Legendary country musician Johnny Cash was born in rural Arkansas 87 years ago today. The iconic outlaw singer-songwriter is responsible for writing some of the most endearing and well-known songs in modern American history. Many of those songs have been covered by other artists and can still be heard today, performed on stages around the world by those inspired by the Man In Black
Throughout his career, Cash – who died in Nashville on September 12, 2003 at the age of 71 – also performed songs of select other songwriters he admired and respected. John Prine was one of those contemporaries Cash held in high regard. In particular, Cash was fond of Prine’s Vietnam War-inspired “Sam Stone,” from Prine 1971 self-titled debut.
Cash’s cover of “Sam Stone” was included in the posthumously released 2005 live album Live From Austin, TX, which was recorded for Austin City Limits in 1983. Cash sought Prine’s approval – which he received – to alter the song’s lyrics, changing the latter part of ”There’s a hole in daddy’s arm where all the money goes / And Jesus Christ died for nothing, I suppose” to “Daddy must have hurt a lot back then, I suppose.”
Below is video of the Live From Austin, TX performance of “Sam Stone,” followed by Prine telling the story behind Cash’s request to change the words. There’s also Prine’s 2018 cover of Cash’s “The Ways of a Woman In Love” as well:
