Not for Johnny Cash (incidentally, a J.C. himself) the intricate political commentary of a Bob Dylan -- well, not the Dylan of "Masters of War" or "The Times They Are A'Changin'". Try "Maggie's Farm" and you're getting closer, and the religiously-soaked imagery of "John Wesley Harding" and you're closer still - it was after the JahWeH album that Dylan and Cash collaborated, covering "Girl from the North Country." By then Dylan had learned what Cash seemed to know from birth: that Jesus was a revolutionary and that the Bible's no-bullshit morality is ultimately subversive. When Cash dealt with social issues, he did it in a way that made sure we knew it was the voice of the common people speaking, and not some overly-theoretical ivory-tower intellectual. In "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" (written by Peter LaFarge, and found on Cash's Bitter Tears concept album dedicated to the plight of Native Americans) Cash eulogizes a Native American Marine who fought at Iwo Jima and came home to praise and accolades, but whose skin color and ancestry quickly limited his post-war opportunities to unemployment and alcohol: "He died drunk one mornin' / In the land he fought to save / Two inches of water in a lonely ditch / Was a grave for Ira Hayes." It's the same story of unfortunate drunks that Cash's southern white audience knew well - but this time the drunk was an Indian, and what drove him to drink wasn't a woman but white racism.

And here's Cash on the issue that tore the baby-boomer generation apart like no other: "We did our best to let 'em know that we care / For every last one of 'em that's over there / Whether we belong over there or not." And then:

If I ever go back over there any more I hope there's none of our boys there for me to sing for I hope that war is over with And they all come back home To stay In peace.

The song, "Singin' in Vietnam Talkin' Blues," is a spoken-word narrative of Johnny and June Cash's trip to Vietnam to sing for the troops. Lessons learned: 1) War is scary, 2) Soldiers have a rough deal, 3) These things are hard to understand. No scathing condemnation of Johnson Administration policies or imperialism or militarism works its way into Johnny Cash. Just a deep, abiding sympathy for those who suffer and a wish for it to end.

[1]       2       [3]       [4]       [next->] Top photo: Dan Hunstein, 1959 Lower photo: Johnny Cash arrives in Israel