"I Walk the Line"

(Photo borrowed from Yahoo Music.)

One of my best friends, Scott Corey, used to argue that there were two cultures in America during the turbulent sixties, the counterculture, whose theme song was "Love the One You're With," and redneck culture, whose theme song was "I Walk the Line." Let's stroll toward that line down memory lane, pausing first at the countercultural cul-de-sac:

Love The One You're With
Stephen Stills

If you're down, and confused
And you don't remember, who you're talkin' to
Concentration slips away
'Cause your baby is so far away

And there's a rose, in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies, with the dove
And if you can't be, with the one you love
Love the one you're with.

Don't be angry, don't be sad
Don't sit cryin' over good times you had
There's a girl, right next to you
And she's just waitin', for something to do

And there's a rose, in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies, with the dove
And if you can't be, with the one you love
Love the one you're with.

Turn your heartache right into joy
She's a girl, and you're a boy
So get it together, make it nice
You ain't gonna need, any more advice

And there's a rose, in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies, with the dove
And if you can't be, with the one you love
Love the one you're with.

Parodying this song would be easy:

If you're down, and confused
And you don't remember, who you're talkin' to
Concentration slips away
'Cause you've smoked too much dope today . . .

But unnecessary. Any pop song whose chorus trills "And there's a rose, in a fisted glove" doesn't need a parody. And if you're missing all of the dit dit dits, then click on the link in the title above.

Or if you prefer deep authenticity, here's your man:

I Walk the Line
John R. Cash

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine.
I keep my eyes wide open all the time.
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds.
Because you're mine,
I walk the line.

I find it very, very easy to be true.
I find myself alone when each day is through.
Yes, I'll admit I'm a fool for you.
Because you're mine,
I walk the line.

As sure as night is dark and day is light.
I keep you on my mind both day and night.
And happiness I've known proves that it's right.
Because you're mine,
I walk the line.

You've got a way to keep me on your side.
You give me cause for love that I can't hide.
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide.
Because you're mine,
I walk the line.

This Cash song ranks as number 26 among the Top 100 Country Hits of All-Time. "All-Time"? How long has country music been around? And that hyphen kind of bothers me . . . but okay, I like the song, too. A more prestigious list has ranked it number 30 among The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "All Time" again? What hubris is this? Well, at least the offensive hyphen is missing. And the Rolling Stone site goes on to tell us:

Cash began work on this track while he was in Germany with the Air Force, years before he would ever enter a studio. He returned to it after [t]he hit with "Folsom Prison Blues," only to find that the tape he had made had gotten mangled. But Cash liked the strange sound and added a click-clack rhythm by winding a piece of wax paper through his guitar strings. "It was different than anything else you had ever heard," Bob Dylan told ROLLING STONE. "A voice from the middle of the earth."

"A voice from the middle of the earth" nails it exactly. Fall through a ring of fire, and you'll find yourself there.

To listen to Cash, go to his homepage, click on the "Man in Black," and wait a spell.