Johnny Cash… The Man in Black… always keeping it real.
Whether it was due to his struggles with addiction over the years, his problems with infidelity, his run-ins with the law, Cash was an open book. He was fearless in his efforts to use song as an honest reflection of real life. And right now, what is more real in 2020 than “Sunday Morning Coming Down?”
Penned by legendary singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson, “Sunday Morning Coming Down” was originally released in 1969 by Ray Stevens. It was then released by Johnny Cash the following year, becoming a number one song. It went on to become one of the great country songs of all time, covered by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis and more.
If you’ve ever spent a Saturday drinking and smoking yourself stupid, and then woke up on Sunday to deal with the consequences, you know the feeling Kristofferson is trying to convey. Some of us know it all too well. And despite the fact that the song is dark and depressing, Cash finds a way to bring a smile to your face with what almost becomes a cheerful hangover anthem.
And now, thanks to the global pandemic that we have been suffering through for the better half of this entire year, all of 2020 has felt like one big hangover. One big headache, one big depressing, lonely walk around town, one big “Sunday Morning Coming Down.”
“Well, I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad
So I had one more for dessert
Then I fumbled in my closet for my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt
And I shaved my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day”
If you know, you know…
Cash and Kristofferson
The Highwaymen
Johnny Cash solo
