End of Day: 10 Years Without the Man in Black

Ten years ago today the world lost a great man: singer and songwriter Johnny Cash, fondly known as "The Man in Black".  My dad, Fr. Peter Gillquist, was the ghostwriter for Cash's autobiography, which bears Cash's nickname.

Man in Black - published by Zondervan in1975

I’ll never forget the road trip our family made to Nashville, Tennessee, back in the 1970's when my dad was working with Johnny (he didn't want any of us to call him "Mr. Cash") on the book. We drove up to his office, the "House of Cash", in Hendersonville, and Dad parked the car. Dad got out, giving the six of us siblings explicit instructions to “stay in the car, kids”.

The "House of Cash" as I remember it - info
(photo source here)

But suddenly Johnny Cash was coming out the front door, walking right toward the car - tall, smiling, and dressed completely in black (of course).  Much to my father’s chagrin, my brother and I opened the back doors of the car and immediately hopped out, right at Dad’s heels. I guess neither of us wanted the other one to be the first of us kids to shake Johnny Cash’s hand!

Later, we drove over to the Cash's beautiful lakeside home (which has since unfortunately burned down) to quickly be introduced to June and John Carter.

Cash in front of their home, 1969 - THE TENNESSEAN/AP

The inside of their home looked like a beautiful log cabin.  June Carter came downstairs to meet us, her hair wrapped in a bath towel.  She'd just gotten out of the shower! (My mom later said she wished she could be that comfortable with guests!)

Today I happened to find this blog by Andreas Koutsoudis, with an article posted about Johnny Cash's faith, titled "Inside the Complicated Faith of Johnny Cash", by Dave Urbanski (originally written for Relevant Magazine, February 26, 2013).

Andreas also posted several good YouTube links to some great Johnny Cash songs, and also mentioned my Dad's involvement with the Man in Black book.

For the record, Dad was not a fan of the movie, Walk the Line, because it left out so much of Johnny and June Carter's strong Christian faith.  If you can find it, read the book Man in Black, told in Johnny's own words!!  A great read, for teens and up.

This is a photo that my dad had of Johnny Cash.
I wonder if he's singing "Man in Black"...

"Man in Black" by Johnny Cash

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

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 who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

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.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.