"Understand Your Man" is a song written and recorded by American singer Johnny Cash.[2] It was released in January 1964 as the first single from the album I Walk the Line. The single went to #1 on the country charts for six weeks.[3] The song also crossed over to the Top 40, peaking at #35.[4]
| "Understand Your Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Johnny Cash | ||||
| from the album I Walk the Line | ||||
| B-side | "Dark as a Dungeon" | |||
| Released | January 1964 | |||
| Recorded | June 1963 | |||
| Genre | Country, folk[1] | |||
| Length | 2:42 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Johnny Cash | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Law Frank Jones | |||
| Johnny Cash singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Cash Box described it as "a medium-paced, rhythmic ditty which offers a meaningful plea for man-woman understanding."[5]
Cash borrowed parts of the melody from Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right",[6] which itself is borrowed from the song "Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons When I'm Gone".
It was also the last song Cash ever performed in front of an audience. It was the last song in his performance at the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia, on 5 July 2003. Prior to singing it, Cash told the audience that at that point he had not performed it live in 25 years. (It was not, however, the final song he ever sang as, despite failing health, he continued to make studio recordings until late August 2003, shortly before his death.)
Chart performance
edit| Chart (1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[8] | 35 |
References
edit- ^ Aswell, Tom (September 23, 2010). Louisiana Rocks!: The True Genesis of Rock and Roll. Pelican Publishing Company. p. 278. ISBN 9781455607839.
- ^ Johnny Cash interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 75.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 111.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. January 25, 1964. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ^ Turner, Steve (2005). The man called Cash: the life, love, and faith of an American legend. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 0-8499-0815-9.
- ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Johnny Cash Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
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