WWJCD? (What Would Johnny Cash Do?)

I must state that Johnny Cash is a man that I’ve deeply admire — he had his fair share of life experiences that’s for sure. And I also believe he grew as a person because of these experiences. From picking cotton, seeing his brother die at such a young age, serving in our armed forces, being arrested a few times, fighting drug addiction, finding the love of his life and raising a family, and finally, most important to him — finding religion. I think Karl Rove said it best (this time around), “it’s not where you start in life, it’s where you end up.”

He also had his fair share of involvement in politics. It all started with Richard Nixon. In 1972, Cash was asked to play the White House. He was also requested to play specific songs (who knew the President could write his own setlist?). The songs Nixon asked to have performed were: Okie From Muskogee, Welfare Cadillac, and A Boy Named Sue.

Of that incident Cash, explains in his autobiography:

“The issue wasn’t the songs’ messages, which at the time were lightning rods for antihippie and antiblack sentiment, but the fact that I didn’t know them and couldn’t learn them or rehearse them with the band before we had to leave for Washington. The request had come in too late. If it hadn’t, then the issue might have become the messages, but fortunately I didn’t have to deal with that.”

The press had a hay-day and misinterpreted the changed setlist as a political stance. He instead performed The Ballad of Ira Hayes, What is Truth? and Man in Black. He said that Nixon was very hospitable. In fact, Cash met every President since Nixon up until his death. That fact alone is interesting. I wonder if any other musician has had that opportunity?

So what did the Man in Black believe?

  • Felt that the Clintons were actually in love
  • Didn’t vote for Nixon, Clinton, or Ronald Reagan
  • Was a huge fan of Jimmy Carter
  • Performed for and supported the troops in Vietnam and in various prisons, and campaigned for prison reform
  • Supports the 2nd amendment, but also the 1st – “I love the freedoms we got in this country, I appreciate your freedom to burn your flag if you want to, but I really appreciate my right to bear arms so I can shoot you if you try to burn mine.”
  • Supports education
  • Against the Iraq invasion
  • Very religious individual

So with all this information, who do you think he would support? It’s this type of question I constantly ask myself — do celebs and musicians really have that much impact on politics? Artists sell out venues and movie theaters all the time, but do they, or more importantly, should they influence your beliefs? I guess it depends on your values and the artists values. I don’t believe artists should use the stage as a pulpit, certainly artists have their personal beliefs — but it shouldn’t be forced on others. This is especially the case when the entertainment goers paid for exactly that — entertainment. Don’t get me wrong, I whole-heartedly support artists raising awareness about certain issues or causes they believe in by providing spaces for these organization to provide this information themselves. But I don’t necessarily think I should be forced to listen to political rants from artists unless, say, I pay $2,500 for a ticket.

So who do I think he should vote for? Well, honestly I don’t know or want to make any sort of interpretation, certainly there is much more to the House of Cash than I know…but if I might make an educated guess, Johnny might say something like this:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQhAc6RNqI[/youtube]

“The One On The Right Is On The Left”

There once was a musical troupe
A pickin’ singin’ folk group
They sang the mountain ballads
And the folk songs of our land

They were long on musical ability
Folks thought they would go far
But political incompatibility led to their downfall

Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear was a Methodist

This musical aggregation toured the entire nation
Singing the traditional ballads
And the folk songs of our land
They performed with great virtuosity
And soon they were the rage
But political animosity prevailed upon the stage

Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear burned his driver’s license

Well the curtain had ascended
A hush fell on the crowd
As thousands there were gathered to hear The folk songs of our land
But they took their politics seriously
And that night at the concert hall
As the audience watched deliriously
They had a free-for-all

Well, the one on the right was on the bottom
And the one in the middle was on the top
And the one on the left got a broken arm
And the guy in the rear, said, “Oh dear”

Now this should be a lesson if you plan to start a folk group
Don’t go mixin’ politics with the folk songs of our land
Just work on harmony and diction
Play your banjo well
And if you have political convictions keep them to yourself

Now, the one on the left works in a bank
And the one in the middle drives a truck
The one on the right’s an all-night deejay
And the guy in the rear got drafted

Related Content

3 Responses

  1. Good stuff Kirk but let’s be honest. We all know Cash would have supported Perot. The only choice that makes sense.

    Seriously though, I liked what you said about the difference between political support and awareness issues and distinguishing the difference between the two.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter