Johnny Cash left a massive hole in country music when he passed in 2003. Few artists measure up to his storytelling, his soul-piercing vocals, and mystique. He is an icon of unparalleled heights.
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His biggest hits got him that reputation, but the depths of his catalog reveal even more sides to his artistry. We dug up a few hidden gems from Cash and detailed five of them below.
1. “See Ruby Fall” (Johnny and June Carter Cash)
Cash co-wrote “See Ruby Fall” with Roy Orbison. Though this song garnered a significant reaction upon its release (it reached No. 4 on Billboard‘s Country Songs chart), it has since fallen into relative obscurity – making it a single that somehow turned into a deep cut.
Cash and Orbison were inspired to write the song after seeing a billboard that read “See Ruby Falls,” promoting the famous waterfall in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The pair then turned the phrase into a clearly coded address to an ex.
I didn’t hold her back, when she got restless
One man is not enough when she wants it all
Yeah, I let her go when I saw what she wanted
‘Cause I don’t care to see Ruby fall
2. “September When It Comes” (Rosanne Cash feat. Johnny Cash)
“September When It Comes” was the final duet between Johnny and Rosanne Cash. The pair recorded the song in the spring of 2003, just a few months prior to Johnny’s death in September.
The lyrics are a poignant meditation on the passing of time and the unrelenting force of change. The words are powerful on their own, but they are made that much more so given they act as a sonic goodbye from Rosanne to her father.
I watch the clouds go sailing
I watch the clock and sun
Oh I watch myself depending on
September when it comes
3. “The Wanderer” (U2 feat. Johnny Cash)
Cash teamed up with U2 in 1993 for “The Wanderer.” It is one of the few songs from the Irish rockers to not feature Bono on lead vocals. Cash instead takes on the frontman role, driving the song with his deep vocals.
The song is based on the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes. The lyrics tell the story of a narrator, wandering around a post-apocalyptic world in search of the meaning of life. With Cash’s twang, the barren terrain described in the song evokes images of a Texan desert, and “The Wanderer” becomes a lonely cowboy.
I went out walking
Under an atomic sky
Where the ground won’t turn and the rain it burns
Like the tears when I said goodbye
4. “The Ballad of Ira Hayes”
“The Ballad of Ira Hayes” has been recorded a number of times, but Cash’s rendition has proven to be the most popular.
Written by Peter La Farge, the lyrics pay homage to Ira Hayes, one of the Marines who raised the U.S. flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. The image of Hayes and his fellow marines has become a piece of American iconography. He has been depicted in statues, painting, photographs, and music, thanks to La Farge and Cash.
Gather ’round me people
There’s a story I would tell
‘Bout a brave young Indian
You should remember well
From the land of the Pima Indian
A proud and noble band
5. “Delia’s Gone”
Cash is the king of the murder ballad. Cash originally recorded this one, “Delia’s Gone,” in 1962 but then re-recorded it in 1994 for his Rick Rubin-produced album, American Recordings.
“Delia’s Gone’ is the Devil’s deed of daring,” Cash once explained. “We were talking about Folsom Prison Blues – and ‘I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die’ – and I said, ‘I want another song like that.’ So Rick and I started listening and we found ‘Delia’s Gone.’ We realized I had recorded it in the ’60s, but not the way I’ve recorded it on American, and that I should work it up and do it over.”
Cash’s matured vocals in the 1994 version make the haunting tale all the more so. While some artists re-recording their old material could be seen as a cop-out, Cash elevates his old cut to new heights.
With the second shot she died
Delia’s gone, one more round
Delia’s gone
But jailer, oh, jailer
Jailer, I can’t sleep
‘Cause all around my bedside
I hear the patter of Delia’s feet
(Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
