That is the last line of the first three verses talks about the prisoner’s pain and anguish about his situation and the last verse (resolved with the full 12-bars) expresses some sort of hope – “I’d let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away”. The author of this article speculates that one possible reason can be found in the lyrics. So I did a little research on the song and found a great article called “12 – Bar Blues Done Wrong?” which offers some suggestions as to the motivations behind this variation on the regular 12- bar chord progression. The fifth verse does have 12 bars and seems to provide resolution. The usual 12-bar blues pattern -three different chords (I, IV and V) played over 12 bars and repeated, seemed to be shortened to 11 for the majority of the song. The verses didn’t seem to be matching up so I started counting the bars and discovered Cash’s version had 11 bar verses and solos, where as Cattleprod’s were 12 bars (apart from Verse 2). In preparation for our first major mixing session, I started to compare Cash’s version of the song to the version captured in our recording. These solos add interest to this type of song structure. They can be considered ‘instrumental verses’ and you can hear the guitar solos are similar to the vocal melody.
The solos in Folsom Prison Blues are also part of this verse, verse, verse pattern. This type of song structure is more common in folk music. It’s sometimes referred to as ‘repeated-verse’ or ‘one-part song form’ and would look like AAA if you were to label it. verse) is repeated over and over again (with different lyrics each time). I looked into this and found this is called strophic song form, where the first musical form or segment of the song (e.g. The song goes Verse 1, Verse 2, Solo, Verse 3, Solo, Verse 4 (with a very short intro). This sense of movement is a contrast to the prisoner being “stuck in Folsom prison”.Īnother interesting thing to notice is the song structure – there is no chorus. The bass line, in particular, gives a real feeling of a moving train. The thing I really like about the song is the sense of motion created by the music. The pain of these lyrics is emphasised by cash’s vocal delivery, particularly the way he sings the final lines of each verse, drawn out and going very deep.ĭespite the sad, lamenting theme of the lyrics, the song has an upbeat tempo. “time keeps dragging on” “I hang my head and cry”, “I know I can’t be free” and “and that’s what tortures me”. The lyrics describe the emotional pain of incarceration e.g. The narrator talks about his despair with his situation and his longing for freedom. In Folsom Prison Blues an unknown narrator, a prisoner jailed for murder, details the emotions stirred up upon hearing a train in the distance, outside the walls of the prison. The song could be described as ‘outlaw country’ and uses elements from various folk styles (prison song/train song). However, the 1968 live version, recorded at Folsom Prison, California, is the version that revived Cash’s career and is the version I will be analysing here. The song was originally recorded as a single in 1955 and included on the 1957 album With His Hot and Blue Guitar. I was particularly interested in Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, and having got right into research on this song, decided to use it for my first song analysis for my studio unit Learning Outcomes. I’ve gained a real respect for and enjoyment of this style of music!Īs part of my research into the genre for the purposes of recording and mixing, I looked into the four songs our band was covering (the fifth song is an original by Pete Cullen, Cattleprod’s vocalist/acoustic guitarist). I’m happy to report that has definitely changed. Until this project, I wasn’t what you could call a real fan of this style of music and had little knowledge of the genre. The band we are recording for our studio project, Cattleprod is a country/blues/rockabilly outfit who are right at home up at Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall.
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