Being a little on the tired side tonight, I went in search of something that I haven’t played often or recently, and almost immediately came across this one by the “man in black”, Johnny Cash. Now, I am not a fan of country music, though I can tolerate some John Denver, Willy Nelson, Kenny Rogers, and some of the ‘softer’ country artists. However, when I think ‘country music’, there are a few icons of the genre that come to mind … Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, and of course Johnny Cash. The original ‘man in black’. I last played this in May 2019 upon a request from my then-friend Ellen. Although the friendship died, the song lives on and so tonight I am reduxing!
Ellen’s reason for requesting this song … three days ago … are best stated by her:
“The love story of June and Johnny has been explored from every side and angle … both were married when they met in the 50’s, both divorcing and soon marrying in 1968 after his proposal to her during a live performance in Canada. I will tell you about two things. First, June Carter Cash died on May 15, 2003 and was followed by Johnny in September of the same year. Second, the song that I have always loved is “Ring of Fire”. According to them, it was written by June in 1962 as a love song to him having been inspired by a line of Elizabethan poetry. There was a co-writer, but I forget his name, and she first gave it to a sister to record. It wasn’t a hit and Johnny wanted to record it his way and the result was a hit.”
To embellish just a bit on the information Ellen provided, I turned to SongFacts. June Carter wrote the lyrics about her relationship with Johnny Cash. She felt being around Cash was like being in a “ring of fire.” Cash was involved in drugs and had a very volatile lifestyle. June Carter wrote this song while driving around aimlessly one night, worried about Cash’s wildman ways – and aware that she couldn’t resist him.
“There is no way to be in that kind of hell, no way to extinguish a flame that burns, burns, burns.”
Cash released this in 1963, and Eric Burdon and the Animals covered it six years later. By the way … the co-writer was Merle Kilgore, who was also the best man at June & Johnny’s wedding. Their marriage lasted 35 years, until death did them part.
Now, don’t anybody ask for country music for at least a month, please, for it will take me that long to recover from these two back-to-back country songs! This one’s for you, my dear friend Ellen …
Ring of Fire
Johnny Cash
Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire
I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire
I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire
The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire went wild
I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire
The ring of fire, the ring of fire
Songwriters: June Carter/Merle Kilgore
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