When legendary singer Johnny Cash died in 2003, one of the millions who mourned “the man in black” was evangelist Billy Graham. “Johnny was a good man who struggled with many challenges in his life. [He] was a deeply religious man. We loved [him],” said Graham.

The famous evangelist’s words bear testimony to the unique character of Johnny Cash, a man whose music and spirit were widely admired despite—perhaps even because of—his moral weaknesses. It may seem strange that an entertainer who earned a reputation as a rebel and spent years abusing drugs and alcohol and personal relationships would be so accepted by conservative Christians. Certainly his born-again experience and the gospel albums that followed enhanced his reputation in this community.

But there are deeper reasons. Johnny Cash’s life and lyrics were like a morality musical played out on the public stage. He was a man drawn to the bad like a bat to a cave, but a soul who clearly yearned for the good.

At the time of his death, critic David Segal noted that like most country singers, Cash sang about the heartaches and problems that come from too much booze, bad bosses and unfaithful women. But in a creative and unique way he also sang about “himself, and the havoc he could make when he wasn’t minding his soul.”

Cash had a way of tapping into the central tension in human existence: the impulse we all feel to do what is right, and the often-overwhelming compulsion to do what is wrong. This is apparent from the beginning of his recording career in the mid-1950s, when “I Walk the Line” soared to number three on the charts. It begins: “I keep a close watch on this heart of mine.” Cash isn’t worrying about his girlfriend cheating. As Segal observes, “he’s sweating the very real possibility that he will screw up.”

The same internal civil war plays throughout his life and career, and Cash’s willingness to put his deep baritone voice to work authentically portraying that inner struggle endeared him to millions. He identified with the poor, with prisoners, with outcasts, with everyman—and we identified with him. Cash was no doubt easier to love than he was to like. Just like most of us.

— SEVEN, November 2009

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