Folsom Prison Blues

E117344

Folsom Prison Blues is a classic country song by Johnny Cash, famous for its gritty prison narrative and iconic line about shooting a man in Reno "just to watch him die."

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Folsom Prison Blues canonical 7
song "Folsom Prison Blues" 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf live recording
single
song
artist Johnny Cash
associatedAlbum At Folsom Prison
centralCharacter convicted murderer
chartPerformance U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs number one
surface form: US Billboard Hot Country Singles number 1
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
featuresInstrument acoustic guitar
bass
drums
electric guitar
firstReleasedOn Sun 232
genre country
outlaw country
hasCulturalStatus country music standard
signature song of Johnny Cash
hasGuitarRiff train-like rhythm
hasLiveVersion Live at Folsom Prison concert
surface form: Folsom Prison Blues (live at Folsom Prison)
hasLyric I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
hasNotableLine I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
hasPerspective first-person narrative
hasTheme envy of free people
isolation
regret
hasTrainImagery train passing by the prison
includedOn At Folsom Prison
influencedBy Crescent City Blues
Gordon Jenkins
key F major
label Sun Records
language English
narrativeTheme crime and punishment
prison life
originalReleaseYear 1955
performedBy The Tennessee Three
surface form: Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
producer Sam Phillips
recordCompany Sun Records
recorded 1954
1968
recordedAt Folsom State Prison
releaseYear 1968
reRecorded 1968
setting Folsom State Prison
side A-side
tempo medium-fast
vocalStyle baritone
writer Johnny Cash

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Johnny Cash notableWork Folsom Prison Blues
Folsom mentionedInSong Folsom Prison Blues
John notableWork Folsom Prison Blues
subject surface form: Johnny Cash
Folsom Prison inspiredWork Folsom Prison Blues
this entity surface form: song "Folsom Prison Blues"