Johnny Cash - Man in black - 1971

Johnny Cash was one of those rarest of things: an artist who managed to crossover into all walks of life, somehow meaning something to almost everyone. It's something even rarer still for a country singer.

Born J.R Cash in Arkansas in 1932, he went on to become one of country music’s all-time greatest voices, with his distinctive bass-baritone and the Tennessee Three backing him up, recording songs right up until his death in 2003.

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On one level, Johnny Cash’s theme song was a simple explanation for his preferred choice of outfit colour, but it also served as a protest statement against the treatment of the downtrodden and the poor by the wealthy classes, mass incarceration and the war in Vietnam.

Roseanne Cash told Mojo magazine that, to her, the song always “reflected the sadness, the convulsions, just that mythic dark night of the soul that he went through so many times."

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 is long paid for his crime

But is there because he's a victim of the times

I wear the black for those who've 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 to 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

Believin' that the Lord was on their side

I wear it for another hundred-thousand who have died

Believin' 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 okay

But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back

'Til things are brighter, I'm the man in black