Folsom Prison Blues

Original 1955 recording

Cash was inspired to write this song after seeing the movie Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force at Landsberg, Bavaria (itself the location of a famous prison). Cash recounted how he came up with the line "But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die": "I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that's what came to mind." Cash took the melody for the song and many of the lyrics from Gordon Jenkins's 1953 Seven Dreams concept album, specifically the song "Crescent City Blues". Jenkins was not credited on the original record, which was issued by Sun Records. In the early 1970s, after the song became popular, Cash paid Jenkins a settlement around US$75,000 following a lawsuit.

"Folsom Prison Blues" was recorded at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 30, 1955. The producer was Sam Phillips, and the musicians were Cash (vocals, guitar), Luther Perkins (guitar), and Marshall Grant (bass). As with other songs recorded during his early Sun Records sessions, Cash had no drummer in the studio, but replicated the snare drum sound by inserting a piece of paper (like a dollar bill) under the guitar strings and strumming the snare rhythm on his guitar. The song's sound has been described as country, rockabilly, and rock and roll. The song was released as a single with another song recorded at the same session, "So Doggone Lonesome". Early in 1956, both sides reached number four on the Billboard C&W Best Sellers chart.

When photographer Jim Marshall asked Cash why the song's main character was serving time in California's Folsom Prison after shooting a man in Reno, Nevada, he responded, "That's called poetic license."

In 2001, the 1955 original version of "Folsom Prison Blues" on Sun Records by Johnny Cash was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The song date listed was 1956.

Live 1968 recording

| B-side = The Folk Singer

• Country
• rockabilly
• rock and roll Cash opened almost all of his concerts with "Folsom Prison Blues" after greeting the audience with his trademark introduction, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," for decades. Cash performed the song at Folsom State Prison on January 13, 1968, which was recorded and later released as a live album titled At Folsom Prison. That opening version of the song is more up-tempo than the original Sun recording. According to Michael Streissguth, the cheering from the audience following the line "But I shot a man in Reno / just to watch him die" was added in postproduction. According to a special feature on the DVD release of the 2005 biopic Walk the Line, the prisoners avoided cheering at any of Cash's comments about the prison, fearing reprisal from guards. The performance again featured Cash, Perkins, and Grant, as on the original recording, together with W. S. Holland (drums).

Released as a single, the live version reached number one on the country singles chart, and number 32 on the Hot 100, in 1968. The live performance of the song won Cash the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, the first of four he won in his career, at the 1969 Grammy Awards.

Chart performance

Original version

Live version

Certifications

In popular culture

• Cold Case used the song in season two, episode four, as part of the case.
• James Gunn used the song in his film The Suicide Squad (2021), during its opening sequence.
• The video game Mafia 3 features the 1968 live version of the song.
• Johnny Cash and the song are referenced in George Jones' 1985 single "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" with the line "A Man In Black" and "Folsom Prison Blues".
• Season two, episode 19 of Supernatural was named after this song.

References

References

1. "The Real Story Behind Johnny Cash & Folsom Prison Blues". folsomcasharttrail.com.
2. (June 2014). "100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time".
3. Streissguth 2004, pp. [https://archive.org/details/johnnycashatfols0000stre/page/16/mode/2up 17], [https://archive.org/details/johnnycashatfols0000stre/page/18/mode/2up?q=%22crucial+particles+of+cash%27s%22 19].
4. "Anedotage.com".
5. Robert Hilburn. (2010-02-21). "Roots of Cash's hit tunes - latimes". Articles.latimes.com.
6. Streissguth, Michael. ''Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison: The Making of a Masterpiece'', Da Capo Press (2004). {{ISBN. 0-306-81338-6 p. 19–21.
7. Julie Chadwick, ''The Man Who Carried Cash: Saul Holiff, Johnny Cash, and the Making of an American Icon'', Dundurn Press. Excerpt [https://www.fyimusicnews.ca/articles/2017/07/07/saul-holiff-johnny-cash-and-making-american-icon] {{Webarchive. link. (2023-02-13)
8. [http://countrydiscoghraphy2.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/johnny-cash-part-1a.html PragueFrank's Country Music Discography: Johnny Cash, Part 1A] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-01-08 . Retrieved 25 August 2015)
9. Morris, Charles. (February 24, 2020). "Folsom Prison Blues — Johnny Cash's chilling ballad became a country classic".
10. Davies, David Martin. (October 13, 2017). "Johnny Cash And The Story Behind 'Folsom Prison Blues'". Texas Public Radio.
11. "Johnny Cash Biography | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]].
12. Lambert, James. (2 July 2018). ""Folsom Prison Blues": 5 Things About This Johnny Cash Hit". Country Daily.
13. (1968-01-13). "Prison Tracks: "Folsom Prison Blues" - Sierra Detention Systems". Sierracompanies.com.
14. Joel Whitburn, ''Top Country Singles 1944-1993'', Record Research Inc., 1994, p.62
15. (2017-12-30). "Johnny Cash song leaves some with a burning question". [[Belleville News-Democrat]].
16. "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame". Grammys.
17. (2006-08-18). "Staff Lists: The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s | Features". Pitchfork.
18. Whitburn, Joel. (2004). "The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition". Record Research.
19. Whitburn, Joel. (1993). "Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993". Record Research.
20. "Music from Cold Case S2E04".
21. ""Cold Case" The House (TV Episode 2004) - Soundtracks - IMDb".
22. Fogarty, Paul. (2 August 2021). "The Suicide Squad soundtrack: Every song in the DC movie explored".
23. Trenholm, Richard. "The Suicide Squad: All the classic songs and awful murders, ranked".
24. Younger, Paul. (22 August 2016). "Mafia 3 licensed soundtrack revealed with some real 60s classics".