Johnny Cash's last interview (August 20th, 2003)

how we looking okay all right well you've been a star forever and you're still as big a star as you've ever been you've got these six Video Music Award nominations how do you feel about that kind of overwhelmed I'm very grateful for the nominations and roll the votes to enjoy the video process do you like to make videos not especially no not especially why not well I don't know it's uh it's just work it's sometimes it's really fun like I like to enjoy doing the hurt video I'm doing doing that very much because I felt we were doing something worthwhile yeah that it was a little something was kind of special was very my it's a very emotional video I mean did you feel very emotional I did doing I did I felt very emotionally emotional doing the hurt video yes did you where did the song come from I did did Rick Rubin play it for you and say we're gonna do this song yeah what did you think when you first heard it yeah Rick played the song for men I I when I heard the record I said I can't do that song it's not my style yeah just he said well let's try it another way let me do something so put down a track and I listened to it so we started working on that from from there we started working on it until we got the record made no I mean how did he come - how did he approach you to be on his label I was doing a show in California and when I came off stage my manager Lou Robin came to me and said there's a man here named Rick Rubin that said he would like to meet you that as a record company and he would like to record you and I said I don't want to meet him and he said yeah what I think you might like him I said why and he said well he's different he's not like the rest of them so true and so I told him bring him back and so I went back and there's Rick and immediately elected and I said so if you had me on your record label what would you do then nobody else is done and he said what I would do is let you sit down the forum microphone with your guitar and sing every song you want to record just you and your guitar and I said you're talking about a dream I had a long time ago to just do an album call late and alone Hannah he said that's it he said that's the kind of record that we want to make well that was my first first American record uh-huh I am looking back at all that you've done do you have any regrets about what you've done or do you think it's I mean there's so much you've accomplished I used to but don't I don't undertake myself now when God forgave me I figured I better do it too so everything's alright now we're going back to songs like Folsom Prison Blues and that's about shooting somebody and some of your songs are about you know God the love and murder did people criticize you for that sort of song back in those years always have they always have I've always had that pointed up in my face that I wrote a song with the lining like I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die but you know I wasn't the first in the in the late 20s country singing Jimmie Rodgers in one of his blue yodel songs had a line that says I'm gonna shoot poor Thelma just to see her jump and fall he may have been the first to write a line like that I don't know but I wasn't thinking of Jimmie when I wrote it I was thinking that I was in that prison mmm that's where I tried it I try to put myself in the place then I'm thinking about I can't let people delegate to you what you should do and it's coming from way in here you know and somebody comes up in your face when something tells you what you ought to do then you can you can take them at their word or you can or you can just turn you back you know I wouldn't I wouldn't let anybody influence me into thinking that was putting the wrong thing by singing about death hell and drugs yeah cuz I've always done that and always will especially you were married for more than 30 years what's the secret to that how do how do people stay together whether were together for a year in sorry we worked on the road together since 1963 and we got married in 68 and looking for a happy marriage separate bathrooms that's up I think so when Jim passed on that she had an advice for you keep going keep making music oh she always said that oh yeah she she was my breathing project she loved her video she lived and I'm so glad she lived long enough to see to see through what it did to get the attention that because she did love the hood video and she was my biggest critic - she didn't like stuffing live that I did she told me about it in a hot minute I imagine it must be good to be married so on and to lose someone that's meant to people with someone just want to stop and say the spouse is sometimes just to follow each other but you're still going already two girls would be really good things at the energy this one told me in the hospital so go to work I said what are you talking about she said don't worry about me go to work and at the funeral I could almost sure son go to work three days after the funeral everybody said you're crazy but through those after the funeral loves in this to you really yeah and I still do this video for two weeks and it was therapy for me and I think I'll accomplish more and coupla weeks in most of the other you've combined how much is record making chain was changed a lot in services here at Sun Studios is just where control knowledge is too big oh no these you oh it's easier with all the new technology this girl with the Pro Tools Oh trial you are you when you look back the way you've done you would do you realize this monumental amount of work that you created and what it means in America music do you feel like you're at a monument now the music you just look at yourself as John - this is John kid you must know that people feel about you to hear from a lot of fans all the time you know quite often good feeling yeah I do look I appreciate all that all the all the praise and the glory but it doesn't change the way I feel about anything really I just do what I do and just talk to people enjoy it and just try to be myself in whatever I do now but we talk to a lot of younger musicians like Kid Rock and Bono and u2 it's so many fans among musicians I mean you get to meet them there they write to your call you oh yeah yeah I think I've talked about quite often I have I've never met Kid Rock yet I'm looking forward to it my little world there's been kind of limited you know living since Jim's death front of home close to home here you were there at the beginning of rock and roll music it still took on such like Jeremy Lewis to hear from any of these people I wasn't from the killer than you know quite a while I've been invitation to his birthday party of the year never I live quite a while under still is dealing with Plus over that I love to killer now with the trends remember touring with those people are oh yes I've turned of him there was a package of I'm a chef Julie going obviously properties Wow we threw it all over his pasty kind of so got on the road in the early days of Julie and all his people wanted us it was a prison pretty crazy times well known in the wild in prison how crazy were I was crazy you can give up I mean crazy crazy we not the time we were doing these tours we them was discovered amphetamines and Julie was the you know he he thought he was going to hell for not preaching do it too soon their honeymoon to be a preacher but he firm the rock'n'roll he killed all of us come to the tangents I'm right by Stacey tell us always going to hell for saying look how easy it was ringing custom maybe you're right killer maybe you are I want actually I think people about no place probably look at death as something very scary but you believe in you got faith I mean doesn't make it easier to look at the look ahead and say well my life my hands but it's been good I'm not afraid oh I spent my lifetime in pursuing you know I'm 71 years old now and I had quit eight though I wasn't suitable things I've never been angry with God I've never been I've never turned my back over to Hudson speaking I never I never thought that God wasn't there that I knew that there she is my counselor is my wisdom all the good things of my life come from him what do you think we go on afterwards where do we go when I was I well we all hope to go to heaven

Channel: Alexandra Adamopoulou

Views: 2,343,037

Rating: 4.9340501 out of 5

Keywords: Johnny, Cash's, +12, 9, 2003, last, interview

Id: i1zRFnw4jOU

Length: 11min 2sec (662 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 12 2011

Reddit Comments

[u/SauerkrautandBeans]

He would die just a 3 weeks later on September 12th

[u/imafixwoofs]

Which record did he record in two weeks after June died?