The song “Man in Black” was written by Johnny Cash, an American songwriter and the most significant musician of the twentieth century. Though his songs were performed in such genres as rock and roll, folk and blues, primarily, he was considered a country music singer. Johnny Cash was also known as “man in black” owing to the way he behaved and the way he dressed. Throughout his career and life, he was revealed as a rather contradictory person. He recorded many humorous and railroad songs such as “One Piece at a Time ” and “Rock Island Line”. However, the most part of his songs were dedicated to themes of sorrow, redemption, and moral grief. While listening to his songs, one can describe the musician as a deeply religious person and as a social protestor (Edwards, unpaged). The song “Man in Black” also refers to the period. Recorded in 1971, the song discloses Cash’s redemption and justifies his iconic garb (Cash, 3).
From the first lines, we can observe the singers’ outright protest against the social inequality that existed in the world. So, the first reason he wears the black clothes is brightly illustrated in the second verse:
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner is long paid for his crime
But is there because he’s a victim of the times (Cash, unpaged)
Johnny Cash always cared about those who were deprived of the luxuries of life and until it existed, he was restless. Moreover, his had deep faith in God and the Kingdom of Heaven propelled to pray for the others in order to be forgiven for his own sins:
I wear the black for those who never read
Or listened to the words that Jesus said
About the road to happiness through love and charity
Why, you’d think He’s talking straight to you and me (Cash, unpaged).
The last line of the verse is a kind of a call for people to confess and to believe that despite the sins accomplished by them, they have the right to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, the song can be also considered as biographical.
The song was also pierced with the feeling of remorse for the people who did not chance to be successful. Moreover, when singing about the poor population, he blamed himself for all the rewards he gained in this life:
Well, we’re doing mighty fine, I do suppose
In our streak of lightnin’ cars and fancy clothes
But just we’re reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there ought to be a Man of Black (Cash unpaged).
By the last line, Cash underlined his obligation to wear a suit of sorrow and the suit of redemption. Moreover, in the song, he promised not to wear “a suit of white”
There is another idea that was interwoven into the song: the desire to set free from sin could be facilitated by all the good we do to people and by all the changes made by us. If so, the redemption can be easily granted.
I wear It for the sick and lonely old
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold
I wear black in the morning for the lives that could have been
Each week we lose a hundred fine men (Cash unpaged).
Cash’s mercy is justified by the suit he wears insight his soul. His black garb is not only the appearance; it is the state of Cash’s inner world. The black suit is not only the necessity; it is a kind of healer of the past wounds.
“Oh I’d love to carry a rainbow every day; And tell the world that everything’s okay” sais Cash as if reassuring himself that the future will be better if he “will carry off a little darkness on [his] back” (Cash unpaged). By these lines, he was asking for forgiveness for his death, since left his wife and daughter without a husband and father. Consequently, the song id a kind of forgiveness for all the harm he would do to his family (Edwards unpaged).
In my opinion, the song “Man in Black” is the autobiographical song where Johnny Cash described the purpose of his life which lay in a constant fight for human rights. My strong belief is that Cash sang to those who required help and sympathy in order to help them find the right way. The song was also the reflection of Cash’s outlook on religion and attitude to it. He assumed that everyone deserves to get into the Kingdom of Heaven since everyone could change the life for the better. So, I suppose that Cash managed to evoke the understanding among the audience and to make them think over the past deeds in order not to succumb to temptation. Anyway, the deep ideas presented in the lyrics could not leave anyone to be indifferent.
Works Cited
Edwards, Leigh H. “Johnny Cash and the paradox of American Identity” Indiana University Press. 2009. Web.
Cash, Jonny Man in Black US: Zondervian, 1983.
Cash, Jonny “Man in Black”. elyrics.net 2000-2009. Web.