"Hey, Porter" is a song 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 c ...

. It was recorded on September 1, 1954 and released as a single in May the following year. It tells the story of a train journey home to Tennessee, from the point of view of a very excited passenger that continually asks the

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

for updates.

Origins

"Hey Porter" is

and the Tennessee Two's first recording; Cash wrote the song with bandmates

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 ...

and

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 kno ...

after

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

(Owner of Sun Records) turned down "I Was There When It Happened", the song with which the three auditioned. Phillips reportedly "didn't want a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

song, he wanted a fast song" in the vein of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's "

That's All Right "That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. The song was rereleased in early March 1949 under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and bl ...

". Having been stationed in Landsberg,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, during his stint with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

, Cash based the song on a man returning home from overseas who felt elated to be returning to his native

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. "Hey Porter" was the first of many

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

-themed songs that Cash would record during his career, and was soon followed by "

Folsom Prison Blues "Folsom Prison Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. Written in 1953, it was first recorded in 1955 for his debut studio album '' Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!'' (1957), appearing as the album's eleventh track. T ...

", another rail-themed track. The song is available on many compilations, such as ''The Complete Sun Singles'', ''

The Essential Johnny Cash ''The Essential Johnny Cash'' is a double album, double-compact disc compilation album, compilation by Johnny Cash released as part of Sony BMG's ''Essential'' series. It was compiled to commemorate Cash's 70th birthday. It is not to be confused ...

'', ''Ring Of Fire: The Legend of Johnny Cash Volume Two'', and '' The Legend''. "Hey Porter" was covered by

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, a ...

in 1972 on his second album ''

Into the Purple Valley ''Into the Purple Valley'' is the second studio album by roots rock musician Ry Cooder, released in 1972. The album's front cover is listed at number 12 on ''Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Album Covers. It shows Cooder and his then wife, Susan Tite ...

''. Cash himself re-recorded the song several times as well. Additionally, Cash contributed the vocal for the cover version of "Hey Porter" on the Earl Scruggs Revue album ''Anniversary Special'' in 1975.

References

{{authority control 1954 songs 1955 singles Rock-and-roll songs Rockabilly songs Johnny Cash songs Songs written by Johnny Cash Songs about trains Song recordings produced by Sam Phillips

Origins

See also

References