Cash in the Temple on a Sunday

I'm exhausted, so rather than keep myself up past midnight I'm posting Sunday's entry a few hours early.

I recently bought The Best of the Johnny Cash Show on DVD, and I'm mighty glad I did. There are so wonderful performances on there - you may remember the rendition Ray Charles gave "Ring of Fire," but the two discs are just jam packed with highlights, both from Johnny and his guests. To whet your appetite a little more, here are two Cash performances that really hit me.

First we have "Sunday Morning Coming Down," which for all I know could be attributed to some of you today. The censors didn't want Johnny to sing the line "Wishing, Lord, that I was stoned." He refused to leave it out. Kris Kristofferson, the song's writer, said that by taking that stand, he validated the song as it was, and it wound up winning an award for Country Song of the Year. Thanks, Johnny. (To watch it, click here.)

Now here's Johnny explaining why he's "The Man in Black." This is less a song than a sermon, just as relevant today as it was over a third of a century ago. I swear, by the time he was done, there was a tear in this flinty eye.