Birthday Tributes to the Man in Black

Today is Johnny Cash's birthday. He would have been 74. In Parade Magazine, I came upon this stirring tribute:

In my inbox this morning was Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac (if you aren't a subscriber, go here and become one), and it included the lyrics to Folsom Prison Blues:

I hear the train a comin'; it's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when.
I'm stuck at Folsom Prison and time keeps draggin' on.
But that train keeps rollin' on down to San Antone.

When I was just a baby, my mama told me, "Son
Always be a good boy; don't ever play with guns."
But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
When I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and cry.

I bet there's rich folk eatin' in a fancy dining car.
They're prob'ly drinkin' coffee and smokin' big cigars,
But I know I had it comin', I know I can't be free,
But those people keep a movin', and that's what tortures me.

Well, if they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine,
I bet I'd move on over a little farther down the line,
Far from Folsom Prison, that's where I want to stay,
And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away

That song will be stuck in my head all day, at least until I go to BB's Lawnside for the debut of Troost Avenue Blues, or to Mike's Tavern for some Latin Jazz at a benefit for the UMKC Conservatory Jazz Program.

I think Johnny would like the idea of catching some live music on his birthday. Maybe even more than that sweet train.