Folsom Prison Blues was inspired by a newsreel about Folsom Prison that Johnny Cash saw in the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951) while serving in the U.S. Air Force in West Germany. Cash felt compassion for the incarcerated men and wondered what it would be like to be imprisoned, leading to the famous line I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. The song blends the sorrow of wasted time in prison with the iconic sound of the train ... See more [+] , symbolizing freedom outside the prison walls.
I hear the train a-coming, it's rolling round the bend and I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when I'm stuck at Folsom Prison, and time keeps draggin' on But that train keeps a-rollin' on down to San Antone
When I was just a baby, my Mama told me 'Son, always be a good boy; don't ever play with guns.' But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die when I hear that whistle blowin' I hang my head and cry
I bet there's rich folks eatin' from a fancy dining car They're probably drinking coffee and smoking big cigars But I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free But those people keep a moving, and that's what tortures me
Well, if they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line Far from Folsom Prison, that's where I want to stay And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away