Thursday 8 December 2011

Johnny Cash Tribute


 

             The Man In Black

 From the flat black delta where the water’s always ready to rise

Came a man on a mission with a vision and a fight in his eyes

He’d worked the land so he could understand

The meaning of struggle and strain

He was ready for the ride with God inside
Precious little to lose - and a lot gain.
The face of Memphis was about to change
The face of Memphis was due a change
It would really change
Be rearranged
Be rearranged and changed by the Man In Black

How does a man become a leader? He’s chosen.
The man in black - whom we all love supposing,
He hadn’t turned his back on the land to make a place in the  SUN
And sung to the people – the songs he sung
We’d never have known such a power and force
History would have changed its course
No! Country music would never have changed.
The face of Memphis would never have changed
Well, maybe changed
Been rearranged,
But not rearranged as it was by the Man in Black.

He strode into Sun with his six string in his hand
With words and music not hard to understand
With his pockets filled with songs and a love for life
That told of the strain and told of the strife
Of the strain and the pain in a working man’s life
Of the struggle and the pain in a working man’s life
And the face of Memphis began to change
Yes! The face of Memphis began to change
You could see the change
You could feel the change
And the change was there because of  . . .
                                                    The Man in Black.

Fifty years of passion cannot be forgotten
Firm picking fingers picking strings -  that once picked cotton
The seed of life he daily sowed

Inviting all to follow down the Gospel Road

There isn’t a place where his voice isn’t known

Where his love for the Lord isn’t clearly shown
While the face of Memphis continues to change
Yes! The face of Memphis has really changed
You can see the change
You can feel the change.
The change is there because of the Man in Black.

They ask him why he’s always dressed in black . . .


© copyright Roy Jenner Auckland New Zealand
                            7 April 2003

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