, I like the Sun stuff, though it has its share of stiffs. as for Johnny, from all accounts he was a real mensch. Gotta like a guy like that. or, as we used to sing, way back when, "the lonely voice of youth cries: What is couth?" Quote
Guest Bill Barton Posted July 21, 2009 Report Posted July 21, 2009 Hmmmm... I grew up listening to C&W and had my share of '60s Cash albums. Thing is, he was an outlaw long before Waylon and Willie made that term common parlance. I don't find the things he did "courting the youth audience" to be any more or less relevant than the things he did supposedly aimed at the traditional country audience. Wonder which audience he was courting when this one came out in 1965? Sings the Ballads of the True West Quote
randyhersom Posted July 22, 2009 Report Posted July 22, 2009 My absolute favorite among Cash songs, because it came out when I was very young and rebellious and dug the hell out of an older guy respecting and standing up for a youthful point of view. I bought a 3 CD set mainly to get at that one song. Quote
Van Basten II Posted July 22, 2009 Report Posted July 22, 2009 He had a bad spell in the late 70s and 80s, remember he had even made ads for cars, think it was forNissan , but i'm on board with Alexander , a bad Johnny Cash song if such a thing exists is a lot better than the best of a whole lot of great singers. Quote
papsrus Posted July 23, 2009 Report Posted July 23, 2009 When was his electric period? .... early electric period, preferably. Quote
Guest Bill Barton Posted July 23, 2009 Report Posted July 23, 2009 Well, he was always "plugged in" if not electric. Quote
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.