Recordings by Johnny Cash

Album:: American III: Solitary Man
Label: American CK-69691
Year: 2000
Producer: Rick Rubin & John Carter Cash
Comment:  "Solitary Man" won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. This album was the fist that Cash fans started to hear the wear and tear on the famous Cash voice. Even though the voice had suffered from illnesses, the album is another highpoint in Cash recordings. It also includes the song Cash first performed in public, "That Lucky Old Sun."

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 Track Listing (Click to hear sample)

1. I Won't Back Down - (featuring Tom Petty)
2. Solitary Man - (featuring Tom Petty)
3. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)
4. One
5. Nobody
6. I See A Darkness
7. Mercy Seat, The
8. Would You Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone)
9. Field Of Diamonds - (featuring Sheryl Crow)
10. Before My Time
11. Country Trash
12. Mary Of The Wild Moor
13. I'm Leaving Now - (featuring Merle Haggard)
14. Wayfaring Stranger

 

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Liner Notes

 

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Info

Personnel

  • Johnny Cash - Vocals, Guitar
  • Martyn Atkins - Photography
  • Norman Blake - Guitar
  • Billy Bowers - Digital Editing
  • Mike Campbell - Guitar
  • John Carter Cash - Associate Producer
  • June Carter Cash - Vocals (9)
  • Laura Cash - Fiddle
  • Lindsay Chase - Production Coordinator
  • Danny Clinch - Photography
  • David Coleman - Art Direction
  • Sheryl Crow - Vocals (9), Accordion (12,14)
  • Richard Dodd - Additional Engineering
  • David Ferguson - Engineer, Mixing
  • Merle Haggard - Guitar, Vocals & Guitar (13)
  • Will Oldham - Vocals (6)
  • Larry Perkins - Guitar
  • Tom Petty - Vocals & Organ (1), Vocals (2)
  • Lou Robin - Management
  • Rick Rubin - Producer
  • D. Sardy - Additional Engineering
  • David Schiffman - Additional Engineering, Mixing (9)
  • Eddie Schreyer - Mastering
  • Randy Scruggs - Guitar
  • Marty Stuart - Guitar
  • Benmont Tench - Piano, Organ, Harmonium
  • Chuck Turner - Digital Editing
 

 

 

 

Recorded:
Recorded at The Cash Cabin Studio, Hendersonville, Tennessee and The Akademie Mathematique Of Philosophical Sound Research, Los Angeles, California.

 

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
2000 Country Albums 11
2000 Pop Albums 88

 

 

Info

AMERICAN III was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.  Johnny Cash went through a lot in the late 1990s and the year 2000: a debilitating nerve disorder put the brakes on his live performances and touring, yet with AMERICAN III: SOLITARY MAN, his spirit and abilities remain undiminished. His voice has taken on a slightly more gentle and reflective quality, and his association with producer Rick Rubin has afforded him the opportunity to choose, and write, songs that are worthy of him.

The Neil Diamond '60s pop hit "Solitary Man" is given an acoustic, spare reading, yet one can sense the demons of loneliness and frustration behind Cash's stoic delivery. Nick Cave's "The Mercy Seat" is an eerie, obsessive litany of the first-person musings and observations of an innocent man's time of execution. The Cash originals, like the proud yet wryly sarcastic "Country Trash" and devotional love song "Before My Time," let some light in. The overall sound of AMERICAN III: SOLITARY MAN is predominantly acoustic and intimate, with guitar, fiddle, piano, organ, and harmonium; guest stars Merle Haggard, Sheryl Crow, Tom Petty, and Norman Blake sound right at home with the Man In Black.

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Lyrics

  1. "I Won't Back Down" (Tom Petty/Jeff Lynne) – 2:09
    Originally recorded by Petty for Full Moon Fever (1989)
    Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
    You can stand me up at the gates of hell
    But I won't back down

    Verse 2
    Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
    And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
    Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down

    Chorus
    Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
    Hey I will stand my ground and I won't back down

    Verse 3
    Well I know what's right, I got just one life
    In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
    But I stand my ground and I won't back down

    Chorus
    Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
    Hey I will stand my ground and I won't back down
    No I won't back down.
     
  2. "Solitary Man" (Neil Diamond) – 2:25
    Originally recorded by Diamond as a single (1966)
    Belinda was mine 'til the time that I found her
    Holdin' Jim
    And lovin' him
    Then Sue came along, loved me strong, that's what I thought
    Me and Sue,
    But that died, too.

    Don't know that I will but until I can find me
    A girl who'll stay and won't play games behind me
    I'll be what I am
    A solitary man
    A solitary man

    I've had it here - being where love's a small word
    A part time thing
    A paper ring
    I know it's been done havin' one girl who loved me
    Right or wrong
    Weak or strong

    [chorus]
     
  3. "That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)" (Haven Gillespie/Harry Beasely Smith) – 2:35
    Originally a hit for Frankie Laine (1949)
    Up in the mornin', out on the job
    Work like the devil for my pay.
    But that lucky old sun has nothin' to do
    But roll around heaven all day.

    Had a fuss with my woman, an' I toil for my kids,
    An' I sweat 'til I'm wrinkled and gray,
    While that lucky old sun got nothin' to do
    But roll around heaven all day.
    Oh, Lord above, don't you hear me cryin'
    Tears are rollin' down my eyes.
    Send in a cloud with a silver linin',
    Take me to paradise.
    Show me that river, Take me across,
    wash all my troubles away
    Like that lucky old sun give me nothing to do
    But roll around heaven all day.
     
  4. "One" (Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen) – 3:53
    Originally recorded by U2 for Achtung Baby (1991)
    Is it getting better
    Or do you feel the same
    Will it make it easier on you now
    If youve got someone to blame

    You said one love
    One life
    When its oone need
    In the night
    One love we get to share it
    It leaves you baby if you dont care for it

    Did i disappoint you
    Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
    You act like you never had love
    And you want me to go without

    Well its too late
    Tonight
    To drag the past out
    Into the light
    We're one but we're not the same
    We get to carry each other
    Carry each other
    One

    Have you come here for forgivness
    Have you come to raise the dead
    Have you come here to play jesus
    To the lepors in your head

    Did i ask too much
    More than a lot
    You gave me nothing now
    Its all i got
    We're one but we're not the same
    Well we hurt each other and we're doin it again

    You said love is a temple
    Love the higher law
    Love is a temple
    Love the higher law

    You ask me to enter
    But then you make me crawl
    I cant be holdin on
    To what youve got
    When all youve got is hurt

    One love
    One blood
    One life
    Youve got to do what you should
    One life with each other
    Sister
    Brothers
    One life but we're not the same
    We get to carry each other
    Carry each other
    One
     
  5. "Nobody" (Egbert Williams) – 3:14
    Originally recorded by Williams in 1906
    When life seems full
    Of clouds and rain
    And I'm full
    Of nothin' but pain
    Who soothes my thumpin', bumpin' brain?
    Nobody

    When Wintertime comes
    With its snow and sleet
    And me with hunger
    And cold feet
    Who says "Here's two bits, go and eat"?
    Nobody

    Well, I ain't never done nothin' to nobody
    I ain't never got nothin' from nobody, no time
    And until I get something from somebody, sometime
    I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time

    When Summertime comes
    All warm and clear
    And my friends see me
    Drawin' near
    Who says "come on in and have a beer"?
    Nobody

    Well one time when things was
    Lookin' bright
    I started to whittlin' on a stick one night
    Who said "Hey! That's dynamite!"?
    Nobody

    Mmmm, I ain't never done nothin' to nobody
    I ain't never got nothin' from nobody, no time
    And until I get something from somebody, sometime
    I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time

    I ain't never done nothin' to nobody
    I ain't never got nothin' from nobody, no time
    And until I get something from somebody, sometime
    I don't intend to do nothin' for nobody, no time
     
  6. "I See a Darkness" (Will Oldham) – 3:42
    Originally recorded by Oldham for I See a Darkness (1999)
    [FIRST VERSE:]
    Well, you're my friend
    And can you see
    Many times we've been out drinking
    Many times we've shared our thoughts
    Did you ever, ever notice, the kind of thoughts I got
    Well you know I have a love, for everyone I know
    And you know I have a drive, for life I won't let go
    But sometimes this opposition, comes rising up in me
    This terrible imposition, comes blacking through my mind

    [CHORUS:]
    And then I see a darkness
    Oh no, I see a darkness
    Do you know how much I love you
    Cause I'm hoping some day soon
    You'll save me from this darkness

    [SECOND VERSE:]
    Well I hope that someday soon
    We'll find peace in our lives
    Together or apart
    Alone or with our wives
    And we can stop our whoring
    And draw the smiles inside
    And light it up forever
    And never go to sleep
    My best unbeaten brother
    That isn't all I see

    [CHORUS:]
    And then I see a darkness
    Oh no, I see a darkness
    Do you know how much I love you
    Cause I'm hoping some day soon
    You'll save me from this darkness
     
  7. "The Mercy Seat" (Nick Cave/Mick Harvey) – 4:35
    Originally recorded by Cave for Tender Prey (1988)
    It all began when they took me from my home
    And put me on Death Row,
    A crime for which I am totally innocent, you know.

    I began to warm and chill
    To objects and their fields,
    A ragged cup, a twisted mop
    The face of Jesus in my soup
    Those sinister dinner deals
    The meal trolley's wicked wheels
    A hooked bone rising from my food
    And all things either good or ungood.

    And the mercy seat is waiting
    And I think my head is burning
    And in a way I'm yearning
    To be done with all this weighing of the truth.
    An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
    And anyway I told the truth
    And I'm not afraid to die.

    I hear stories from the chamber
    Christ was born into a manger
    And like some ragged stranger
    He died upon the cross
    Might I say it seems so fitting in its way
    He was a carpenter by trade
    Or at least that's what I'm told

    My kill hand's tatooed E.V.I.L.
    Across it's brother's fist
    That filthy five!
    They did nothing to challenge or resist.

    In Heaven His throne is made of gold
    The ark of his Testament is stowed
    A throne from which I'm told
    All history does unfold.
    It's made of wood and wire
    And my body is on fire
    And God is never far away.

    Into the mercy seat I climb
    My head is shaved, my head is wired
    And like a moth that tries
    To enter the bright eye
    I go shuffling out of life
    Just to hide in death awhile
    And anyway I never lied.

    And the mercy seat is waiting
    And I think my head is burning
    And in a way I'm yearning
    To be done with all this weighing of the truth.
    An eye for an eye
    And a tooth for a tooth
    And anyway I told the truth
    And I'm not afraid to die.

    And the mercy seat is burning
    And I think my head is glowing
    And in a way I'm hoping
    To be done with all this twisting of the truth.
    An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
    And anyway there was no proof
    And I'm not afraid to die.

    And the mercy seat is glowing
    And I think my head is smoking
    And in a way I'm hoping
    To be done with all these looks of disbelief.
    A life for a life and a truth for a truth
    And I've got nothing left to lose
    And I'm not afraid to die.

    And the mercy seat is smoking
    And I think my head is melting
    And in a way that's helping
    To be done with all this twisting of the truth.
    An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
    And anyway I told the truth
    But I'm afraid I told a lie.
     
  8. "Would You Lay with Me (in a Field of Stone)" (David Allen Coe) – 2:41
    Originally recorded by Tanya Tucker for the album of the same name (1974)
    [Verse 1:]
    Would you lay with me in a field of stone
    If my needs were strong would you lay with me
    Should my lips grow dry would you wet them dear
    In the midnight hour if my lips were dry

    [Chorus:]
    Would you go away to another land
    Walk a thousand miles through the burning sand
    Wipe the blood away from my dieing hand
    If i gave my self to you

    [Verse 2:]
    Would you bathe me with me in the stream of life
    When the moon is full would you bathe with me

    Will you still love me when i'm down and out
    In my time of trials will you stand by me

    [Chorus:]
    Would you go away to another land
    Walk a thousand miles through the burning sand
    Wipe the blood away from my dieing hand
    If i gave my self to you

    Would you lay with me in a field of stone
    If my needs were strong would you lay with me
     
  9. "Field of Diamonds" (Cash, Jack Routh) – 3:15
    Originally recorded by Cash and Waylon Jennings for Heroes (1986)
    Field of diamonds in the sky, worlds are whirling right on by.
    Are you wondering who am I?
    Fields of diamonds in the sky.
    Am I just a star in some crown?
    Or someone's life sun going down, down, down?
    Field of diamonds in the sky, silent beauty shining high.
    Are you tears the angels cry?
    Field of diamonds in the sky

    Field of diamonds in the sky, like the night you pass me by.
    I could touch you if I tried, fields of diamonds in the sky.
    Am I just a star in some crown?
    Or someone's life sun going down, down, down?

    Field of diamonds in the sky, silent beauty shining high.
    Are you tears the angels cry?
    Field of diamonds in the sky.
  10. "Before My Time" (Cash) – 2:55

I know that hearts were loving
Long before I was here
And I'm not the first to ever cry
In my bed or in my beer
There were songs before there was radio
Of love that stays and love that goes
They were writing meloncholy tunes
And tearful words that rhyme
Before my time
Before my time

There were songs in old dusty books
Of love thats always been
Sweet lovers in their glory
Who are now gone with the wind
Old fashion love words spoken then
Keep coming back around again
Nothings changed except the names
Their love burns just like mine
Before my time
Before my time

And in the dim of yesterday
I can clearly see
That flesh and blood cried out to someone
As it does in me
And there was some old song that said
I love you 'til I die
Before my time
Before my time

But what the old time masters had
Is what I feel for you
Love is love and doesn't change
In a century or two
If someway they had seen and knew
How it would be for me and you
They'd wish for love like yours
And they would wish for love like mine
Before my time
Before my time

  1. "Country Trash" (Cash) – 1:47
    Originally recorded by Cash for Any Old Wind That Blows (1973)
    I got a crib full of corn, and a turnin’ plow
    But the grounds to wet for the hopper now.
    Got a cultivator and a double tree
    A leather line for the hull and gee
    Let the thunder roll and the lighting flash
    I’m doing alright for Country Trash

    I’m saving up dimes for a rainy day
    I got about a dollar laid away
    The winds from the south and the fishings good
    Got a pot belly stove a quart of wood
    Mama turns the left-overs into hash I’m doing alright for
    Country Trash

    I got a machina and a hunting dog
    A cap I ordered from the catolog
    A good tall tree that shades the yard A good fat sow for the winters lard
    Let the thunder roll and the lighting flash
    I’m doing alright for
    Country Trash

    Well there’s not much new ground left to plow
    And the crops need fertilizer now
    My hands don’t earn me too much gold
    For security when I grow old
    But we’ll all be equal under the grass
    And God’s got a heaven for
    Country Trash And
    God’s got a heaven for
    Country Trash
    I’ll be doing alright for
    Country Trash
     
  2. "Mary of the Wild Moor" (Dennis Turner) – 2:32
    Originally recorded by The Louvin Brothers for Tragic Songs of Life (1956)
    Was on one cold winter's night
    And the wind blew across the wild moor
    Poor Mary came wand'ring with a child in her arms
    And she stopped at her own father's door.
    Oh, father, oh father, she cried
    Come down and open the door
    Or this child in my arms, will perish and die
    From the winds that blow across the wild moor.

    Oh why did I leave this fair spot
    Where once I was happy and free
    This wide world to roam, with no friends or no home
    And no one to have pity on me.

    But the father was deaf to her cry
    Not the sound of her voice, did he hear
    For the watch dogs did howl and the village bells tolled
    And the winds blew across the wild moor.

    Oh, how the old man must have felt
    When he opened the door, the next morn'
    And found Mary dead, but the child still alive
    Clasped close in it's dead mother's arms.
    In anguish, he pulled his gray hair
    And the tears, down his cheeks, they did pour
    When he saw how that night, they had perished and died

    From the winds that blow across the wild moor.
    The old man, his life, pined away
    And the child, to it's mother, went soon
    And no one they say, lives there to this day
    And the old house, to ruin, has gone.

    But the villagers point out the spot
    And the willows droop over the door
    Where poor mary died, once a sweet village bride
    From the winds that blow across the wild moor.
     
  3. "I'm Leaving Now" (Cash) – 3:07
    Originally recorded by Cash for Rainbow (1985)
    Hold on honey I'd like to say
    I'm busting out and breaking away
    I'm letting you go like a hot horse shoe
    I can't take another heart ache from you

    Think about how it's gonna be
    When you start back to needing me
    When your dancing shoes have lost their shine
    I'm gonna be gone in mine

    I'm leaving now
    I'm leaving now
    Get out of my face
    Get out of my place
    I'm leaving now, adios
    I'm leaving now

    And the time it comes when you trim the fat
    Feed the kitchen scraps to the front seat cat
    Bye bye baby when the bills come due
    You might have to sell a jewel or two

    Eat your heart out anyway
    It's hard as your head and it's cold as clay
    It's all over now you won't have me
    Your sugar daddy or your money tree

    I'm leaving now yeah
    I'm leaving now
    Get out of my space
    Get out of my face
    I'm leaving now, hey hey
    I'm leaving now

    Pull up the collar on my traveling coat
    Sell that miserable pleasure boat
    I wouldn't give another nickel for another buck
    I'm living on muscle, guts, and luck

    If anybody asks where did I go
    Tell 'em I went where the wild goose goes
    I wouldn't have me an area code
    Don't have a number, don't need a row

    I'm leaving now, me to
    I'm leaving now
    Get out of my face
    Get out of my space
    I'm leaving now, adios
    I'm leaving now

    I'm leaving now
    I'm leaving now
    Get out of my space
    Get out of my face
    I'm leaving now, adios
    I'm leaving now
     
  4. "Wayfaring Stranger" (Traditional) – 3:19
    Old folk song previously recorded by countless artists
    I’m a poor wayfaring stranger
    While traveling thru this world of woe
    Yet there’s no sickness, toil, or danger
    In that bright world to which I go
    I’m going there to see my Father
    I’m going there no more to roam
    I’m only going over Jordan
    I’m only going over home

    I know dark clouds will hang ‘round me,
    I know my way is rough and steep
    Yet beauteous fields lie just before me
    Where God’s redeemed their virgils keep
    I’m going there to see my mother
    She said she’d meet me when I come
    I'm only going over Jordan
    I'm only going over home

 

 

 

 

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