In my post on this subject today my observations were mainly descriptive, simply noting the stark moral juxtapositions in the music of Johnny Cash and in the man himself. Johnny Cash was both sinner and saint. And his music reflected that.
Mark's reflections go deeper. Specifically, Mark notes that in light of our dual nature--that we are, in Martin Luther's formulation, simultaneously both sinner and saint--it's often hard to forge a coherent identity. For Johnny Cash the task was how to reconcile his outlaw image with the saint.
In Mark's view, Cash achieved this reconciliation when his outlaw image was replaced with suffering, best exemplified in Cash's late recordings with Rick Rubin. As Mark argues it, Cash eventually found a coherent identity when he shifted away from outlaw/saint to sufferer/saint. And in this trajectory Mark sees the shape of the gospel.
You can read Mark's reflections here: Johnny Cash, Outlaw, Sufferer and the Gospel.
Johnny Cash, as a son of the South, was a product of a culture that created an over-wrought conscience, which meant we often wrestled with our angel side and the devil side of our nature. When we "had religion," we really were serious with it, but when we fall from grace, we often fall hard. And like you pointed out, it often becomes a life-long process. Also, it is interesting in the South that inebriated folks who have been singing and partying most often want to close with gospel songs. So everyone takes off their hats, gather around and sing "Take My Hand Precious Lord," or "Amazing Grace."
ReplyDelete"in light of our dual nature--that we are, in Martin Luther's formulation, simultaneously both sinner and saint--it's often hard to forge a coherent identity"... That's a very insightful comment.
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