This Story Is INSANE | Johnny Cash - Cocaine Blues | Reaction 

Cash seemed to have an Angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Honest in his struggles. I think that’s another reason people related to him. We all struggle for sure.

This was recorded at one of his shows at Folsom prison. Try One Piece at a Time. Another fun song

'One Piece at a Time and 'Ring of Fire'. You will love both. RIP Johnny

Cash was one of the great story tellers.

I live 30 minutes away from Johnny’s home place. We’re mighty proud of him around here.

1/4 of outlaw country songs are designed to make ya feel like you’re going to hell for laughing at it. Lol! Great Reaction.

Ring of Fire 🔥 is a great one from Cash.❤️ Johnny did a lot of songs and shows for prisons.

John was singing to prisoners here. He had albums that were recorded in prisons. He spent time in prison. His song, 'San Quentin", the guards hated him for singing that.when he performed there. Not all artists write, they do other artists songs. Or they have people write for them. Not all songs are true stories.

Cocaine Blues" is a Western swing song written by Troy Junius Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song "Little Sadie". Roy Hogsed recorded a well known version of the song in 1944. . It is a drug hyped outlaw murder song that sounds really fun , like wow every body's doin it , why not me . . Totally different vibe than the rapper gang stuff of the 1990s even though the subject matter is the same .

Blues singer/guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan mixed powdered cocaine with his whisky, and drank it during concerts. The cocaine eventually ate a hole in his stomach over time, and it nearly killed him. But he survived, and got himself off of cocaine and alcohol.

Sherlock Holmes loved his 3% solution .

It's called square dancing

You are not stupid. Be kind to yourself. 😊

I was born in 1969. My mum loved Johnny Cash and so do I. Young man would you please stop referring to your self as "stupid". You are far from it. Please stop talking negative about your self. You are a fine young man with a willingness to learn and research. That makes you very intelligent in my opinion. You also ooze empathy and compassion in regards to lyrics, that alone makes you a great person. Keep listening to the old stuff, it's fabulous. I wish you well in all that you do.

Johnny wrote for the people. He knew his audience. The people fell in love with him. He related to them.

Check out this particular recording on RU-vid: Sweet Cocaine (Live At The Elephant, Woodstock, NY, 1970) Cocaine was adopted and promoted by Sigmund Freud (also a user) as a treatment (even as a kind of 'tonic') for a number of reasons. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle took that idea and used it in his detective writing. As a result, the most famous literary use of cocaine was Doyle's famous character Sherlock Holmes used it frequently, by injection. It was one of the reasons Holmes had such a close relationship with Dr Watson, who often administered it or prepared the dosage (Holmes used a 7% solution of cocaine diluted in water). If you read the Sherlock Holmes stories, you WILL come across mention of the use, even mention of Sherlock's possession of his own 'works', though they didn't call it that back then. Cocaine wasn't illegal back then; it was just one more modern miracle of the scientific Victorian age. Just my opinion, but it's possible cocaine is the origin of the "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" story. Cocaine was 1st developed in 1859, RL Stevenson published "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" in 1886, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his first Sherlock Holmes serial story in 1887 before publishing as books in 1892. But the dark, addictive side of cocaine HAD to have made itself known early on, and 'Mr Hyde' definitely exhibited the vicious cocaine characteristics of the drug...

Give a listen to "Jackson" - a duet with his wife June Carter Cash. She co-wrote his hit "Ring of Fire." BTW - I've seen your reactions to Tom Jones and noticed your interest in TJ's TV show. Johnny Cash also had a show. Before MTV and cable the main way we got to see our favorites perform was on variety shows.

Woody Guthrie was well known for his "talking blues" as well, such as "Talking Dust Bowl Blues" for example, and many of the songs, like this one, date back to the forties or earlier... and of course Guthrie was Bob Dylan's most direct influence, and Dylan also carried on the tradition by occasionally doing the "talking blues"... e.g. Talkin' World War III Blues or Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues

One of the things that make Cash unique is that he would deal with life destroying mistakes straight on, and from a first person perspective. Some humor but no glamour in his lyrics. He owned them as mistakes, things not to do.

I've been waiting for you to get to this song...😂 Yep, it's mighty chipper! Love your reactions. Keep it going.

Johnny Cash married into country royalty if you want to hear true traditional country you should probably go way back to "The Carter Sisters" "Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters - Sweet Talkin" Man" I believe this was around 1930's or 40's. But June Carter Cash had a very successful career before she married Johnny, they performed together a lot. Johnny had his own tv show also. Great reaction

One of my favorites is Chattanooga City Limit Sign. Give it a listen for some laughs.

This version of Cocaine Blues by Johnny Cash is not the original one. The song's history is a bit mixed up, but at least one was written back in the 1940's by T. J. Arnall. I remember hearing one on our radio when I was only about 8 years old - in fact I memorized all the lyrics. Neither my mom nor I knew a thing about cocaine! Ah, those were the days. 😊

He’s got some hilarious songs, Johnny was one of the coolest guys around.

You have plenty more Johnny Cash to come, butbsince you enjoy story songs, there are lots of others you should also check out. The ballad of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Ode to Billie Joe, Harper Valley PTA, Harry Chapin's Taxi and his Cat's in the Cradle, to name a few. Loretta Lynn had some songs that were brutal in telling women's truths when they were expected to stay at home and be quiet. The Pill and Don't Come home a Drinkin' with Lovin on Your Mind. Lots of country artists mixed with others.

I know you've seen the E L V I S Movie so I thought you might want to hear Elvis's best version of Unchained Melody. Elvis Unchained Melody (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) Best Vocal, Recorded Live April 24, 1977 Ann Arbor Michigan. 4 months before his Death. Elvis "Bridge Over Troubled Water" 1970 Live Las Vegas (New Mix, Great Sound) Also Sung by Simon & Garfunkel.

He took uppers and Coke not sure about heroin. Yes you can shoot cocaine.. Hell ppl shoot about anything

He was a pill-popper. He loved his amphetamines (speed) in his early days, he sobered up off of those and eventually relapsed on pain pills and valium. I believe he died sober, but he was always upfront about his addictions. His biographies are amazing btw

Johnny was addicted to cocaine. The song “Hurt” was written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, that’s the original, and Trent Reznor struggled with heroin addiction, that’s the reason “Hurt” deals with “the needle tears a hole.” The “Hurt” track was from a series of albums called “American Recordings” that are Johnny covering American songs from all eras up to the 2000’s. “Check out the Nine Inch Nails version sometime.

Johnny Cash''s concert at Madison Square Garden was recorded in 1969, but was not released on CD until 2002 by Columbia Records.

I dig the way you do a background on it....... the stories behind the old music is always as impressive as the songs 👍🏼

Almost every song Johnny Cash sings becomes his song forever, but Hank Williams 3 did a great cover of this. If you're interested in songs like 'Cocaine Blues,' check out Tom T. Hall's 'Turn Her On, Turn Her On, Turn Her On.' It was well ahead of its time. You might also enjoy Dutch blues performer Hans Theessink's cautionary 'Lining In the Fast Lane,' or Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'That Smell.'

"Shot" equals "Hit", "Dose" a LINE!! I sometimes refer to food as a "Shot". "I took a shot of french fries.."..

He needed the uppers because they were literally on the road non stop. He needed the downers so he could sleep. Elvis gave him his first hit of speed. If not for June Carter Cash and the Carter family, he wouldn't have lived as long as he did. Johnny was loved by all because he was real. He struggled and had no problem talking about them. It didn't matter if you were in prison or the president, he showed the same respect and that my friends is as real as it gets.

You mention the conversational tone of the lyrics. I've never been a rap fan but I've always loved Easy-E. It just hit me that Easy had a similar style. It was story-telling.

Live at Folsom Prison! Epic! Epic! Epic! Did I mention epic? I'm not a huge fan of country music but like many rockers I love Johnny Cash.

You would think with the current climate it wouldn't be acceptable yet most of the people I come across hearing it for the first time really like it.

If you're discovering Johnny for the first time you've got to hear Boy Named Sue, One Piece at a Time, Delia's Gone, God's Gonna Cut You Down

Johnny Cash is a storyteller.

Square dancing Bub!

I'm curious...would you like to listen to some "Western Cowboy Ballads"🤠❓Marty Robbins was one of the best in this genre of music "Marty Robbins - El Paso (Live)" This song as well as "Big Iron" another one of his song's, were ranked by the Western Writers of America among the Top 100 Western songs of all time. Robbins was a commercial success in both country and pop genres, and his songs were covered by other famous artists like; Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead, and even Elvis Presley. I thought this might intrigue you since a lot of the songs are similar as in the music is light, but the story of the song is rather dark. Loved your reaction thanks for sharing🔥💖✌🤗🎶

difference is the accountability factor in these stories/songs

Great reaction. Johnny Cash was quite a character. Keep up the great journey through great music. 😊

...if there is one CONSTANT in country music it is....STORY TELLING! especially when you get to enjoy old(or, classic)country...try Geo. Jones HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY...or Vern Gosdin THE GARDEN.............by then you should be anxious for more.

You’re thinking about square dancing

You want more story music? Alice's restaurant from Arlo Guthrie. It's a long one but you'll love it

Hi..love your reactions to Johnny Cash i hope especially after what you just said about him sorta answering a question by telling a story.. " 25 Minutes to Go" i know you will love it.✌

This is a wild song for sure:)

Folsom Prison Blues is a good one. It was a big hit in the '50s on Pop radio. The live At Folsom Prison version was a hit again in 1968.

Johnny Cash was drinking heavily and more than once he become addicted to amphetamines and barbiturates but I don't believe he was ever addicted to either cocaine or heroin. Cocaine Blues is just a song. He was no more addicted to cocaine than he "shot his woman down". This is just a song he's singing and it is not autobiographical any more than "Boy Named Sue" is autobiographical. Obviously he was never named Sue. He also was never an inmate in prison. He performed for prisoners and he recorded two albums live in prisons, one in San Quentin and one in Folsom and I have seen comments from many people saying that he spent time in prison. He did not. He merely put on concerts in two prisons but he was never an inmate in either of them. The closest he came to being a prisoner was that he spent a night or two in a city jail. So, he wasn't an inmate in any prison but what he was was a great singer. He sang with such feeling and conviction that people believed he was telling his own story. He was not.

Love your reactions! You should do Drake White - Making Me Look Good Again!

He wrote and sang this song for the concert he did at Folsom Prison

One major clarification - Johnny Cash’s did NOT use cocaine or heroin. Johnny Cash’s drug addiction issues are/were very well known and he talked about it extensively throughout his life, as have many, many people who were close to him - Johnny is NOT known to have ever done cocaine or heroin- he was addicted to various pills, they were his drugs of choice. In the late 50s and 60s he was very addicted to amphetamines (to stay wake) and barbiturates (to sleep). In the 80s he became addicted to various painkillers. He also had alcohol addiction issues when he used drugs. These facts are well known and Johnny was very open about his addiction issues/struggles - no need to misrepresent them. These facts are easy to check/confirm. There are many books about Johnny Cash that discuss his drug use and he wrote two autobiographies in which he discussed his drug use. There are also many interviews with Johnny in which he discussed his drug use, many still on RU-vid!

Johnny was addicted to pills quite a bit of his adult life - no other drugs, just pills but he never met a pill he didn't try.

"Delia's Gone" is gonna mess with your head, too.

I love stories in lyrics too, its why i love Bob Dylan, The Streets, Ice T, Eminem as well as Johnny

Lol Bob Dylan. The goat of talking songs. Hurricane will be a great start in a tub of treasures.

This song is from 1968 and yes, you can shoot cocaine. I miss storytelling songs.

You have to do 25 minutes to go - Johnny cash 😁😎

A good story... bob Dylan... the hurricane...

My name is Dave Sincere of the Planet Raconteur Podcast. We're story tellers. We love stories. I love Cash and I have since i was a kid. He's a country artist, a country singer. A purveyor of country music. Did i hear you compare country music to circus music? Please stop. And as to if Cash could have existed today. i don't care. He has a body of recorded music since the mid 1950's. He himself is timeless. Thus endth the lesson.

He was singing this song at a concert he had for the prisoners in Folsom Prison. Check out Folsom Prison Blues.

He’s a man of trials and tribulations…the things he sang about are real life. Thanks for sharing and “getting “ it. I too wish that more artists would be open about the real life of today. Keep on keeping on….

If I'm right I think I am. The first time he ever sang this was at Folsom prison. The guards and warden asked him not to sing about drugs or women because it rials the prisoners up. He got up their and did it anyway. He seen prisoners as people not for their mistakes

this song was in the 60's, saying he took a shot meant he took a hit of it.

Watch Walk the Line it's his life story so good. I believe he liked uppers better. I believe they meant a line of coke like a shot, just a play on words.

Johnny Cash was a great story teller, but he also has an amazingly beautiful singing voice. That he used a lot for classic folk songs like Danny Boy and Irene Goodnight. You get to hear his great range in Ring of Fire and I walk the Line.

He sang this song at folsome prison, It was a favorite with the prisoners

ISaw him one time you need to check out his catalog very very good stuff and check out the movie

Cash, like many of the OG rockers, ended up strung out on pills. Speed to keep them up for concerts and tours and downers to ease the inevitable crash.

If you already havent you should listen to his full live at san quentin album, and also Bob Dylan - Hurricane

Other interesting songs with an upbeat, "fun" tempo and crazy dark lyrics: Third Eye Blind, "Semi-Charmed Life" OutKast, "Hey Ya!" Nena, "99 Red Balloons" or "99 Luftballons" in it's original German Sublime, "Wrong Way" Barry Manilow, "Copacabana" The Killers, "Mr Brightside" Greenday, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" Mötley Crüe, "Kickstart My Heart" Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Bad Moon Rising" Blink-182, "Adam's Song" Britney Spears, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time"

It is lethal. Stay away from that crap. I remember asking your same question. I was like 40…lol. I have watched Walk The Line 50x’s

Put sad words to a happy beat. It is a staple of old country and blues. It kindof symbolizes that idea of putting on a brave face.... laughing instead of crying.... or even of pretending to be happy when inside it is the last thing you want to be.

Johnny did 5 or 6 albums in the 90s with Rick Rubin producing. Check out his American Recordings albums there are a lot of great covers and stories in those.

He means a quick snort of cocaine,then ran out the house

You are feeling the dance dosi dow.

60s Cash was insanely great.

☮️💙💙💙🔥

Great review. You picked up on the subtleties of the song and JC

That whole album, Live at Folsom is spectacular.

Amphetamines was Cash's main addiction. Beginning in 1957.

Square dancing! The tone of this type of song is why I love bluegrass so much - the tunes are really bouncy and happy-sounding... until you listen to the lyrics.

I wasn't able to figure out if you realize the context of this. He did several appearances in prisons. Just to try to cheer these people up because I mean they were never going to have a normal life again. And it ain't spent a brief amount of time there but not for anything serious. So anyway like San Quentin I believe was the other one and then this one of course you can see where he substitutes the words out to say Folsom prison. And then he later wrote a song called Folsom Prison Blues but yeah in both cases he went just him and his acoustic guitar for the most part and just got in front of all these inmates and just won them over, he had them in the palm of his hand. It's because he understood it, he wasn't saying he can own it. He just understood it and he was not afraid to go do that. And so he's actually got two iconic live albums one from San Quentin and one from Folsom Prison I mean amongst all his other mini albums they don't have anything to do with prison but I just thought you should know that if you weren't aware. I don't want to be preaching to the choir but it's pretty fascinating thing and this song was literally live at Folsom Prison it's got a weird extra Reaver processing thing on it it kind of messes with it. But you get the idea

Took a shot = took a hit = snorted - all that 50s hep-cat jive, you dig?

lol, another thing about this song, it's off of his live from Folsom Prison album

Talkin Blues songs: Grateful Dead - Me and my Uncle, GD - El Paso, GD Marty Robbins - Anything he did. If you like THC: Jaime Brockett - Legend of the USS Titanic.

Hurt was originally written by Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails about his struggles with heroin addiction. Cash related to the struggle with addiction and connected to the lyrics.

WITH MORPHINE THE HIGH IS SOMETHING ELSE. I started in VN doing speed and morphine The speed so that i could work 20-24 days morphine sou dont care what u are doing for 309 days Got home speed was no good not pure so went to cocaine Did it for 10, more yr Then The Love of My life came around and that was that for me she saved me and still doe every day b/c not a day goes by I dont want to use But today I will not tomorrow.. But today no

If you like old stuff, check out the old television programme 'Columbo' -- Johnny Cash is the guest star villain -- he's great.

It was suppose to be funny. He's recording this in Folsom prison in front of the prisoners. A shot also can mean a hit. Merle Haggard was in a prison when Johnny played there. He vowed to do what Johnny was doing. And never go back to prison. He was true to his word

I love his stories. Have you done reactions to Kenny Rogers? A lot of his songs are stories.

We are talking about a song from the 40's. Most likely he is referring to a bump or a snort but a shot was more the lingo of the time and being more knowledgeable about the drug would have made it harder to convince radio stations to play it. The playful tone of the song marries to the dark nature of the lyrics, like Stagger Lee or some Cab Calloway songs. If you are looking for that conversational and poetic music, I would suggest Tom Waits singing Gun Street Girl.

I recommend a duo--Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan--Girl from the North Country.

You want to hear a similar song feel, find Louisiana Stripes by Hank III. Son of Hank Jr. He's spitting image and voice of his granddaddy, Hank Sr. He does metal and punk and outlaw country. He ain't done nothing in almost a decade but his stuff is great. Three Shades of Black is another goodie. Cash is a founder of outlaw country which is all about drugs, murder, cheating...and all the worst of human nature. Very similar to gangsta rap in themes. David Allan Coe is another big country outlaw musician. He did live some of his music. Did jail time, drugs, etc.

Look up shel silverstien who wrote a boy named sue. 'Cover of the Rolling Stone' on Shels boat is epic. As is Sylvias Mother

Elvis Presley introduced Johnny Cash to cocaine. Johnny Cash became an addict. He did use several different drugs.

Red Sovine singing Teddy Bear another talking blue's

Whether Cash did coke or smack doesn't really matter. He pretty much did it all, but he's a writer. He writes and not necessarily from his own life. But sometimes from lives that don't even exist. So I give him writers freedom to express his songs. He had been to jail for possession of pills, I believe, but I'm not even sure what pills that was. Even methamphetamine was legal back in the day. Hitler took it. His troops took it and American president JFK took it. Then it was finally outlawed. Long story short. Cash was a writer. A creator.

So the guy telling the story shoots cocaine and it's so ok with him he admits it