"Austin Prison"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album Everybody Loves a Nut
A-side"Everybody Loves a Nut"
"Austin Prison"
ReleasedMay 1966 (1966-05)
Genrecountry
LabelColumbia 4-43673
Songwriter(s)Johnny Cash
Producer(s)Don Law and Frank Jones[1]
Audio
"Austin Prison" on YouTube

"Austin Prison" is a song written by Johnny Cash[2] and originally recorded by him on Columbia Records for his 1966 novelty album Everybody Loves a Nut.

It was first released in May 1966[3] as the flip side to the second single (Columbia 4-43673, "Everybody Loves a Nut" / "Austin Prison") from the yet-to-be-released album.[4][5][6][7]

Lyrical analysis

[The song] tells the story of a prisoner who is helped to escape by his jailer. "Now all I want between me and there are a lot of friendly people," he says, "and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles." Cash wrote the song, and he must have felt a very personal connection with it, given that it was recorded soon after his release from jail in Texas.

C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black[4]

[In the song,] the outlaw narrator is imprisoned for murdering a woman he may not have killed. He's found guilty and sentenced to die, but in a rare happenstance the jailer helps him escape. There certainly is a sense of ambiguity since we don't know for sure if he did or did not kill anyone. But we know that he got away.

John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash[8]

Track listing

7" single (Columbia 4-43673, 1966)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everybody Loves a Nut"Jack Clement2:04
2."Austin Prison"Johnny Cash2:06

References

  1. "Johnny Cash - Everybody Loves A Nut (1966, Terre Haute Pressing, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1966. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  2. Johnny Cash (2004). Johnny Cash, the Songs. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 9781560256298. This song was followed by "Everybody Loves a Nut," also written by Clement, which has Cash proclaim that the world likes people a little off center and slightly weird.
  3. Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. pp. 49–50. ISBN 978-1-900924-22-1.
    May
    "Everybody Loves A Nut"/"Austin Prison" (Columbia 4-43673) released. This is the second single to be lifted from the forthcoming Everybody Loves A Nut album and it will spend nine weeks on the charts in July and August, reaching a high of #17.
  4. 1 2 C. Eric Banister (1 August 2014). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat. pp. 89–. ISBN 978-1-61713-609-2.
  5. Steve Turner (1 November 2005). The man called Cash: the life, love, and faith of an American legend. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 978-0-8499-0815-6. ... and started recording a lighthearted album that appeared to be a deliberate diversion from all the morbidity around him. In the first ...
  6. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (23 May 1970). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 1–. ISSN 0006-2510. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
    Standard Catalog of American Records, 1950-1975. Krause Publications. 2000. ISBN 978-0-87341-934-5.
    Tim Neely (31 August 2006). Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 9780896893078.
    The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-313-29506-5.
  7. George Albert (1984-01-01). The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1685-5.
  8. John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-1-61075-628-0.
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