DESCRIPTION

Officially Licensed Johnny Cash Merchandise

Johnny Cash Shot a Man In Reno Heavy Duty Belt Buckle

"Folsom Prison Blues" is an American country music song written by Johnny Cash in the early 1950s and originally recorded with his trio in 1956 for the Sun Records label.

The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career.

It has become one of Cash's signature songs.

In the lyrics, the jailed protagonist listens to the whistle of a train outside his cell and recounts his crimes ("I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die"), imagines the free people inside the train ("I bet they're drinking coffee and smoking big cigars") and dreams of what he would do if he were free.

"I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free," sings the imprisoned man. "But those people keep a moving, and that's what tortures me."