"Five Feet High and Rising" is a song written
and originally recorded by
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
.
The song was recorded by Cash on March 12, 1959
for his third
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
album
and released as a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
on July 6, 1959, with "
I Got Stripes" (another song from the same recording session) on the opposite side.
Content
The song is a first person account of the
1937 Mississippi flood that Cash, then aged four years and 11 months, endured with his family. They had to leave their home and flee.
Legacy
The song provided the inspiration for the name of
De La Soul
De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...
's debut album "
Three Feet High and Rising
''3 Feet High and Rising'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on March 3, 1989 by Tommy Boy Records. It is the first of three collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and c ...
" and is sampled in the song "The Magic Number."
Charts
References
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Johnny Cash songs
1959 singles
Songs written by Johnny Cash
Columbia Records singles
1959 songs
Song recordings produced by Don Law