“1 Corinthians 15:55” (Johnny Cash Cover)

For Johnny Cash chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!

By Chris Moore:

And, introducing a new performer to the Laptop Sessions…

Mr. Elijah Bartholomeow Wilco (the cat)!

We usually call him Eli for short, and yes, he’s my cat.  And, yes, if you listen closely enough, that’s him in the background providing some harmony vocals.  To be honest, he’s not much worse than I am, although I’m not sure what that says about his abilities.  I tried explaining that Johnny Cash’s American series doesn’t really lend itself to multiple vocals, but he just wouldn’t listen.

In all seriousness, welcome to the start of a new week for us here at the best cover song music video blog in the world!  After I wrote my review of Mudcrutch for last night’s Weekend Review (written while sitting in my car in the Panera parking lot after they had closed but hadn’t turned off the wireless), I considered recording another Mudcrutch cover (in addition to my take on “Scare Easy”) to atone for my lukewarm review.  I really do love Tom Petty and want to love Mudcrutch, but —

Well, you should go back and read the actual review.

Instead, I decided to dig into the recent posthumous Johnny Cash album.  American VI: Ain’t No Grave is an excellent final chapter in Cash’s legendary catalog.  The songs are nothing surprising and are certainly in keeping with the tone of the other five, but the selections and the performances are all just right.  This track, “1 Corinthians 15:55,” is one of Cash’s final original compositions and, as you may have guessed, is based on the scripture referenced in the title.  I found chords and lyrics rather easily on the web, but – not surprisingly – I found that they were a bit off.  For one thing, the chords were more complicated than they needed to be for the average acoustic guitar player.  I speak from experience here.  Also, the lyrics were a few words off here and there.  So, I did what I love to do – I sat in front of the speakers, typed out the lyrics, replayed it to transcribe the chords and mark the changes in the proper places, and posted it all for your non-profit enjoyment.

My post will be somewhat abbreviated tonight, as I’m only minutes away from beginning an exciting evening of friends, fast food, and TNA wrestling fun.  Tonight is the first TNA Impact! scheduled for a regular weekly live Monday night slot.  This is big news for this show and is hopefully a sign of great, exciting things to come in the future.  Best of all, wrestling is an evening of entertainment and relaxation with one of my dearest friends and one of my favorite restaurant locales!

So, that’s it for tonight.  I hope you enjoy my take on this contemporary Cash song, and be sure to hurry back for more new acoustic cover song music videos to come – a Laptop Session tomorrow and a Guest Session on Friday.  Also, since I feel bad about cutting this short, you never know what I’ll whip up for your post-reading pleasure as the week goes on…

See you next session!

More Laptop Sessions covers

“God’s Gonna Cut You Down” (Traditional) by Johnny Cash – Chords, Tabs, & How to Play

To see how it’s played in the cover song music video, CLICK HERE!

“God’s Gonna Cut You Down”
Traditional / Johnny Cash

(Capo 1st fret)
Am
You can run on for a long time,
Dsus2          Am
Run on for a long time,
Am
Run on for a long time.
C              Dsus2       Em         Am
Sooner or later, God’ll cut you down.
C              Dsus2       Em         Am
Sooner or later, God’ll cut you down.

Am
Go tell that long tongue liar,
Am
Go and tell that midnight rider.
Am
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the backbiter,
C                  Dsus2        Em          Am
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down;
C                  Dsus2        Em          Am
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down.

Am
Well, my goodness gracious, let me tell you the news;
Dsus2                                   Am
My head’s been wet with the midnight dew.
I’ve been down on bended knee,
Talkin’ to the man from Galilee.

He spoke to me in a voice so sweet,
I thought I heard the shuffle of angels’ feet.
He called my name and my heart stood still
Am
When he said, “John, go do My will.”

Go tell that long tongue liar;
Go and tell that midnight rider.
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the backbiter,
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down.
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down.

You can run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time.
Sooner or later, God’ll cut you down;
Sooner or later, God’ll cut you down.

Well you may throw your rock, hide your hand,
Workin’ in the dark against your fellow man.
But as sure as God made black and white,
What’s done in the dark will be brought to the light.

You can run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time,
Run on for a long time.
Sooner or later, God’ll cut you down;
Sooner or later, God’ll cut you down.

Go tell that long tongue liar;
Go and tell that midnight rider.
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the backbiter,
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down.
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down.
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down.

** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **

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Christmas, Volume 2 – Playlists on Parade

By Chris Moore:

This is the second installment in my Christmas music playlist series, perhaps my most brilliantly titled one yet!  😉

As you’ll notice, I’ve done my best to present a wide span of time periods and topic matter, including songs that touch on winter in general, the legendary figures of Christmas (such as Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, etc.), and the spiritual music honed in on the “reason for the season” (i.e. the celebration of the birth of Christ).

Perhaps my greatest failing in this list (and, with a subject as broad as Christmas, I am sure to have many) is the lack of traditional Christmas songs, hymns and otherwise.  I have two comments about this: first, it is simply a fact that many, if not most, artists have tended to pour more of their creative energy into non-denominational tracks, perhaps hoping to avoid alienating their audiences, and second, there is also a tendency for truly great bands to record some of their best performances on their own original holiday music.

For this reason, you’ll see a lot of contemporary classics of the Christmas genre represented here.

If you’re a person who appreciates and perhaps even prefers traditional music, I would strongly recommend checking out the original Beach Boys Christmas album for “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” which was cut from this list only because “We Three Kings” is included in the BnL/Sarah McLachlan version of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.”  Brian Wilson recorded some fine renditions of traditional tracks on his 2005 solo release What I Really Want for Christmas, including “O Holy Night,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “The First Noel,” and “Silent Night.”

And, if you can get beyond the gravel in his voice, Bob Dylan gives a bang-up, wannabe 1940’s treatment to many of these tracks, plus “O’ Come All Ye Faithful” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

The track listing below is another assortment of Christmas songs, fast and slow, happy and sad.  In fact, starting with the hopeful but tentative tenor of Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas,” I plugged in several of my favorite somber yuletide tunes: BnL’s “Green Christmas,” the Moody Blues’ “A Winter’s Tale,” and Ben Fold’s Grinch soundtrack offering “Lonely Christmas Eve.”

Don’t fret, though, there are plenty of upbeat tracks to balance it all out.  Consider the typically punky/poppy Weezer take on “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” the disaster-averted hilarity of Relient K’s “Santa Claus is Thumbing to Town,” and the Temptations’ excellent and unique arrangement of “Rudoplph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

As always, I hope you enjoy reading through this playlist, and that I’m able in some small way to nudge you toward getting into the spirit of the season, despite how busy or how burdened you may be.

Check back next week for the third installment in the series!

1. “Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)” – Elvis Presley

2. “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” – Weezer

3. “Jingle Bells” – The Brian Setzer Orchestra

4. “The Man with All the Toys” – Brian Wilson

5. “Someday at Christmas” – Stevie Wonder

6. “Green Christmas” – Barenaked Ladies

7. “A Winter’s Tale” – The Moody Blues

8. “Lonely Christmas Eve” – Ben Folds

9. “Away in a Manger” – Johnny Cash

10. “Wonderful Christmastime” – Paul McCartney

11. “Feliz Navidad” – Jose Feliciano

12. “Christmas All Over Again” – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

13. “Santa Claus is Thumbing to Town” – Relient K

14. “I Wanna Be Santa Claus” – Ringo Starr

15. “Hey Santa!” – The Wilsons

16. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – The Temptations

17. “Frosty the Snowman” – The Beach Boys

18. “Merry Christmas, Baby” – The Beach Boys

19. “Christmas Evening” – Jim Fusco

20. “Auld Lang Syne” – Barenaked Ladies

More from the Weekend Review

“1 Corinthians 15:55” by Johnny Cash – Chords, Lyrics, & How to Play

To see how it’s played in the cover song music video, CLICK HERE!

“1 Corinthians 15:55”
Johnny Cash

A
Oh, death, where is thy sting?
E                                           A
Oh, grave, where is thy victory?
A                                        D
Oh, life, you are a shining path, and
D                                      A
hope springs eternal just over the rise when I
E                                              A
see my Redeemer beckoning me.

A
Oh, row my ship over the waves of your sea; let me
E                                     A
find a safe port now and then.
A       D                                   A
Don’t let the dark one in your sanctuary
B                                  E
until it’s time to pack it in.

Oh, row, row my ship with the fire of your breath
and don’t lay a broadside on your ship as yet.
Blow, ye warm winds when it’s chilly and wet,
and don’t come too soon for collecting my debt.

Oh, death, where is thy sting?
Oh, grave, where is thy victory?
Oh, life, you are a shining path,
and hope springs eternal just over the rise when I
see my Redeemer beckoning me.

Oh, let me sail on with my ships to the east
and keep my eye on the North Star.
When the journey is no good for man or for beast,
I’ll be safe wherever you are.

Just let me sail in to your harbor of lights
and there, and forever, to cast out my line.
Give me my task and let me do it right,
and do it with all of my might.

Oh, death, where is thy sting?
Oh, grave, where is thy victory?
Oh, life, you are a shining path,
and hope springs eternal just over the rise when I
see my Redeemer beckoning me.

** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **

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