It’s somehow more jarring to see Elton in black than Johnny in pink.

My favorite part is how Johhny can't stop swooshing the cape and playing with it, that's adorable XDDD

“are you wearing th-“

“the chanel boots? yeah, i am.”

love how Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt fucked so hard that everyone was just like “ok that’s his song now”

that everyone includes trent reznor

[Image ID/ “That song isn’t mine anymore,” said Reznor. /End ID]

Johnny Cash having a cigarette outside of Folsom Prison in California, 1968.

Because you're mine,

I walk the line

johnny cash song universe theory: the protagonist from a boy named sue is one of the ex-lovers mentioned in solitary man. this is why in the lines “then sue came along, loved me strong / that’s what i thought / me and sue, but that died too”, sue’s pronouns are conspicuously absent.

Today in Music History—January 13th, 2022:

Johnny Cash performs one of his most well-known concerts at Folsom Prison (the inspiration behind his #1 hit track, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ in 1968, 54 years ago today, Backed up by his wife, June Carter, going on to be one of the most infamous concerts of all time.

Follow me @musingofaninsignificantwriter for more daily music history content!

[ID: a colorized (?) photo, showing country singer Johnny Cash, sitting on a stool, his guitar in his hand, in front of inmates of the Folsom Prison, most of them wearing blue or white shirts. /end ID].

Lil Nas X did a cover of Jolene and Dolly Parton responded to it on twitter

Image descriptions under the cut

From Dolly’s insta:

I feel like it gets a bit lost, with how readily we meme his songs online, but Lil Nas X really does have a beautiful country singing voice. He might have the best voice for soulful, impassioned, male country vocals since Johnny Cash, and this cover really shows that off.

he is perfect for outlaw country not that new i love my truck an 'murica stuff that calls itself country

#I know it's not his primary aesthetic and he seems pretty committed to the vibe he's got going on now but like #what IF he just singlehandedly brought back outlaw country #he's powerful he could DO IT #maybe the next album #lil nas x

Y'know this post made me realise something about Johnny Cash.

This right here is an album of punk covers of his work released in 1988 in the UK to raise money for the Terrence Higgins Trust. At the time it came out Cash's career was more or less dead-- his audience were practically old enough to remember the Alamo.

But this comes out, and he fucking LOVES it. His biggest issue was that the album launch (at a pub in Islington) was set for a couple days after he was due to leave the UK and he wanted to take his wife to it. He was on board with it being an AIDS fundraiser, too-- for cultural context this was less than two years after Diana shook hands with AIDS patient, so it wasn't 100% the Height of the stigma but it wasn't far off.

And this album gave him his second wind. It put him in tune with the punk scene. It's the reason we have his cover of Hurt.

So like I'm no expert. But if he was still around I'm pretty sure he'd fucking LOVE this gay black kid who's out there reinventing and retaking country (when he's not busy with half a dozen other genres, as often as not at the same time. Fuckin love Lil Nas X and his batshit wild range).

Hell, somewhere out there is a parallel universe where he has a verse on Old Town Road. It sucks that he never got to hear it.

So yeah. Lil Nas X is, in my opinion, the PERFECT musician to bring back Outlaw Country.

[video description: a video of Lil Nas X singing a cover of "Jolene" by Dolly Parton. He's wearing a white shirt, and there's a vase with many flowers in front of him and his microphone. In the background is an accompanying band. /end description].

[ID 1: Screenshots of two tweets. The first one is by Dolly Parton and it says "I was so excited when someone told me that Lil Nas X had done my song #Jolene. I had to find it and listen to it immediately…and it's really good. Of course, I love him anyway. I was surprised and I'm honored and flattered. I hope he does good for both of us. Thank you @LilNasX". The second tweet is Lil Nas X responding to the Dolly Parton tweet by simply saying "HOLY SHIT" in all caps. End of ID.]

Image description copied from OP's post.

[ID 2: a screenshot of an instagram post by "Dollyparton", showing Dolly Parton and Lil Nas X, embracing, both smiling at the camera. She's wearing a light dress with silver metal ornaments. He's wearing a black western shirt with light fringes, black trousers and a black cowboy hat. /end ID].

[ID 3: two photos of a CD cover and the opened CD, laying on a white sheet. The cover shows a painting of country singer Johnny Cash holding an old fashioned microphone, next to the album title "'til things are brighter...". In a smaller font are the words "A tribute to Johnny Cash". The second photo shows the CD with the album title and the titles and artists printed on it:

"One Piece At A Time - Michelle Shocked, Straight 'A's In Love - Pete Shelley, I Walk The Line - Stephen Mallinder, Ring Of Fire - Cathal Coughlan, Rosanna's Goin' Wild - Steve Mack, Five Feet High And Risin' - Tracey Bryn, Cry, Cry, Cry - Sally Timms, Home Of The Blues - Brendan Croker, Country Boy - David McComb, Boy Named Sue - Mary Mary, Wanted Man - Marc Riley, Folsom Prison Blues - The Mekons, Man In Black - Marc Almond".

Next to it is the booklet of the CD, with the following text on it:

"I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back. 'Til things are brighter. I'm the man in black.

Johnny Cash was the only Country and Western singer to make a stand against the Vietnam War. He's also the only man I know who's been arrested for picking flowers. Hillbillies, Teddylads, Acidheads and mass murderers, Johnny has played for them all. He speaks out for the little man (and I don't mean Mickey Rooney). 'Till Things Are Brighter is a compulsive collection of songs made famous by the Man in Black and performed by a varied collection of contemporary Hillbillies, Teddylads, Acidheads and mass murderers. It is both a tribute and a fundraiser; with ignorance and bigotry so rife in certain elements of our society, AIDS is largely ignored or thought of as some kind of punishment 'from above'. The Terrence Higgins Trust is one of the few organisations getting to grips with the AIDS issue and all profits from this LP will go to that trust, and in the age of Clause 28 it doesn't look as though that ignorance is about to fade.

Buck Hogarth. February 1988." /end ID].

[ID 1: several photos of a person in light jeans, wearing black tight high boots, posing in different positions. /end ID].

[ID 2: a screenshot of an edited YouTube banner, showing a black and white photo of actress Reba McEntire with tears in her eyes. The (edited) title is "Reba McEntire - just like Slutty Johnny Cash". /end ID].

snl Elton John Johnny Cash outfit swap reminder

Oh. My. G-d

😭In love!!! ⬆️THIS is what my taste in music "looks" like

[ID: two photos of Johnny Cash and Elton John, on Saturday Night Life, but they swapped outfits. So now Elton John is wearing a black leather jacker and a checkered shirt and a black cowboy hat. And Johnny Cash is wearing glasses with pink feathers on the rims and a pink feather boa, and a glittering pink and orange coat. /end ID].

Edited image description, mistakes got fixed 😁

snl Elton John Johnny Cash outfit swap reminder

Oh. My. G-d

😭In love!!! ⬆️THIS is what my taste in music "looks" like

[ID: two photos of Johnny Cash and Elton John, on Saturday Night Life, but they swapped outfits. So now Elton John is wearing a black leather jacker and a checkered shirt and a black cowboy hat. And Johnny Cash is wearing glasses with pink feathers on the rims and a pink feather boa, and a glittering pink and orange coat. /end ID].

[Image description: 6 pictures of Dolly Patron, Orville Peck, Lil Nas X, and Johnny Cash.

1) Dolly Parton in a pink jumpsuit with dramatic bell sleeves and a tight white vest with a deep v-neck. The vest is covered in silver metal rivets, with more silver rivets bedazzling the bodice and arms of her jumpsuit. Her hair is pushed back, the curls loose around her shoulders.

2) Orville Peck posing in front of white wall. He’s wears a black mask with fringe and black cowboy hat, a silver chain necklace with a pendant of a bucking horse, and a fitted pink tank top tucked into black leather pants.

3) Lil Nas X wearing an entirely pink outfit. He’s wearing a pink cowboy hat and fitted pants with a pink, studded bolero. He’s wearing a pink mesh top and a pink buckled harness around his neck and chest. There are gold bandanas tied around his wrists.

4) Dolly Parton wearing a fitted button-up top that’s mostly red plaid. There’s a cutout of a floral fabric around the neckline and collar of the bodice. Her top is tucked into tight dark-wash jeans, and she’s wearing a cream-colored cowboy hat, grinning at the camera.

5) A black and white photo of Johnny Cash, sitting on an outdoor bench. His legs are crossed, and his hands are clasped around one knee. He’s wearing a dark denim jacket covered with patches, a dark printed button-up with the collar popped, and dark pants tucked into knee-high, laced boots.

6) Orville Peck against a light-colored background. He’s wearing a black cowboy hat and mask, the fringe on this mask long and white. He’s wearing a black, midi-length slip dress and dark cowboy boots.

/end ID.]

In case anyone wants a refresher:

Hey guys

If you use spotify, write in the tags the first artist each of your daily mixes are based on as of right now, please and thanks!

The kids on TikTok think that just because he was a classic country singer, Johnny Cash was conservative??? My babies he covered a Nine Inch Nails song in his seventies.

Classic country singers (the majority of which came from poor roots) were always talking about how much The Man sucked because they were taking money from poor rural folk. You’re gonna tell me that’s conservative?? Get outta here.

And somehow on the opposite side of the scale with the same exact opinion the conservative kids say “I like the old country music, because there’s no politics to it” Woodie Guthrie’s got a “this machine kills fascists” sticker on his guitar? You think there’s no politics in 9 to 5 or Folsom Prison Blues?!

Sorry the youths think WHAT???

Have they never heard his own personal anthem “Man In Black??

“ 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 is long paid for his crime But is there because he’s a victim of the times

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 that’s only half the song!! Pro-welfare, pro-prison reform, anti-war- all in just two verses of one song!

Seriously, up until the late ‘80s, American country music was as political as you could get.

Loretta Lynn wrote a whole song in the ‘60s about how women were free to live life as they pleased, instead of having to have babies every year because of access to the new birth control pill.

The reblog above mentions Woodie and Dolly well enough so I won’t go on a major rant but oh my god. 

And these are likely the same people who were surprised that Willie Nelson, who holds an annual fundraiser for farmers and is roughly 98% marijuana at this point, has campaigned for democratic candidates in his home state of Texas. 

Yes, prior to 9/11, country music wasn’t the commercialized, ultra-patriotic backwash that it is today. It was the product of economic, racial, and gender oppression, all of which are themes that were continuously present lyrically.