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The Complete Johnny Cash: Lyrics from a Lifetime of Songwriting
Every lyric to every song that iconic American artist Johnny Cash ever the complete, comprehensive catalog of Cash's 55-year career as a songwriter, including nearly 500 songs
Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black," is one of America's most prolific and influential songwriters, speaking through his songs to the soul of the nation while capturing the victories and losses that marked his own life. This comprehensive and definitive book collects—for the first time—every one of his song lyrics alongside never-before-seen reproductions of handwritten pages from his own notebooks.
Organized chronologically and with critical commentary on themes that appear throughout his work, including a foreword from his son, John Carter Cash, this book catalogs Cash's range as a poet and storyteller. It traces his evolution from his earliest compositions to his last love song, through periods of personal struggle, political activism, and tests of faith. What emerges is an unprecedented portrait of Johnny Cash as a timeless American artist.
Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black," is one of America's most prolific and influential songwriters, speaking through his songs to the soul of the nation while capturing the victories and losses that marked his own life. This comprehensive and definitive book collects—for the first time—every one of his song lyrics alongside never-before-seen reproductions of handwritten pages from his own notebooks.
Organized chronologically and with critical commentary on themes that appear throughout his work, including a foreword from his son, John Carter Cash, this book catalogs Cash's range as a poet and storyteller. It traces his evolution from his earliest compositions to his last love song, through periods of personal struggle, political activism, and tests of faith. What emerges is an unprecedented portrait of Johnny Cash as a timeless American artist.
720 pages, Hardcover
Published October 14, 2025
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About the author
Johnny Cash
238 books314 followersJohnny Cash, born J. R. Cash, also known as "The Man in Black", was a multiple Grammy Award-winning American country singer-songwriter. Cash is widely considered to be one of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century.
Cash was known for his deep, distinctive voice, his trademark dark clothing which earned him his nickname, the boom-chick-a-boom or "freight train" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, and his demeanor. He rarely (if ever) wavered from introducing himself before performing, with the greeting, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."
Much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption. His signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "That Old Wheel" (a duet with Hank Williams Jr.), "Cocaine Blues", and "Man in Black". He also recorded several humorous songs, such as "One Piece at a Time", "The One on the Right Is on the Left", "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog" a duet with June Carter, Jackson, and "A Boy Named Sue"; rock-and-roll numbers such as "Get Rhythm"; and various railroad songs, such as "Rock Island Line" and "Orange Blossom Special".
He sold over 90 million albums in his nearly fifty-year career and came to occupy a "commanding position in music history".
Cash was known for his deep, distinctive voice, his trademark dark clothing which earned him his nickname, the boom-chick-a-boom or "freight train" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, and his demeanor. He rarely (if ever) wavered from introducing himself before performing, with the greeting, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."
Much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption. His signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "That Old Wheel" (a duet with Hank Williams Jr.), "Cocaine Blues", and "Man in Black". He also recorded several humorous songs, such as "One Piece at a Time", "The One on the Right Is on the Left", "Dirty Old Egg-Sucking Dog" a duet with June Carter, Jackson, and "A Boy Named Sue"; rock-and-roll numbers such as "Get Rhythm"; and various railroad songs, such as "Rock Island Line" and "Orange Blossom Special".
He sold over 90 million albums in his nearly fifty-year career and came to occupy a "commanding position in music history".
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