Quotes by Johnny Cash

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You dont try to forget the mistakes, but you dont dwell on it. You dont let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”

“The Master of Lifes been good to me. He has given me strength to face past illnesses, and victory in the face of defeat. He has given me life and joy where other saw oblivion. He Has given new purpose to live for, new services to render and old wounds to heal.Life and love go on, let the music play.”

“So, I learn from my mistakes. Its a very painful way to learn, but without pain, the old saying is, theres no gain. I found that to be true in my life. You miss a lot of opportunities by making mistakes, but thats part of it: knowing that youre not shut out forever, and that theres a goal you still can reach.”

“Id like to wear a rainbow every day, and tell the world that everything is o.k. But Ill try to carry off a little darkness on my back. Until things are brighter, Im the Man in Black.”

“For you I know Id even try to turn the tide.”

“Take one fresh and tender kiss Add one stolen night of bliss One girl, one boy, some grief,some joy Memories are made of this.”

“How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man.”

“Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money.”

“Youve got to know your limitations. I dont know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there werent too many limitations, if I did it my way.”

“Because youre mine/ I walk the line.”

“I went down with my guitar and sat on his steps until he got there. And when he got there I introduced myself and he said, Youre the one thats been calling. I said, Yeah. You know, I had to take the chance, he was either going to let me come in, or he was going to run me off. Evidently, he woke up on the right side of the bed that morning. He said, Come on in, lets listen.”

“Youve got a song youre singing from your gut, you want that audience to feel it in their gut. And youve got to make them think that youre one of them sitting out there with them too. Theyve got to be able to relate to what youre doing.”

“I hurt myself today to see if I still feel I focus on the pain the only thing thats real”

“The beast in me Is caged by frail and fragile bars”

“I remember everything What have I become? My sweetest friend? Everyone I know goes away in the end You could have it all My empire of dirt I will let you down I will make you hurt.”

“Im gonna break Im gonna break my Im gonna break my rusty cage and run”

“I grew up in the 40s and I heard all these great speeches, like Winston Churchill. His most famous, or infamous commencement exercise speech was one that consisted of seven words. He stood before this graduating class and said: Never, never, never, never give up.”

“Theres no insecurity about my song writing. I start a lot more songs than I finish, because I realize when I get into them, theyre no good. I dont throw them away, I just put them away, store them, get them out of sight.”

“Its like a novelist writing far out things. If it makes a point and makes sense, then people like to read that. But if its off in left field and goes over the edge, you lose it. The same with musical talent, I think.”

“That was the big thing when I was growing up, singing on the radio. The extent of my dream was to sing on the radio station in Memphis. Even when I got out of the Air Force in 1954, I came right back to Memphis and started knocking on doors at the radio station.”