Apostrophe S

I’ve been reading this book on and off for about the last year or so. (This is the last of the half-read books I have lying around, at least the ones that I want to finish. Now I can move on to new stuff.) I don’t generally believe in regret, but if there’s one thing I’ll always wish I had done, it would be to meet Johnny Cash before he died. He’s one of my heroes, especially after reading his book.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would have been like to sit down with a cup of coffee and talk with Cash about his life, this book is for you. He writes his life story conversationally, and not in any particular chronological order. The book is divided up into sections written at the different places he calls home.

The book is more memoir than autobiography. Sure, Cash spends plenty of time revealing his life’s story, where he came from, the circustances of his rise to fame, etc. But the real bulk of the book is Cash talking about all the people he’s known and worked with throughout the years. And there are plenty. I never realized how many people the Man in Black knew.

One of the things I really appreciate about the book is Cash’s humble attitude about himself and his realization of his own mortality and his slowly aging body.

Not that I believe you have to “grow old gracefully.” I go along with Edna St. Vincent Millay’s idea that it’s okay to go out screaming and scratching and fighting. When death starts beating the door down, you need to be reaching for your shotgun. #

The life of Johnny Cash is a true American story. I don’t even say success story, because he was successful on and off throughout his 40-plus-year career. He wasn’t even always a good man, as he will readily admit. He spent many years addicted to pills and senseless violence, such as trashing hotel rooms. But he seems to have calmed and wisened as he aged, and has thankfully been able to write a few things down.

Cash is a classic American troubadour, and his influence on the world of music won’t soon be forgotten.

I also have The Man Called CASH : The Life, Love and Faith of an American Legend, a straight biography, which I hope to read soon. However, I’ll probably come back to that after I read a few other books.

The upcoming movie

There’s an upcoming biopic about Johnny Cash’s life called “Walk the Line”. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Man in Black and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash. From the trailer, it appears the focus of the movie will be Cash’s rise to stardom and roudy lifestyle, mixed with a love story between he and June Carter. This is fine by me, but I hope they at least acknowledge the man Cash became in his later years, the man who had the wisdom and talent to write a best-selling autobiography.

Phoenix is an unusual but as far as I can tell excellent choice for the part. He even sings in his own voice for the music in the film, if the trailer can be trusted. Now, this sometimes works. (Not so much in that Bobby Darin movie.) I hope that this is one of those times, because if they screw this movie up, I’m not going to be happy.

I really hope it’s better than “Ray,” which just wasn’t a good enough movie for how good Jamie Foxx played the title character.

I’ll close with some words of wisdom from the man himself.

It’s about time for me to go to work, or if you like, to go play. That’s what we music gypsies call it, after all. I’ll put on my black shirt, buckle up the black belt on my black pants, tie my black shoes, pick up my black guitar, and go put on a show for the people in this town.