''Songs of Our Soil'' is the sixth
studio album by American singer
Johnny Cash. It was originally released on July 6, 1959, and later re-issued on August 27, 2002 with two additional
bonus track
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
s.
The major theme throughout this album is death. Death concludes "The Man on the Hill", "Hank and Joe and Me", "Clementine" and "My Grandfather's Clock." "Don't Step on Mother's Roses" is about a family losing their parents to death; first Mother, then Daddy. "The Great Speckled Bird" is a spiritual about the Second Coming of Jesus. "The Caretaker" is the story of a cemetery caretaker wondering who will mourn for him when his time comes. Even "Five Feet High and Rising" ("the hives are gone; I lost my bees") and "Old Apache Squaw" ("...the next white man that sees my face is gonna be a dead white man") mention death in some way. "I Want to Go Home" is a retitled version of the nautical standard "
The John B. Sails".
By his own admission, Cash was becoming fascinated by death during this time, in part due to his growing
amphetamine and
barbiturate dependence, and also due to the premature death of his brother.
[MAN IN BLACK by Johnny Cash, published in 1975]
Track listing
Personnel
*Johnny Cash - vocals, rhythm guitar
*
Luther Perkins
Luther Monroe Perkins (January 8, 1928 – August 5, 1968) was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for singer Johnny Cash. Perkins was an iconic figure in what would become known as rockabilly ...
- lead guitar
*
Marshall Grant
Marshall Garnett Grant (May 5, 1928 – August 7, 2011) was the upright bassist and electric bassist of singer Johnny Cash's original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became k ...
- bass
*Marvin Hughes - piano
*
Buddy Harman
Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician.
Career
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...
- drums
*
The Jordanaires
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...
- backing vocals
Additional personnel
*
Don Law
Donald Firth Law (February 24, 1902 – December 20, 1982) was an English–American record producer and music business executive. He produced Robert Johnson's only recordings, and as head of Columbia Records' country music division later work ...
- Original Recording Producer
*Al Quaglieri - Reissue Producer
*Seth Foster - Engineer
*Mark Wilder - Mastering, Mixing
*Billy Altman - Liner Notes
*
Don Hunstein - Photography
*Steven Berkowitz - A&R
*Howard Fritzson - Art Direction
*Randall Martin - Design
*John Christiana - Packaging Manager
Charts
Singles -
''Billboard'' (United States)
References
External links
LP Discography entry on ''Songs of Our Soil''
{{Authority control
Johnny Cash albums
1959 albums
Columbia Records albums