Johnny Cash Lyrics Collected in New Book

For the first time, Johnny Cash’s lyrics will be compiled in a comprehensive new book called Johnny Cash: The Life in Lyrics, due out November 14th via Little, Brown and Company imprint Voracious Books.

The late, great country artist wrote over 600 songs in his lifetime. The Life in Lyrics hosts the words to 125 of them, fleshed out with commentary from longtime Cash historian Mark Stielper as well as Cash’s son, John Carter Cash. Photos of the artist and additional handwritten letters, lyrics sheets, and more round out the package.

Hardcover copies of Johnny Cash: The Life in Lyrics retail for $55, while a deluxe edition goes for $125. The latter boasts a never-before-published photograph of Cash performing in 1975; a reproduction of the Cash coat of arms, handdrawn by the artist himself; a double-sided reproduction of the handwritten lyrics to “Flesh and Blood” featuring ornamental drawings and a note to June Carter; and an access code to previously unreleased audio of Cash discussing his work.

John Carter Cash talked up The Life in Lyrics in a statement. “There is no better way to know my father than to look at his written works,” he said. “Whether the songs he recorded, his poetry, or material not published in his lifetime, he put his heart, blood, and spirit into everything to which he added a pen. I am blessed to see this book being released, and to know that his brilliance and life are being honored through focus on his greatest life creation, his words.”

Pre-orders for Johnny Cash: The Life in Lyrics are ongoing. The last we heard from the Cash family was a live album the estate shared in 2021, which featured Cash covering Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right” in 1968.

Johnny Cash: The Life in Lyrics Cover: