SotD: "Down There By The Train" - Johnny Cash (2003)

I've decided that since I don't have the time, motivation, and/or immediacy that I want went writing album reviews, i'm going to try discussing my favorite (and not so favorite) artists by means of "Song of the Day". This means everyday (well, mon - fri, this aint Russia!) I'll post a song, maybe two, and shed alittle light on how they came to be, why their so important, and many other tidbits. Yes, tidbits.

So, rather than start with a well known, Macy's Day Parade type number, i'm gonna go with a more somber one. "Down There By The Train" was written by Tom Waits specifically for Johnny Cash. Both men are fans of each others work (obviously) and like many artists, there was a great sense of urgency from Tom to contribute something to Cash's now well document run of recordings with Rick Rubin shortly before his death. Those sessions saw Cash doing old standards, duets with new/old friends, and slipping in a few original and commisioned works, such as this one. The heavy imagery of the afterlife being a train-yard, were life continues to be hard is part eulogy, part tribute for Cash. Waits later released his own version as part of 2006s 3CD comp Orphans, but it is Cash's tenderness that gives this song longevity.

There's no eye for an eye, there's no tooth for a tooth
I saw Judas Iscariot carrying John Wilkes Booth
He was down there by the train