"Ballad of a Teenage Queen" is a song written by

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer. Biography Early life Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...

and recorded by Johnny Cash, with background music by The Tennessee Two. Recorded for his 1958 album '' Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous,'' it hit number 1 on the US Country charts and number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Content

The song tells the story of a small-town teenage girl with golden hair and blue eyes who is considered the prettiest the townsfolk have ever seen. She is so pretty that all the boys want to have her. But the girl prefers and loves the boy next door, who is employed at the candy store. The boy saves enough money to buy a ring and plans to marry her "next spring", but suddenly, a movie scout from Hollywood comes to take her away. Mesmerized by what Hollywood has to offer, she leaves the boy and her hometown and heads to the big city. Very soon, the girl becomes famous and enjoys the big-city pleasures like a fancy house and a swimming pool. However, she begins to miss "her old hometown" and the boy who still works at the candy store, and becomes very unhappy. One day, the girl gives up all that she had, including her fame, and takes a train ride back to her hometown, and finally comes back to the boy from the candy store, whom she still loves.

Chart positions

Re-recording

During his brief stint with

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

, Cash re-recorded the song in 1987 featuring guest vocals by his daughter,

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

, and

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

. This version was first released on the 1988 duets album '' Water from the Wells of Home'', and is one of only a handful of recordings of Cash performing with his daughter to be released. It received a nomination for Vocal Event of the Year at the 1989

Country Music Association Awards The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...

References

{{authority control 1958 singles Johnny Cash songs 1958 songs Rock-and-roll songs The Everly Brothers songs Rosanne Cash songs Songs written by Jack Clement Song recordings produced by Sam Phillips Sun Records singles