In Johnny Cash’s “Live from Folsom Prison” album there is a song called ‘cocaine blues’. The first verse goes like this:
early one morning while making the rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that loving forty-four beneath my head.
I keep this in my back pocket when conservatives claim that Rap and Hip Hop glorify violence, guns, misogyny, and drug use. I defy you to find something from NAS or Killer Mike that can compete on the level of classic country.
I 100% agree with the idea that rap is certainly not the only genre to glorify violence, drugs, etc. But the specific song choice is not really a great example in my opinion considering the last verse is
C’mon you gotta listen unto me
lay off that whiskey, and let that cocaine be.
This song always struck me as a cautionary tale. Nothing about the song really seems to glorify the behavior.
That is true (I love Cash and listened to a lot of his music), but a lot of cons will just take it at face value, same way they do with Punisher.
Btw, Cash has this “shot my woman down” motif in other songs, like Delia’s Gone, and always they end badly, like with him in jail. Too bad the cons only listen to those and skip pieces like San Quentin or Man in Black.
It’s bordering on conspiracy, but there’s an argument to be made that record labels pushed gangster rap and downplayed others to keep black communities down.
doesn’t matter, because it’s a disingenuous post anyways. the song is about how that shit is BAD:
Early one morning while making the rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
Went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that loving 44 beneath my head
Got up next morning and I grabbed that gun
Took a shot of cocaine and away I run
Made a good run but run too slow
They overtook me down in Juarez, Mexico
Laid in the hot joints taking the pill
In walked the sheriff from Jericho Hill
He said Willie Lee, your name is not Jack Brown
You’re the dirty hop that shot your woman down
I said yes sir, my name is Willie Lee
If you got a warrant, just read it to me
Shot her down because she made me sorе
I thought I was her daddy but she had five morе
When I was arrested I was dressed in black
They put me on train and it took me back
I had no friends for to go my bail
They slapped my dried up carcass in that county jail
Got up next morning about a half past nine
Spied a sheriff coming down the line
Hopped and he coughed as he cleared his throat
He said, come on you dirty hop into that district court
See country shows near Lewiston
Get tickets as low as $54
You might also like
Folsom Prison Blues
Johnny Cash
Cocaine Blues
Billy Strings & Don Julin
loml
Taylor Swift
Into the courtroom, my trial began
Where I was handled by twelve honest men
Just before that jury started out
I saw that little judge commence to look about
In about five minutes, in walked a man
Holding the verdict in his right hand
The verdict read in the first degree
I hollered, lordy lordy, have mercy on me
The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen
Ninety-nine years in the Folsom pen
Ninety-nine years underneath that ground
I can’t forget the day I shot my woman down
Come on you hops and listen unto me
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be
You might also like Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash Cocaine Blues Billy Strings & Don Julin loml Taylor Swift Into the courtroom, my trial began Where I was handled by twelve honest men Just before that jury started out I saw that little judge commence to look about
I was skimming your comment and this part look exactly like some autogenerated SEO bullshit.
The issue is markdown - to get a proper new line, you need to put two spaces a the end. Alternatively you can just press enter twice, but that obviously creates double spacing, which comes with its own readability issues. And the last solution would be to put all the lyrics into a code block, but that’s pretty excessive.
My favourite part of that song is when he goes “You might also like Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash Cocaine Blues Billy Strings & Don Julin loml Taylor Swift”, truly a banger
Pusha T has rapped alnost exclusively about selling cocaine for like 30 years at this point. Let’s not act like drug use/dealing isn’t a major theme in a lot of hiphop.
I think the idea here is not to say that hiphop/rap does not talk about or even glorify drug use/violence/misoginy, but rather that most popular music styles do, in this specific case classic country.
In Johnny Cash’s “Live from Folsom Prison” album there is a song called ‘cocaine blues’. The first verse goes like this:
early one morning while making the rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that loving forty-four beneath my head.
I keep this in my back pocket when conservatives claim that Rap and Hip Hop glorify violence, guns, misogyny, and drug use. I defy you to find something from NAS or Killer Mike that can compete on the level of classic country.
I 100% agree with the idea that rap is certainly not the only genre to glorify violence, drugs, etc. But the specific song choice is not really a great example in my opinion considering the last verse is
This song always struck me as a cautionary tale. Nothing about the song really seems to glorify the behavior.
That is true (I love Cash and listened to a lot of his music), but a lot of cons will just take it at face value, same way they do with Punisher.
Btw, Cash has this “shot my woman down” motif in other songs, like Delia’s Gone, and always they end badly, like with him in jail. Too bad the cons only listen to those and skip pieces like San Quentin or Man in Black.
It’s bordering on conspiracy, but there’s an argument to be made that record labels pushed gangster rap and downplayed others to keep black communities down.
Using 2 of the most lyrically gifted rappers is cheating. WAP exists.
doesn’t matter, because it’s a disingenuous post anyways. the song is about how that shit is BAD:
Early one morning while making the rounds I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down Went right home and I went to bed I stuck that loving 44 beneath my head
Got up next morning and I grabbed that gun Took a shot of cocaine and away I run Made a good run but run too slow They overtook me down in Juarez, Mexico
Laid in the hot joints taking the pill In walked the sheriff from Jericho Hill He said Willie Lee, your name is not Jack Brown You’re the dirty hop that shot your woman down
I said yes sir, my name is Willie Lee If you got a warrant, just read it to me Shot her down because she made me sorе I thought I was her daddy but she had five morе
When I was arrested I was dressed in black They put me on train and it took me back I had no friends for to go my bail They slapped my dried up carcass in that county jail
Got up next morning about a half past nine Spied a sheriff coming down the line Hopped and he coughed as he cleared his throat He said, come on you dirty hop into that district court See country shows near Lewiston Get tickets as low as $54 You might also like Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash Cocaine Blues Billy Strings & Don Julin loml Taylor Swift Into the courtroom, my trial began Where I was handled by twelve honest men Just before that jury started out I saw that little judge commence to look about
In about five minutes, in walked a man Holding the verdict in his right hand The verdict read in the first degree I hollered, lordy lordy, have mercy on me
The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen Ninety-nine years in the Folsom pen Ninety-nine years underneath that ground I can’t forget the day I shot my woman down
Come on you hops and listen unto me Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be
I was skimming your comment and this part look exactly like some autogenerated SEO bullshit.
The issue is markdown - to get a proper new line, you need to put two spaces a the end. Alternatively you can just press enter twice, but that obviously creates double spacing, which comes with its own readability issues. And the last solution would be to put all the lyrics into a code block, but that’s pretty excessive.
My assumption was they copied and pasted from a lyrics website without checking and got a mid page ad in the process.
My favourite part of that song is when he goes “You might also like Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash Cocaine Blues Billy Strings & Don Julin loml Taylor Swift”, truly a banger
yeah, right before he yells “shoutout yall!” and does that heart thing with his hands. true hardcore johnny cash right there
(i’m still laughing that you caught that so quickly)
Pusha T has rapped alnost exclusively about selling cocaine for like 30 years at this point. Let’s not act like drug use/dealing isn’t a major theme in a lot of hiphop.
I think the idea here is not to say that hiphop/rap does not talk about or even glorify drug use/violence/misoginy, but rather that most popular music styles do, in this specific case classic country.