Johnny Cash is a musician our world will never forget. This country music icon was a talented songwriter, guitarist, and even novelist. His life was unlike anyone else’s. Johnny Cash quotes are little pieces of this man’s incredible story.
A rebel at heart, Cash wrote and performed music inspired by his own experiences. He even called his album “the biggest sinner of them all,” brazenly referring to himself. It’s no surprise – Cash marched by the beat of his own drum. He had several stints in jail and struggled his entire life with drug use. Nonetheless, he created some magnificent music that intersected country, blues, and gospel.
Cash passed away in 2003, only a few months after his wife’s death. The world may have lost a legend, but we thankfully have his music and his quotes!
Here are the Best Johnny Cash Quotes
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“You’ve got to know your limitations. I don’t know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren’t too many limitations, if I did it my way.”
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“Money can’t buy back your youth when you’re old, a friend when you’re lonely, or peace to your soul.”
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“If you aren’t gonna say exactly how and what you feel, you might as well not say anything at all.”
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“Somehow there’s been an immediate bonding between total strangers. We share each other’s triumphs, and when one of us gets hurt, we all bleed – it’s corny, I know, but it’s true.”
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“There’s no more simple life with simple choices for the young.”
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“Life is rough so you gotta be tough.”
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“I love to go to the studio and stay there 10 or 12 hours a day. I love it. What is it? I don’t know. It’s life.”
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“You have to be what you are. Whatever you are, you gotta be it.”
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“My father was a man of love. He always loved me to death. He worked hard in the fields, but my father never hit me. Never. I don’t ever remember a really cross, unkind word from my father.”
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“The ones that you’re calling wild are going to be the leaders in a little while.”
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“When I record somebody else’s song, I have to make it my own or it doesn’t feel right. I’ll say to myself, I wrote this and he doesn’t know it!”
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“We’re all in this together if we’re in it at all.”
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“You miss a lot of opportunities by making mistakes, but that’s part of it: knowing that you’re not shut out forever, and that there’s a goal you still can reach.”
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“If this were a movie I’d be the bad guy.”
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“Beneath the stains of time the feeling disappears, you are someone else I am still right here.”
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“I took the easy way, and to an extent I regret that. Still, though, the way we did it was honest. We played it and sang it the way we felt it, and there’s a lot to be said for that.”
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“You’ve got a song you’re singing from your gut, you want that audience to feel it in their gut. And you’ve got to make them think that you’re one of them sitting out there with them too. They’ve got to be able to relate to what you’re doing.”
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“It’s like a novelist writing far out things. If it makes a point and makes sense, then people like to read that. But if it’s off in left field and goes over the edge, you lose it. The same with musical talent, I think.”
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“There’s no more simple life with simple choices for the young.”
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“I found out that there weren’t too many limitations, if I did it my way.”
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“People call me wild. Not really though, I’m not. I guess I’ve never been normal, not what you call Establishment. I’m country.”
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“I’m not bitter. Why should I be bitter? I’m thrilled to death with life.”
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“That was the big thing when I was growing up, singing on the radio. The extent of my dream was to sing on the radio station in Memphis. Even when I got out of the Air Force in 1954, I came right back to Memphis and started knocking on doors at the radio station.”
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“I’m very shy really. I spend a lot of time in my room alone reading or writing or watching television.”
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“It’s good to know who hates you and it is good to be hated by the right people.”
Johnny Cash quotes are bits of wisdom straight from the country music outlaw himself. If you know anyone who is a big Johnny Cash fan, share one of these quotes with them. They’ll absolutely love to learn a little more about his story.
Featured Image Courtesy of JohnnyCash.com
