The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash (Official Documentary)

[train whistling] ["Folsom Prison Blues" playing] ♪ I hear the train a-comin' ♪ ♪ It's rolling around the bend ♪ ♪ And I ain't seen the sunshine ♪ ♪ Since I don't know when ♪ ♪ I'm stuck in Folsom Prison ♪ ♪ And time keeps draggin' on ♪ ♪ But that train keeps a-rollin' ♪ ♪ On down to San Antone ♪ ♪ The song of the prisoner ♪ ♪ The song of the lonely man ♪ ♪ Locked behind the bars ♪ ♪ A man finds himself in such a place ♪ ♪ Because of acts committed against ♪ ♪ His fellow man

or against his land ♪ ♪ Anyway, it's a cold, lonely ♪ ♪ Hard-to-live-with place ♪ ♪ This is the song of the prisoner ♪ ♪ When I was just a baby... ♪ [Emmylou Harris] Johnny's album At Folsom Prison was incredibly powerful. He had a message. And this message was the truth about being alive in this world, and all the things that we experience. He was acknowledging our common humanity. [John Carter Cash] The Folsom Prison show is really a distillation of my dad's life. It is a perfo

rmance that brings it all together. There were periods of great clarity in my father's career. And 1968, at Folsom Prison, was one of those times. [Rosanne] He was being his real self. It was rustic, raw and primitive art, the essence of him. [Springsteen] The magic was in the simplicity of it. ♪ From a fancy dining car ♪ ♪ They're probably drinkin' coffee ♪ ♪ And smoking big cigars ♪ [Springsteen] Johnny's music at the Folsom Prison was a combination of sin and salvation. That

was the rule in country music. Saturday night, Sunday morning. Sunday morning was about repenting, repenting, for the fun you had on Saturday night. [laughs] It was this idea of redemption. But, Johnny, that was an enormous part of his whole career. ["Further On Up The Road" playing] ♪ Where the road is dark ♪ ♪ And the seed is sowed ♪ ♪ Where the gun is cocked ♪ ♪ And the bullet's cold ♪ ♪ Where the miles are marked ♪ ♪ In the blood and the gold ♪ ♪ I'll meet you further on ♪ ♪

Up the road ♪ ♪ Further on up the road ♪ ♪ Further on up the road ♪ ♪ Where the way is dark ♪ ♪ And the night is cold ♪ ♪ One sunny mornin' ♪ ♪ We'll rise, I know ♪ ♪ And I'll meet you further on ♪ ♪ Up the road ♪ [Johnny Cash speaking] [interviewer speaking] [Johnny speaking] Everybody in the family worked in the field. We had a small farm ploughed with mules. Walked behind the mules with the plow and hoed the cotton, picked it in the fall. And that's how I grew up. [folk musi

c playing on the radio] [Johnny] I could listen to that radio when I came into the fields. There was a whole world of music out there for me. The Carter Family. Jimmie Rodgers and all those Texas artists. Now, those songs will make you feel better. ♪ T for Texas ♪ ♪ T for Tennessee ♪ [John] The radio became a place that he could escape to. ♪ That gal done made a wreck ♪ ♪ Out of me ♪ [John] The thing that drew him the most to the music were the characters that the music would b

ring to his mind. [Jackson] His father actually was the guy that Jimmie Rodgers was singing about. His father did ride in boxcars and jump trains. And now he's hearing about it on the radio and romanticizing it. [Streissguth] His writing was very present even at a young age. Cash was actually trying to emulate what he read in some of the folk songs, what he heard on the radio. [Muldoon] He's a man who, through his childhood, had so many influences. Just as poets take in a huge

amount of material, I think the same is true of Cash. And the influences would have informed him of the song tradition. He's trying to understand himself. ♪ Just to see her jump and fall ♪ That's the force behind most art-making. "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" "What am I doing here?" [Johnny] My father always told me I was wasting my time listening to old records on the radio. I said, "But it sounds good, I like it." He said, "It's gonna keep you from making a living."

He said, "You'll never do any good "so long as you got that music on your mind." As I remember, he was drinking when I was very small. Terrible abuse my mother suffered. The screaming fights that would wake me up early in the morning. It was strange that my dad never hit me a lick. On the other hand, he never hugged us. Just never ever came close to even telling us he loved us. Never once. My big brother, Jack, he loved to hear me sing. He told me that I was supposed to do tha

t with my life. Jack was my best friend. And my big buddy. My protector, my mentor. I really admired him. It was May 12th, 1944, on a Saturday morning. Jack and I would always go fishing together. I said, "Go fishing with me." And he said, "No. "I got to work. We need the money." He had a job cutting oak trees. I just remember my mother telling him, "You seem like you don't feel like you should go." And he said, "I don't. I feel like something's gonna happen." And she said, "Ple

ase don't go." And I said, "Go fishing with me. Let's go fishing." Then he kept saying, "I've got to go to work." And I went on down toward the fishing hole. Here comes my father in the car with a preacher. I knew something was really bad wrong. Then he took a bloody brown sack. He pulled Jack's clothes out of that bag. And showed me where the table saw had cut him from his ribs down all through his stomach. And that was the first time I ever saw my dad cry. Then he said, "

Come on into his room. Let's say goodbye to him." My mother was right at the head of his bed. And Jack got calm. And he looked around and he said, "I'm glad you're all here." Then he closed his eyes and he said, "It's a beautiful river. "It's going two ways." He said, "Oh, Mama, can't you see it?" "No, son, I can't see it." "Well, can you hear the angels?" And she said, "No, I can't hear the angels." Tears came out of his eyes, and he said, "I wish you could. They're so beau

tiful. "And what a beautiful place "that I'm going." [train whistling and whooshing] There are a lot of memories that I have, uh... purged and discarded, and promised to never... bring them back up again. Times of hurt and pain. But I'll never forget those songs for Jack's funeral. It gave me a lift. The spirit and the power that I felt. I've always felt that I'm supposed to sing those gospel songs. [prison gate buzzer sounding] ♪ O Lord my God ♪ ♪ When I ♪ ♪ In awesome wonde

r ♪ ♪ Consider all... ♪ [Springsteen] There was always a religious and spiritual bend to Johnny's presentation. That was an integral part of how he saw himself. [John] If you look at the setlist of Folsom Prison, the songs showed what he went through in his life. [Rosanne] Folsom was connected to the most important things in his life, both loss and salvation. ♪ Then sings my soul ♪ ♪ My savior God to thee ♪ [Rosanne] You always got the feeling that my dad was trying to get away from

pain. He worked out his deepest problems on the stage with an audience. ♪ Then sings my soul ♪ ♪ My savior God to thee ♪ ♪ How great thou art... ♪ [Crowell] The Folsom Prison album, to me, it's always had a redemptive quality in its narrative. The religious overtones. That's very much part of John's brother passing away. John decides to go towards the music and the light. At a young age, John accessed that pathway for inspiration and works of art. [Rosanne] Music was spiritual

to him. It was the place he turned in the darkest moments of his life. It came from the songs they sang in church and the songs they sang in the field. [Johnny] I would start off in the morning, singing hillbilly songs. By mid-afternoon, I was into gospel. And my brothers and sisters would be singing along with me. I sang those old gospel songs for my mother. And she said, "Is that you?" And I said, "Yes, ma'am." Then she came over and put her arms around me and said I was gon

na leave the farm and do well in life. "When you graduate from high school here, do it on your own." First, I hitchhiked to Pontiac, Michigan, and got a job making those 1951 Pontiacs. Got really sick of it. Went back home and joined the Air Force. They sent me to Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, to study Russian code. I met my first wife while I was in Texas. I met her at the skating rink in San Antonio before I shipped out. I only had two or three dates with her. We had talk

ed about marriage, we'd practically set the wedding date. I knew that when I came home, that I wanted to marry her, and I wanted to settle down and raise a family. And I wanted to sing and I wanted to make records. I wanted to do the best of both. [John] He wound up in Germany as a radio interceptor, because he can listen, he can hear things. He can hear the cadence and the rhythm of the communications as they're going back and forth. He understands how words can fit together,

and how lines and rhythms can fit together. He developed perfect timing. [Johnny] In the prime of my life, when I was 19, 20, 21 years old, I was overseas in a closed-in society there. I didn't make a phone call. I didn't get to come home for three years. I went to see a movie called Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. That movie just really got to me. I thought of that movie half of the night. And then I got up and started writing. Well, I could relate my life in the Air For

ce to the lives of those prisoners. Folsom Prison Blues, I wrote it as if I were in Folsom Prison, and I dreamed up the crime I committed. To shoot a man just to watch him die. And you go to jail for that, you know. [laughs] ♪ But I shot a man in Reno ♪ ♪ Just to watch him die... ♪ [Johnny] I'm speaking from the criminal's mouth. As it happened, there were a lot of people who liked to hear such lurid tales told musically. They tried to get me to stay in the Air Force, and I s

aid, "No. I'm going out and singing on the radio." When I came back from the Air Force, I knew I never would be again happy just working in the dirt. I knew I wanted to get a job and... support a new wife and hopefully a new family. We got married right away. Got a very cheap car, an old apartment in a rundown part of Memphis. Then I started trying to get on the radio. I went down to see my brother. He was a mechanic. He'd been telling me about these two guys that like to pl

ay music. He introduced me to Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins in 1955. Luther played the guitar, Marshall played the bass. Luther was like he never met a stranger. And Marshall was a little more reserved, but we got along beautifully. Sit on the porch and make music until the yard was full of neighbors. We had some good times together. I have a great deal of fondness when I think back on those days. Elvis Presley was tearing up the airwaves. My new wife and I, we went out

to see him at one of his first public appearances that was on a flatbed of a truck at a Katz drugstore opening. He was on Sun Records. Sam Phillips was a man of vision over at Sun Records. And the first time I talked to Sam, I told him I'm a gospel singer. And he said he couldn't record gospel. The market wasn't big enough. So then I wound up on his steps, waiting for him one morning. When I went in, I sang Carter Family songs, Jimmie Rodgers. But then he kept directing me b

ack to my own repertoire. I didn't really think it was any good, but I had told him about Hey Porter. "Come back tomorrow and bring those guys "you've been making the music with. Then we'll put it down." ♪ Hey, porter Hey, porter ♪ ♪ Would you tell me the time? ♪ ♪ How much longer will it be ♪ ♪ Till we cross that Mason Dixon line? ♪ ♪ At daylight would you tell that engineer ♪ ♪ To slow it down? ♪ ♪ Or better still Just stop the train ♪ ♪ 'Cause I wanna look around ♪ [Grant] Ou

r inability had more to do with our success than our ability did. First eight bars that we ever played together, that Johnny Cash sound was right there. ♪ And ask everybody that ain't asleep ♪ ♪ To stand right up and yell ♪ [Phillips] I didn't take Johnny Cash and try to refashion his soul. We just took that old... [humming tune] And I'm gonna tell you something. Hey, that was distinctive. That was different. [Johnny] 'Cause everything coming out was the same, the arrangements wer

e so predictable. And I didn't want to sound like anybody else. I put paper in the strings of my guitar to get that... [humming] ...Sound. And the beat to it was so bare and sparse, it sounded like a train with two wheels gone. ♪ Hey, porter Hey, porter ♪ ♪ Please open up the door ♪ ♪ When they stop this train I'm gonna get off first ♪ ♪ 'Cause I can't wait no more ♪ ♪ Tell that engineer I said thanks a lot ♪ ♪ And I didn't mind the fare ♪ ♪ I'm gonna set my feet on Southern so

il ♪ ♪ And breathe that Southern air ♪ [Browne] He came up through Sun Records at a very pivotal time in the history of American music. [Ferguson] One of the big differences between Johnny and most of the other artists on Sun was, Johnny was a writer. Johnny was a poet. And Johnny wrote his own material. [Jackson] The songwriting of Johnny Cash and his use of language is the thing that's most often overlooked about him. It's the thing that really sets him apart from people lik

e Elvis, who were doing more traditional material. That's the thing that Sam Phillips picks up on. [Tench] There was the way that that came through the airwaves. The fewer instruments, the better. The emptiness of it really had a very haunting quality. When you limit the number of instruments, when you can hear the song, his voice was a universe of its own as far as tone and sound. The song and the singer become inseparable. [Johnny] In that first year, when I really started o

n the road with a record out, it was a nice time, it was a pleasant time. I went on tour with Elvis and... good things started happening. ♪ Well, a train driver pulled up to the tollgate ♪ ♪ And a man hollered and asked him ♪ ♪ What all he had on board and he said ♪ ♪ I got livestock ♪ ♪ I got livestock ♪ ♪ I got cows, I got pigs ♪ ♪ I got sheep, I got mules ♪ ♪ I got ♪ ♪ All live stock ♪ [Johnny] It was time for something with a new feeling and a new spirit and a new mood to

take over, and that's what happened in Memphis. We knew our limitations. We never tried to do cool crossover records. As it so happened, I was a big crossover hit from country to pop. It felt really good to know that I had an audience out there, and that I might be able to record something that they want to hear. I had arrived. [strumming guitar slowly] [strumming tempo increasing] [audience cheering and applauding] [screaming] [Johnny] I was kind of stunned when I would see the

record sales. I thought at first it was all hype, but then every record I released, they knew I was gonna sell a quarter of a million. ♪ Down the Rock Island Line She's a mighty good road ♪ ♪ Rock Island Line It's the road to ride ♪ ♪ Rock Island Line It's a mighty good road ♪ ♪ Well, if you ride it You got to ride it like you find it ♪ ♪ Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line ♪ [Johnny] It had been a really joyful period of growth artistically with me. We

were really having fun with our music, and every day was a gold mine. ♪ Down the Rock Island Line It's a mighty good road ♪ ♪ Rock Island Line It's the road to ride ♪ ♪ Rock Island Line It's a mighty good road ♪ ♪ Well, if you ride it You got to ride it like you find it ♪ ♪ Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line ♪ [audience cheering and applauding] [Johnny] I began to realize that... there was gonna be some friction, or some tension and stress from me doing my

music and doing what I wanted to do and stay happily married to her, too. There was always a battle going on at my house. And it was really a hopeless fight because I was not going to give up what I was doing out there. [Rosanne] All the pieces were thrown up in the air. My mother did not know how to navigate it. She had tremendous fear, confusion, grief. This enormous sense of loss. My mother was supportive. And then it became really complicated for her, because she saw him

going away from her. And she became more desperate to hold him at home. In the 1950s, you would get in a car with the bass strapped to the roof. You'd drive 200 miles, do two or three shows, get back in the car, drive again. Or do an afternoon show, an evening show, do it again over and over and over, no break. And then, one day, another musician said to Dad, "Take this, it'll help you stay awake. "And take this, it'll help you fall asleep when the day's over." And that was

it. Amphetamines and barbiturates. And doctors would prescribe it to them. It was a different time. [Zanes] In the post-war period in America, it's a new commercial culture based around feeling better. A new time in how people thought about medicine and drugs... can have control not just over their physical experience, but how they feel. It happens too fast to be regulated with any kind of certainty. And that's the world of medicine and drugs that Johnny Cash enters into. [Johnny]

In the late '50s and the early '60s when there was very little... really known about amphetamines, for a long time, I always got 'em by prescription. "The doctor gave me these, so they got to be good." Most doctors didn't balk about giving someone like me who was traveling a lot and had late hours to keep something to help keep him awake to drive all night. To help me with the miles. I'd always take amphetamines to energize me for concerts. Not always, but usually always. The am

phetamines really supercharged me. Johnny Cash! ["Big River" playing] ♪ I met her accidentally ♪ ♪ In St. Paul, Minnesota ♪ ♪ And it tore me up ♪ ♪ Every time I heard her drawl Southern drawl ♪ ♪ Then I heard my dream was back downstream ♪ ♪ Cavortin' in Davenport ♪ ♪ And I followed you, Big River ♪ ♪ When you called ♪ [Yoakam] Those songs, some folks might refer to it as being simplistic. It was anything but that. It was succinct. [Nash] The words were most important to Johnny. N

ot a word out of place, not a word too many, not a word too few. Just enough. ♪ Now, won't you batter down by Baton Rouge ♪ ♪ River Queen, roll it on ♪ ♪ Take that woman on down to New Orleans, New Orleans ♪ ♪ Go on, I've had enough ♪ ♪ Dump my blues down in the gulf ♪ ♪ She loves you, Big River More than me ♪ [Geller] When he was approached by Don Law of Columbia Records, he asked if he were to join Columbia, would he be permitted to make gospel. He wanted to make concept a

lbums. Law assured him that he would be able to do that. That really sealed the deal. [Johnny] When I left Sun Records, it was a traumatic thing with leaving Sam Phillips, who had been so good to me and had done so much for me. But I knew it was a major record company, that I could reach more people and do what I wanted to do as an artist. Right about that time, at '58, I moved to California. I was taking amphetamines, and I was living up and going 23 hours a day, running o

n reserve all the time. Life is a matter of choices. When it came to either staying home with my family or going on the road and working in the music business, I felt like I was born to perform, born to sing, born to write and record. It took me away from my family. My kids suffered and Vivian suffered. The music business was taking me away from her. I wasn't there for the graduations and school plays. I wasn't there to see them dress up for the proms. Writing and singin

g all night long. And would be there wide awake and red-eyed in the morning when she got up. My pill taking scared Vivian. She saw it as something that was gonna kill me. She was literally begging me, "Please get off these pills. "They're gonna destroy us both." I let it roll off of me. Made a lot of records, I did a lot of traveling. To living the life of a rambler. [applause] ♪ Bound by wild desire ♪ ♪ I fell into a ring of fire ♪ ♪ I fell into a burnin' ring of fire ♪ ♪ I went

down, down, down ♪ ♪ And the flames went higher ♪ ♪ And it burns, burns, burns ♪ ♪ The ring of fire The ring of fire ♪ [Zanes] By the time of Ring of Fire, he is a man who feels that his desires are bigger than he is. He can't control his drug use, he can't control his romantic inclinations. It's somehow autobiographical, but Ring of Fire is a song he didn't write. June Carter did. [Johnny] June joined the show in '62. And when she joined our show, it was a beautiful thing fo

r me. Although I had a feeling at the time it was deeper than just a employer-employee kind of relationship. I liked her a little too much from the very beginning. Everybody really respected June. She had a great reputation among her peers in the music business. ♪ Oh, you wouldn't have me for love nor money ♪ ♪ But, baby, I tried ♪ ♪ I knew the odds were against me, honey ♪ ♪ But, baby, I tried ♪ ♪ You never met such a fool, I bet ♪ ♪ You went and said from the day ♪ ♪ That

I first met you ♪ ♪ That I wouldn't have a chance in the world to get you ♪ ♪ But, baby, I tried ♪ ♪ Baby, I tried ♪ ♪ Honey baby, I tried ♪ ♪ And though you never took me for your bride ♪ ♪ I said at first that I just couldn't make it ♪ ♪ So I'd take a walk and I'd try to shake it ♪ ♪ 'Cause I knew to myself that I just couldn't take it ♪ ♪ And, baby, I tried ♪ [June] I studied dramatics for two years in New York. And I went to school to Sandy Meisner. I wanted so to be an actress

for a long time. I did comedy. I did a lot of things. I was very liberated. I had so much ambition. Johnny Cash lets me be a part of everything he does. We write together, we sing together. I couldn't ever forget looking at him. But I was scared. He was married, and I was married to somebody else. [Robin] June Carter came from a very famous family. First family of country music, the Carter family. [Jackson] The Carter family came from Appalachia, poor, outside of society, w

riting and collecting songs that were about everyday life. It was, essentially, news to people who were growing up in the rural areas. [Harris] John certainly had a sense of history. Of course he would've been drawn to the Carter family. They're sort of the royal family of American old-time country and folk music. [inaudible] [Johnny] In 1962, when Maybelle, Helen, and Anita, and June started working on my show, it was a great feeling out there on the stage to have that suppo

rt to share the music with. I have never been more comfortable on stage than when I was singing with them. We had that chemistry going. And I used them on a lot of sessions. ♪ Were you there when they crucified my Lord? ♪ ♪ Were you there when they crucified my Lord? ♪ [vocalizing] ♪ Sometimes it causes me ♪ ♪ To tremble ♪ ♪ Tremble ♪ ♪ Tremble ♪ ♪ Tremble ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Were you there ♪ ♪ When they crucified my Lord? ♪ ♪ Were you there when they nailed hm to the cross? ♪ ♪

Were you there when they nailed him to the cross? ♪ [vocalizing] ♪ Sometimes it causes me ♪ ♪ To tremble ♪ ♪ Tremble ♪ ♪ Tremble ♪ ♪ Tremble ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Were you there ♪ ♪ When the stone was rolled away? ♪ [Streissguth] Here was a man who was still searching as an artist. He was retreating into the desert, into the national parks, exploring the myths of the West that he had in his mind, trying to understand the stories that were so important to him about a nation growing older

, about the frontier. He is molding who he becomes to the popular audience. The rambler, the brakeman, the patriot, the frontiersman, the cowboy, the Indian. And that desire to make a bigger statement, have a theme to his career, a philosophy behind what he was doing, very much set him apart from other artists. He's defining America. [Rubin] When he tells a story in a song, you believe that story. His ability to inhabit these songs, it's real. [Johnny] I did a lot of mus

ic in the '60s that in the spirit of it all, I was really 100% there. I probably recorded more in that decade than any. And a lot of things that I'm extremely proud of. I wanted to do a concept album called Ride This Train. The first big concept album in country music. I did another album called Blood, Sweat and Tears that I really felt good about. When I was doing the True West album, I would wear authentic Western clothes. A lot of times I would even strap on my gun. It w

as loaded with blanks. And I really could get into the flavor of the West in my emotions and spirit. I felt like I was accomplishing something real. At that time, I was doing one concept album after another, and one of them happened to be Ballads of the American Indians. A hundred years have come and gone. It's good to point out the mistakes that we've made, what we did to these minorities. The anti-Semitism that's still going on in this country. Anti-black, the anti-immigrants,

the anti-women, and the near genocide of the aboriginals of America. [Muldoon] His capacity to represent the underdog and engage with the other goes partly to the ballad tradition, but it falls in with the Christian world picture, too. He was ahead of his time. The tragedy of Native America and its obliteration by white people is not particularly welcome in this country. Nobody wants to hear about it. [Sainte-Marie] American audiences were totally unfamiliar with Native Americ

an anything. Indigenous resistance goes back 500 years. Every now and then, somebody else will come along and champion the things that Indigenous people are longing for and protesting for. I liked the gesture of having at least tried with Bitter Tears. ♪ But on the Seneca reservation, there is much sadness now ♪ ♪ Washington's treaty has been broken ♪ ♪ And there is no hope no how ♪ ♪ All across the Allegheny River They're throwing up a dam ♪ ♪ It will flood the Indian country

♪ ♪ A proud day for Uncle Sam ♪ ♪ But it broke that ancient treaty ♪ ♪ With a politician's grin ♪ ♪ It will drown the Indians' graveyard ♪ ♪ Cornplanter, can you swim? ♪ ♪ Earth is mother to the Seneca ♪ ♪ So they're trampling sacred ground ♪ ♪ Change the mint green earth to black mud flats ♪ ♪ As honor hobbles down ♪ [Miller] He was doing stuff that nobody cared to do it or were afraid to do it. He was getting real resistance from radio. [Browne] The radio stations didn't w

ant to play it because it demands to be looked at further. [Smith] It was a very hard play around the country. John realized that at some point, and took out a full-page ad in Billboard magazine, and chastised the disc jockeys and called them gutless. [Springsteen] It was quite progressive. Johnny had an open musical mind. He was very close to a folk musician, as certainly as close as he was to a country musician, without being necessarily any of those things. [Johnny speaking]

[inaudible] Got a special request from a friend of ours to do a song tonight. And I'm very honored. I ain't never been so honored in my life. Our good friend Bob Dylan. We'd like to do one of his songs. And... Is there any water here? May I have a... Thank you. [man] Got some bourbon for you, buddy! No, I don't drink anymore. I don't drink any less, but I don't drink any more. [audience laughing] [guitar playing] ♪ Well, it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, gal ♪ ♪ If you don't know by now

♪ ♪ It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, gal ♪ ♪ I can't hear you anyhow ♪ ♪ When your roosters are crowing ♪ ♪ At the break of dawn ♪ ♪ Look out your window ♪ ♪ And I'll be gone ♪ ♪ Don't you know you are the reason why ♪ ♪ I'm traveling on ♪ ♪ Well, don't think twice It's all right ♪ [Johnny speaking] When I went to the Grand Ole Opry, I don't remember much about that night. I tried to take the mic off the mic stand. It didn't come off quick enough so I just threw the

mic stand all around. I hit a couple of lights and knocked them out. I liked the way they shattered. Took the lights down, and I dragged it all the way along the edge of the stage and broke 'em all. June and I were singing, and she just backed up and just kind of wilted. They told me they couldn't use me anymore. In the '60s, I was busted seven times in various jails in the country. The situation at home in California was so deteriorated by that time, that, um... Uh, I h

ad made my last trip to California to see my girls, and she wouldn't let me see them anymore. And the divorce was final in late '67. Every time I'd get high, I'd head for Chattanooga. I had been up two or three days and nights. I was drinking a case of beer a day and taking up to 100 pills, half amphetamines and half barbiturates. Keep me going up and down, keep the cycle going. There is a cave near Chattanooga, Tennessee, that I... I like to explore. I was sitting at the

mouth of that cave crying. June found out where I was. And I found out she was coming, so I started walking into that cave. And I decided I'd walk as far as I could go and then lay down. And then my flashlight completely burned out, and it was black. I laid down flat on my back, said my goodbye prayers. I felt a presence. I saw a little flick of light way off in the distance, and I started crawling and clawing toward that entrance. And when I awoke, June was there. She kne

w it was really, really bad this time. She said, "You're almost dead, aren't you?" And I said, "I want to live." I knew if I could ever get a live recording at a prison, it was gonna be a great album. [buzzer sounds] We managed to do it in 1968 at Folsom Prison. I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. The spirit of the Lord is upon me beca

use he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives. [Harris] He felt that he had something in common with those men. He could have just as easily been in there himself. He would sing "I see you, I know you." The record company thought it was a terrible idea, but for John, a true artist is gonna follow his vision no matter what. The album of the year, Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison. [audience che

ering] ♪ I hear the train a-comin' ♪ ♪ It's rolling around the bend ♪ ♪ And I ain't seen the sunshine ♪ ♪ Since I don't know when ♪ ♪ I'm stuck in Folsom prison ♪ ♪ And time keeps draggin' on ♪ ♪ But that train keeps a-rollin' ♪ ♪ On down to San Antone ♪ [Rubin] After that album came out, he became Johnny Cash, the mythical character, the man in black. [Nash] He was showing people that he can change his life. "I screwed up, but I fought back, and here I am." People loved that.

It's an incredible American story. [Springsteen] Most successful artists, there's always a little bit of the messianic complex stuck in there. It might be just the result of being incredibly fortunate and put in a position of some power. An element of survivor's guilt. Not only were you saved, but you can save others, you know. [John] The more success that he gained, the more he solidified his reputation as an activist artist. Every one of us finds himself at some point in his

life in a spot where he has to reach out for him. [John] He speaks out against the struggles that were happening in the world. He worked for prison reform. People have got to become conscious of the problems in the prisons. [John] He spoke out against war. Servicemen and prisoners have a lot in common. I think they feel a lot of the same things, the loneliness, isolation. [Browne] It's a validation of Johnny Cash, and then June Carter sees the good in him. [Lynn] She brought happiness

to him because she was a jolly person. And Johnny needed June in every way. He loved June for who she was. [John] Early 1968 was when my parents' love really flourished. I'm sure it had been there for a while, but that was when it could be completely in the public's face. ♪ Well, they'll laugh at you in Jackson ♪ ♪ And I'll be dancin' on a pony keg ♪ ♪ They'll lead you 'round town ♪ ♪ Like a scolded hound ♪ ♪ With your tail tucked between your legs ♪ ♪ Yeah, go to Jackson ♪ ♪

You big-talkin' man ♪ ♪ And I'll be waitin' in Jackson ♪ ♪ Behind my Japan fan ♪ ♪ Well, now, we got married in a fever ♪ ♪ Hotter than a pepper sprout ♪ ♪ We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson ♪ ♪ Ever since the fire went out ♪ ♪ I'm goin' to Jackson ♪ ♪ And that's a fact ♪ ♪ Yeah, we're goin' to Jackson ♪ ♪ Ain't never comin' back ♪ ♪ Well, we got married in a fever ♪ ♪ Hotter than a pepper sprout ♪ [applause] Hello, my friends. [Johnny] By 1969, I get my own ABC television show,

and I was doing it without any kind of mood altering drugs. I couldn't have done it if I had been on mood altering drugs. I was straight and sober for all of those shows. My show became a machine that just kept on running, and, uh... the Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, and Carl Perkins, and The Tennessee Three and myself, they're wonderful people. I love that whole family. I was doing what I loved to do. ♪ If you go when the snowflakes fall ♪ ♪ When the rivers freeze ♪

♪ And summer ends ♪ ♪ Please see for me... ♪ [Browne] Television has always been problematic. Getting real music to happen on TV is very hard. Television production has extinguished many a beautiful moment. It's always been terrible. But Johnny Cash was one of the first ones to get real music to be played live on TV. ♪ If you go when the snowflakes storm ♪ ♪ When the rivers freeze ♪ ♪ And the summer comes to an end ♪ ♪ Oh, please see... ♪ [Sainte-Marie] Trying to bring various

genres of music, various kinds of artists with different backgrounds together onto the same stage, was quite daring. ♪ The howlin' winds ♪ [Harris] Even though everyone had their different style and people were putting different labels on them, there were no labels when it came to John. [Nash] What was unique about Johnny's show was that people would actually... They were actually singing. Johnny's show was all real, all the time. ♪ Woo ♪ ♪ The taste ♪ ♪ Of love is sweet ♪ [Joh

nny] The more I was on TV and the more I performed with black people or introduced black people, the more I'd hear from the Klan. It was Charley Pride that I hugged on my television show. The letter came the next week from the Klan, written in blood. It would be dangerous to become complacent and think the attitudes changed. ♪ I done fell, I done fell ♪ ♪ I done fell ♪ ♪ For you like a child ♪ ♪ Like a little, little baby [Hilburn] Not too many years before this, they had segr

egated audiences in Nashville. African-Americans had to sit in the balcony and the whites down below. [Rosanne] He had to expurgate his own native racism. Growing up in Arkansas in the '30s and '40s? ♪ I fell into a burning ring of fire ♪ ♪ I went down, down, down ♪ ♪ Said, ooh The flame went higher ♪ ♪ And it burns, burns, burns ♪ ♪ The ring of fire ♪ ♪ The ring of fire ♪ [audience applauding] [June] Maybe most of you know about our little baby. We've got a little baby boy, John

Carter Cash. And he's a perfect little baby and I just wanted to say thank you to all you wonderful people all around the world. ♪ Where are you going ♪ ♪ My little one ♪ ♪ Little one ♪ ♪ Little T-shirts and overalls ♪ ♪ Where have you gone? ♪ ♪ Turn around ♪ ♪ And you're tiny ♪ ♪ Turn around ♪ ♪ And you're grown ♪ ♪ Turn around ♪ ♪ And you're a young man ♪ ♪ With babes of your own ♪ [John] Now, when I was born, Dad was at a prime. Physically, emotionally, connected with family. Somethi

ng that sadly my sisters had not experienced during their early life. I think my father also was aware of his shortcomings and his own selfish nature. The potential for falling short or my own interior darknesses taking control. The supposed bounty of self being greater than giving. But he also learned just as importantly that there was forgiveness. [Rosanne] My dad caused so much chaos in my family, and so much pain for my mother and so much pain for him. He was absolutely tortu

red. He wanted to redeem himself. And that goes back to Jack. That's where it started. He always had this idea that part of Jack's death was why he became who he was. He always felt that Jack was a sacrificial lamb in some ways. It was a deep wound and fueled his restlessness and fueled much of his writing and music. On top of that, his dad actually saying to him, "It's your fault." And the guilt that he carried his whole life because of that. [Johnny] I still dream about my broth

er Jack. And now through the years when I dream about him, he would age with me. And he's like, he's always there when I've got a problem, kind of looking at me and smiling, as if to say, "I know you," you know. "I know what you really got on your mind." He's been like a guiding light. He was called to be a minister. Even after his death, for years he's been a minister to me. His influence has been powerful on my life. "Our Heavenly Father, we thank you "for this beautiful day t

hat we might "all come together and enjoy ourselves." [Johnny speaking] "We know that we have more blessings "given to us than we deserve here on this earth." [Johnny speaking] [John] The most beautiful aspect of my father's spirituality perhaps was his capacity for forgiveness. I never once heard my father say anything disrespectful to my grandfather. If there was... an anger that remained, it was not evident. [Duvall] I've spent a lot of time with Johnny Cash and whatever he man

ifested in his artwork came from the human and the divine. It was hit and miss, hit and miss, hit and miss, hit and miss. Searching for that connection. That definitive connection. ♪ Lord, is it I? ♪ ♪ Is it I? ♪ And Jesus says... ♪ Have a little bread, Simon ♪ ♪ Pass the wine to James, my brother ♪ ♪ Go ahead and eat, friends ♪ ♪ And love one another ♪ ♪ Have a good time, boys ♪ ♪ 'Cause tomorrow ♪ ♪ I must die ♪ ♪ And I'm nevermore gonna eat with you again ♪ ♪ I'm gonna loose

the chains and set the captives free ♪ ♪ I can tell ♪ [Johnny] Gospel music, it's part of what I am and part of what I do. I make no apologies for it and I don't cram anything down the people's throats, but I have to tell it like it is, and sing it like it is. I started doing the crusades with Billy Graham. This is an important meeting for all of us here today. Because our whole world seems to be in trouble. We may be standing on the verge of either the Third Word War or Armageddon it

self. ♪ For now drink the cup ♪ ♪ And break the bread ♪ ♪ And I'll eat my last supper here with you ♪ [Johnny speaking] [Routh] He didn't have a lot of hits during that time. But he was spending a lot of time with the family. John Carter was a young boy. And he was really taking that time to be a father. Taking him to school, picking him up. And it was a real inspiration to see that as he never got to be much of a father to the girls 'cause he was gone all the time. [John] He was

connected with his girls. Rosanne, Cindy, and Kathy, and Tara. And he showed absolutely no less love and consideration to my sisters Rosie and Carlene, my mother's daughters. Here's Kathy and Rosanne. Rosanne's only. [cheering] [whooping] We don't thank you like we should all the time for all you do for us. And this is just like a big thank you from all of us. ♪ Oh, I never got over those blue eyes ♪ ♪ I see them everywhere ♪ ♪ I miss those arms that held me ♪ ♪ When all the love w

as there ♪ ♪ And I wonder if he's sorry ♪ ♪ For leavin' what we'd begun ♪ ♪ Yes, there's someone for me somewhere ♪ ♪ But I still miss someone ♪ [audience cheering, applauding] Terrific! [cheering] [singing] [John] And he may not have had any big hits through the 1970s. But he identified what he stood for and who he was and where he was headed. And then he lived in the joy of his life. ♪ There's a better ♪ ♪ Home awaiting ♪ ♪ In the sky, Lord ♪ ♪ In the sky ♪ ♪ Then I followed ♪

♪ Ride along close behind her ♪ [June] We try to lead a simple life. We try to keep our little family group as close together as we can. We don't do anything too elaborate. We're just country people. Johnny Cash had a problem with drugs. With a stupid little old thing like a pill. And it caused us an awful lot of heartbreak and lot of heartache. He quit all that junk. [Johnny chuckles] And everything's all right now. I've been completely, totally happy since I've been married to

Johnny Cash. [buzzing] [keys jangling] [door opens] [Johnny] During the show, I stopped after a song and I said, "l learned a song "here last night that was written by one of you." A man on the front row, he was in there for life. It was a man named Glen Sherley who wrote a song called Greystone Chapel. ♪ Inside the walls of a prison ♪ ♪ My body may be ♪ ♪ But my Lord ♪ ♪ Has set my soul free ♪ ♪ There's a grey stone chapel ♪ ♪ Here at Folsom ♪ [John] The first time that he ever

shook Glen Sherley's hand, he connected with the goodness that was there. The hope that was in the man, despite the darknesses that were very real. [Grant] He had such a deep feeling for these guys in prison. Felt sorry for them because they were human beings. And then finally wound up getting Glen Sherley out of prison. [Robin] We went to the Governor, arranged for him to parole Glen. He wanted to help Glen on the outside. ♪ But the door to the house of God ♪ ♪ Is never loc

ked ♪ ♪ Inside the walls of a prison ♪ ♪ My body may be ♪ ♪ But my Lord ♪ ♪ Has set my soul free ♪ [Robin] Glen eventually joined the show. But he had a very tough time adjusting. ♪ Ten years ago ♪ ♪ On a cold dark night ♪ ♪ Someone was killed 'neath the town hall lights ♪ ♪ There were few at the scene ♪ ♪ But they all agreed ♪ ♪ That the slayer who ran ♪ ♪ Looked a lot like me ♪ [Robin] Stories he would tell about being back in prison were a little scary and you knew that's wher

e he wanted to be. It was too tough to make a living in the music business. [Ronda] That freedom... That overwhelming freedom weighed on him. He had a bad drug addiction in prison. And after a period of time he got back on drugs. The friendship dissolved. He felt like he had failed a lot of people. And he saw that spiral going even further. And he was gonna stop that. And I think that's why he took his life. [Rosanne] That was crushing. The burden of thinking that you are resp

onsible for turning people's lives around. He realized he couldn't do it. And then he just stopped all of it. He certainly helped people for the rest of his life. But this idea that he could save some people, that went away. ♪ She walks these hills ♪ ♪ In a long black veil ♪ [Green] Johnny did see this lost soul he was gonna save in Glen Sherley. But he was trying to save himself, too. [John] In the late 1970s, my father went back into addiction. People tend to think that when

Johnny Cash was the craziest was in the 1960s. I'm not so sure it wasn't in the early 1980s. My parents' relationship went through some extreme difficulties because of my father's drug addiction. And I was around a lot of their arguments at that time. They nearly split up. There's a certain understanding about my parents' love affair. Some people seem to think that it was happily ever after once they married. It was not. [Rosanne] The story of Johnny and June, well, it's not that

simple. People want their myths. It wasn't just that one day he fell in love with June and left. That's not what happened. Johnny and June deeply loved each other. But it also became complicated. [Johnny speaking] That whole period of the '80s, Johnny Cash needed all the help he could get at that particular time making records, and some of them were overproduced. I didn't really take it all that seriously. After a long period of apathy there, I just, uh... I didn't really care

what the record company wanted. I made the fatal, terrible mistake of burlesquing myself. I was catching myself trying to sing like Johnny Cash. Doing the concerts... Going out, same thing over and over again. You know? And that's the worst thing an artist can do, is burlesque himself. [Rubin] You know, he thought regardless of what he did nobody was gonna care, for maybe 20 years. He was feeling like he was not gonna make music anymore. [Crowell] Dark times. I remember going to

a very sparsely attended show of John's. That place was nearly empty. The audience isn't what it used to be. You know, this is Johnny Cash. This place should be packed. [Roe] During the '80s and early '90s when I got there, he was just treading water. He was playing performing arts centers. He'd been pretty much cast aside by Columbia and everybody else. He was pretty disheartened by all that. [Stuart] To be demoted back to country fairs and little carnivals. There was a lot

of shows to keep the machine rolling. [Lynn] He called me and he said, "Can you believe that "the record company is not trying to do anything with these songs." It broke my heart. [Robin] We talked to many different labels about their interests, and everybody was coming back with, "Well, we'll do one album "with an option to maybe do another one." He said no. That didn't work. So we just didn't do any recording. [Johnny singing] ♪ I'm tired and so weary ♪ ♪ But I must go alone

♪ ♪ Till the Lord comes and calls ♪ ♪ Calls me away, oh, yes ♪ ♪ And the morning's so bright ♪ ♪ And the lamb is the light ♪ ♪ And the night ♪ ♪ Night is as black as the sea, oh, yes ♪ ♪ There'll be peace ♪ ♪ In the valley for me ♪ ♪ Someday ♪ ♪ Peace in the valley for me ♪ ♪ Dear Lord, I pray ♪ ♪ There'll be no sadness ♪ ♪ No sorrow ♪ ♪ No trouble ♪ ♪ I see ♪ ♪ There'll be peace in the valley ♪ ♪ For me ♪ ♪ Oh, yes ♪ [Geller] Over time you remove all the challenges, the adventure,

and it may be more comfortable, but artists require the challenge. [Johnny] When I stopped making records, it was like, uh... "Where did all of the magic go?" I'd run up against so many walls, I didn't care that much about making new music. I was really just playing it, not really serious about it. [Zanes] Here's a man who's lived this remarkable, creative life. He's hitting bottom. All around him are the artifacts from decades of success. He throws these things into the lake be

hind the house. To move ahead, he has to let it all go. [Crowell] Things that you don't want anymore, you submerge them under the water. Baptism. All of the shadows and the darkness... ...washed away. It's the promise of redemption. The promise of life. [Johnny] In '92 I was playing a show in California. Lou Robin came to my dressing room and said Rick Rubin would like to meet me. He said, "I'd like to sign you up, man, and record you." I said, "What're you gonna do with me

"that nobody else has been able to do?" He said, "I would like you to sit in my living room with a guitar "and two microphones and just sing to your heart's content, "everything you ever wanted to record." Sounded like a dream come true for me. And went through my list of 200 or more songs and started singing them one after another. So, we put together the album with just a guitar and myself. [guitar playing] ♪ Down a dangerous road ♪ ♪ I have come to where I'm standing ♪ ♪ Wi

th my head bowed low ♪ ♪ And my hat clutched in my hand ♪ ♪ Such a foolish man ♪ ♪ God ain't known no greater sinner ♪ ♪ I have come in search of Jesus ♪ ♪ Hoping he might understand ♪ [Rubin] The first album was recorded in my living room. They were just demos. They were not necessarily what the album was gonna be. And then we went into the studio with different bands. And of all the different options, the solo recordings were the most interesting. ♪ If I give my soul ♪ ♪ Will h

e put new boots on my feet? ♪ ♪ If I bow my head ♪ ♪ And ask God for his forgiveness ♪ ♪ Will he breathe new life within me ♪ ♪ And bring her back to me? ♪ [applause] [Rubin] When our first album came out and people really responded to it, and a whole new group of young people started coming to see him and he got to feel that, from then on he was very excited about the work. [Muldoon] The arc of the life falls into a recognizable arc. Success, a dip. That is for many people the

end of the story. That's how most artists function. Some of them have a new lease of life. Redemption. [Johnny] The reaction was like the '50s all over again. It was like that kind of excitement. And the reaction from the critics and the fans was beautiful. The young people seemed to appreciate my old stuff. ♪ Yeah, she took ♪ ♪ Well, if they freed me from this prison ♪ ♪ If that railroad train was mine ♪ ♪ Bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line ♪ ♪ Far from Fol

som Prison ♪ ♪ That's where I want to stay ♪ ♪ And I'd let that lonesome whistle ♪ ♪ Blow my blues away ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ [crowd cheering, applauding] All right. Whoo! Yeah. [chuckling] Thank you so much. God bless you. [Rubin] Based on people liking the acoustic album, the most obvious thing to do would be to make another acoustic album. So, my thought was, "We can't make an acoustic album." [chuckles] [Massy] We had a backing band that Rick handpicked that was unbelievable. Tom Petty, Mike

Campbell, Benmont Tench, Howie Epstein, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, Carl Perkins. There was a lot of love there, and trust. And because of that he could perform to his friends and be very honest about the emotions in the lyrics. [Springsteen] Rick Rubin was very smart in that he realized that Johnny was all about his voice. [chuckles] That incredible voice could transform almost any piece of music. And it would move you in some way or another. Johnny just had that kind

of vocal individuality. The voice was a master work. [Roe] At that point his voice was definitely changed. He was aging and, uh... It had a different quality to it. It had more of an older-statesman kind of sound. A man in the midst of reflection. [Johnny] Mine and June's struggle to survive and to stay alive and be together. It's a fabulous love story. She was the greatest... woman I've ever known. I wish the whole world could know what a great woman she is. She lifted me u

p when I was weak, when I would fall. She encouraged me when I was discouraged. She loved me when I felt like that nobody did anymore. But the main thing is she loves me and I know that. [Robin] When June passed away, everyone was surprised because they always felt that John would go first. She left instructions for him that she wanted John to finish his music and continue on. [John] After my mother had passed away, he was bound to a wheelchair. When you got close to that wheel

chair, you felt his struggle. All that was lost. All of that pain that had gripped him and in that point of greatest darkness, just as he did when he was a boy, he followed the light, he followed the music. ["I Hung My Head" playing] [Rubin] When he was too ill to tour, there was a question of how long he would survive because that was his reason to be alive. Through expanding our recording schedule, his new purpose became recording and he recorded every day from that point

forward. That was his purpose in life. ♪ Early one morning ♪ ♪ With time to kill ♪ ♪ I see the gallows ♪ ♪ Up on the hill ♪ ♪ And out in the distance ♪ ♪ A trick of the brain ♪ ♪ I see a lone rider ♪ ♪ Crossing the plain ♪ ♪ And he'd come to fetch me ♪ ♪ To see what they'd done ♪ ♪ And we'll ride together ♪ ♪ Till kingdom come ♪ ♪ I pray for God's mercy ♪ ♪ 'Cause soon I'll be dead ♪ ♪ I hung my head ♪ ♪ I hung my head ♪ ♪ I hung my head ♪ ♪ I hung my head ♪ [Rubin] There's an

energy that comes from music. The spirituality of that transcends what the words are saying. There are things about it that can reach you in a way that nothing else can. The spirituality just exists in the world. Musicians can tap into it. I think it's just there. [Johnny] What is man if he doesn't have a spirit? And what is man's spirit, if it cannot connect... with the master of life? I've survived a lot. It is the human spirit more than the godly spirit that's fighting for

survival. It's all fleeting, as fame is fleeting. Where do we go, when we die? Well, we all hope to go to heaven. ["Spiritual" playing] ♪ I know ♪ ♪ I have sinned ♪ ♪ But Lord, I'm suffering ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus ♪ ♪ If you hear my last breath ♪ [interviewer speaking] [Johnny speaking] ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ All my troubles ♪ ♪ All my pain ♪ ♪ Will leave me ♪ ♪ Once again ♪ ♪ All my troubles ♪ ♪ All my pain ♪ ♪ It's gonna leave me ♪ ♪ Once again ♪ ♪ All my troubles ♪ ♪ A

ll my pain ♪ ♪ It's gonna leave me ♪ ♪ Once again ♪ ♪ Gonna leave me ♪ ♪ Once again ♪ ["We'll Meet Again" playing] ♪ We'll meet again ♪ ♪ Don't know where ♪ ♪ Don't know when ♪ ♪ But I know we'll meet again ♪ ♪ Some sunny day ♪ ♪ Keep smiling through ♪ ♪ Just like you ♪ ♪ Always do ♪ ♪ Till the blue skies drive ♪ ♪ The dark clouds far away ♪ ♪ And will you please say hello ♪ ♪ To the folks that I know ♪ ♪ Tell them that I won't be long ♪ ♪ And they'll be happy to know ♪ ♪

That as you saw me go ♪ ♪ I was singing this song ♪ ♪ We'll meet again ♪ ♪ Don't know where ♪ ♪ Don't know when ♪ ♪ But I know we'll meet again ♪ ♪ Some sunny day ♪ ♪ Yeah, we'll meet again ♪ ♪ I don't know where ♪ ♪ And I don't know when ♪ ♪ But I do know That we'll meet again ♪ ♪ Some sunny day ♪ ♪ So, honey ♪ ♪ Keep on smiling through ♪ ♪ Just like you always do ♪ ♪ Till the blue skies ♪ ♪ Drive the dark clouds ♪ ♪ Far away ♪ ♪ And would you please say hello ♪ ♪ To all t

he folks that I know ♪ ♪ And tell them I won't be long ♪ ♪ They'll be happy to know ♪ ♪ That as you saw me go I was ♪ ♪ Singing this song ♪ ♪ We'll meet again ♪ ♪ Don't know where ♪ ♪ Don't know when ♪ ♪ But I know we'll meet again ♪ ♪ Some sunny day ♪ [train chugging]