In 1932, Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas. When he was three years old his family moved to a five-room farmhouse on 20-acres of land in the town of Dyess, Arkansas. The Cash family was accepted into a federally-assisted planned community created during the Great Depression as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. This “second chance” for his family from the government instilled a deep sense of patriotism in Cash.
In his own words, from the song Man in Black:
“I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town, I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, but is there because he’s a victim of the times.”
It’s been reported that Cash wore a black shirt at his first performance at a Memphis church because he wanted to look “smart,” and that he continued to wear black for good luck in every performance after.
Later, the Man in Black had this to say about his apparel:
“I wore black because I liked it. I still do, and wearing it still means something to me. It’s still my symbol of rebellion – against a stagnant status quo, against our hypocritical houses of God, against people whose minds are closed to others’ ideas.”
Picture Credit : Google
