To John He's a giant,"someone said Two hundred pounds of bone and bread And eyes that look you in the face That don't hide the inside place to place He's like a cat that is on the prowl, Who stalks a prey and takes a bow, And sings his songs of good and truth And holds on firmly to his youth. He's a father, husband, advisor, friend, He lives with in this this world I'm in. He's jaw sets firmly on his face, The lines and scars have been someplace For this man knows steel and what it is, But friends, the steel wasn't always his   The fire started years ago With aching bones that hurt him so, And hours of riding in the car And driving days that were too far, And two friends close as brothers by his side Who worked and sweated for the ride. The guitar, bass, and voice so low, Had made a hit and let it go. Success was always hanging round, But the big man stumbled to the ground, For deception came to have its fill In the form of a dainty little pill To pick him up and help him on, For the shows they hurt him to the bone. And higher and higher on he went Till the body pained and curled and bent. And a boom-chicka-boom filled the place, And a strong man leaned upon a bass, And a drum was added to the beat, The bass and drum they didn't cheat, And a young girl came to pray and cry For fear the Man In Black would die. Nightmares, shows, pills and booze Can show what a man can loose. The crowds they came and cried inside, For Satan took a joyful ride. The hits they came on and on, And the friends they sang a mournful song For life jumped and reared and trod, And we laid boom-chicka-boom beneath the sod.   For twenty years the man leaned upon his bass, The terror around him took every place, But like a tree planted there, He joined the girl within her prayers, And when all the world said, "the Man In Black is dead," The bass man shook his steely head And fought and pulled and stood at his side- "I'm not here to take just a ride This man is more than blood to me. He'll get up again-you'll see."   So the Man In black reached for the sky, And the bass man lifted him up high, And God reached down and did His thing, And the Man In Black took to a wing. So the man stands tall, a giant today, And deception has flown away, And me the wife, and children seven Thanks you bass man, for a step to heaven. Twenty years have come and gone And you've been there all along   June Carter Cash 1980 Publisher: Song of Cash, Inc. (ASCAP) Administered by: Bughouse