"I owe my soul to the Company Store" The tragic history that provides the backdrop for this song is understood by few, regardless it resonates deeply with the common man. A true gem.
@@etherealg3940 Throughout all of human history, there must always be a lower and upper class, minimum of 2 classes. The upper class form the educated, nobility, elite. Lower class the uneducated, slaves, or otherwise. Lower class perform menial tasks, upper class perform more complex tasks. It's how it has been for thousands of years, abolishing this class system ultimately destroys your civilization in record time.
Reagan pulled such a slick trick and convinced poor people that it's not corporations and their unmitigated greed, but the government that's creating your situation...
Company Store = If an employee survived a month of work in the mines he was paid not in U.S. currency but in metals and paper called Coal Strips, which were printed by the coal mining company. Because only the company that printed the strips honored it, or would redeem it, the coal miner had to purchase all of his goods, his food, clothing, and tools from the company store. Hence, the miner would pay monopolistic prices for his goods. "I owe my soul to the Company Store" - I hope people can come to better understand and respect the pain in that sentence.
Chrisfragger1 Also most of the time their pay wasn't enough to pay for the basics they needed. like say they had 20 coal strips but bread was 25. they could make a tab and still get the bread but they had to work off what they owed. But since it what they got paid never enough to pay for past expenses plus what ever they would need to make it to the next pay period, they had a choice. To either starve themselves and families to pay off the debt or work the mines until the day they died.
LittleFallenAngel11 Yes, what I said was basically an over simplified explanation of the meaning of the sentence in that song. I did not go into indepth detail, it would be a very long comment otherwise. I just wished to get the basic point across, but thanks for filling in some of the blanks.
Merle Travis, an american coalworker, wrote this song with the help of his grandfather and friends, who also worked in the mine, which was called Paradies, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky,for generations. So the experience of a coalminers long family tradition influanced every line of this song. So this is a most authentic part of working class art, describing what went wrong in this times, and what we should remember every time, we hear this song.
@Owen Wiggs Paradise was the mine and the town not the company, Peabody owned the mine. Merle Travis also never worked at the mines he just had a whole bunch of family who did. P&M and Peabody where the companies now its Kenamerican mainly
@@ragingnebula lmao course it was the damn tva. They have their cheap electricity at the cost of thousand of peoples homes and the natural environment. Same in Oregon and the southwest...
+Khirsanth Thuecks I know, it's crazy how long it's been, compared to how short the time feels. Seems like it was a year ago or so...not 12. RIP Johnny! You're with Jesus, now.
This week was hell. Half our numbers sick and us who are left have to do 200% more work than all of us together usually do. This song and a couple of others carried us through the days. And what did I get? I feel 10 years older and I'm deeper in debt.
I feel you brother. I have just changed lifestyle 2 weeks ago, after 12 years. Yes I earn like 1/3 that i used to, you know what? I feel sooooo much alive now.
dont i know that ...mondays and friday...no union loading freight trailors for a Sicilian owner....we would load 4 forty foot trailors in 4 hours and when i would go home and sat down i could not lift my body....my missus would say carry the 5 year old to bed and I would bend down but have no energy to lift....and then wake at 5am to do the morning shift after finishing the night at 10 pm...
@Jack Hummell I've seen blokes sacked for having a BBQ..it gets back to the owner of this transport company and he throws them over the fence....now this is the largest private own freight company in Australia.....when the business was developing he was prepared to pay 6 months unfare dismissal to get rid of the problem....the union comes and the brown paper bag comes out....besides when you know the minister then you cut out the secretaries of the union and pay direct to keep union out to the labor govt...he said he would sell and shut up rather then have the union run his business....plus the unions today receive more money from corporation then members....so who do they serve.
You walk 16 miles and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt. St. Bezos don't call me cause I can't go, I owe my soul to yo to fuckin stoooooeeee
I consider it equal. On one hand, Tennessee Ernie Ford didn't have a voice that smooth. On the other hand, Johnny Cash didn't hit that high note at the end.
@@Big_Wash01 i mean, sometimes a rougher voice does suit a song more. I'd say that, for example, Sixsteen Tons does benefit from a rougher sound. Same thing I'd say about sungs such as "The Old Man's Tale" or "The Auld Triangle". Or another example: Enter Sandman. In my opinion, Motörhead's cover is superior to Metallica's original. Lemmy's voice as well as the leading bass fit the text much better than Metallica's style.
This song is about the coal mines people used to live next to, where people got paid in tokens only accepted at the coal company's store, and since they didn't get paid enough and had to buy overpriced food/necessities, they became in debt to the company, with no way out. Hence, he tells 'Saint Peter' to not call him, as he cannot die because he is indebted to the company: 'I owe my soul to the company store'. I remeber learning about it in primary school and having to memorize the song for some reason lol.
@@alexceballos2802 thank you, Tennessee I belive covered it as well, but his version is the gild standard, Johnny's isnt bad but ernie's is much hetter
Always thought this was a traditional ballad. When Cash sings it, it becomes his song. My pappy loved this song. hummed it while working throughout his life.
RIP , Dad , had to play it for you I woke up from my Dream and heard one line of this song. One day older and deeper in debt.! You paid it all off before you passed You always worked so hard Dad, Miss you. 😇💕🦅🦉😇
loads of comments about the lyrics, but to those who grew up non-catholyic: Saint Peter had been given the keys of heaven, so when the lyrics says "Saint Peter don't you call me cuz I can't go." then he means that he's too busy for heaven. Let's hope that this part of detail makes the lyrics even better
During the 70s living in Western N.C. mountains, my best friends dad work in a Virginia coal mine. To visit his wife and children he had to walk and hitch a rides, but only could visit once every couple of years.. He sent home what he could, which was very little.
Черт,каждый раз вспоминаю эту песню когда смотрю в зеркало.37 лет тяжелой работы,драк,нищеты,болезней,выживания.да еще походу меня и посадят скоро.Жаль что таких людей нельзя объединить..песня про жизнь..Удачи парни!
The son of a coal miner from Southwestern Virginia here. Daddy had to leave in 1964 due to all the strikes, but he always loved coal mining. I was 12 and it was a hard move leaving everything i ever knew behind, but it had to be done to feed eight of us. In the end he did well in Construction and even bought some land and his dream of owning a small farm was realized. Daddy was paid half in a check and half in script. Coal companies had it all their way and it was a hard life for the workers, the wives and Mothers and even the kids although looking back i loved living 'down home' in the mountains. Best time of my life. It's changed now. No work, everyone depressed and many turning to drugs. What i lived is gone, but the memories of that time will always be a part of who i am now.
Johnny you are in my heart !! perfect voice for this song !!! the pain and the feel !!! thancks for all !!! Eric from France with my respect Mister RIP ..
My adoptive mom's dad and brother worked in the coal mines and my mom's dad died of tuberculosis and both my mom and her brother suffered breathing problems as reprecussions from it.
Some people say a man is made outta mud A poor man's made outta muscle and blood Muscle and blood and skin and bones A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong You load sixteen tons, what do you get Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul" You load sixteen tons, what do you get Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain Fightin' and trouble are my middle name I was raised in the canebrake by an ol' mama lion Cain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line You load sixteen tons, what do you get Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store If you see me comin', better step aside A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died One fist of iron, the other of steel If the right one don't a-get you then the left one will You load sixteen tons, what do you get Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store
this song gives me terrible nostalgia, not in a bad way but my grandpa would play this whenever he'd play music and drink a beer in our bar room and I'd sit and listen with him. He raised me because my parents werent allowed to be near me for a while so him and my grandma adopted me and i'd always favor him over my grandma. He passed away when i was 6 and i was very sad for a while and i still am but this song will always be apart of me
It's amazing that both Ernie Ford , johnny cash can do 16 tons wonderfuly fantastic . I love both versions of the song . May the both of you rip,may God watch over you, keep you both safe.
Tennessee Ernie Ford - Musing with morose humor about a life he once lived Johnny Cash - Describing with little emotion the life he has always lived and always will, quickly so he can get back to work
There were a couple more recordings of this later in John's career when he was doing his "Man Comes Around" reissues done both live and in studio. Even more soul and "gravel" from him. Merle Travis, Tennessee Ernie, Johnny Cash...they all gave this song a twist of their own.
Johnny Cash and Elvis are the 2 greatest musicians of all time. I remember this song as a young boy and I loved it then and always will. Its a man's song! LOL. Cash 'The man in black' will live forever, in our hearts and minds.
I've loved this song in Cash's version since I was a kid too may decades ago. It's the first time I see the video, though. Hmm, not that bad a 'tache if he aimed at being a 60's or 70's movie star, though! Heh, it's a night of revelations, all right, as it was also the first time I saw or heard The Chicken in Black... Having a good time!
I work at a coal mine and have since 2010. Different times, be hard to do it like they did back in the day bf we had msha and they still had company stores. But you gotta be a different bread to make it in the mines. Gotta have a yes we can attitude. Love my brothers in stripes and hats off to all the brothern that passed in the mines
And to this day a surprising amount of people did not get the message and instead bow their head and close their eyes before the exploitation of their fellow workers.
"Company store" refers to the stores in company owned towns where everything (including housing) was owned by mining companies. The companies treated their workers very poorly. If the workers complained, they were evicted, beaten or killed by company security and police. The government was on the side of the rich mine owners in these struggles. A lot of workers paid the ultimate price for giving us the working conditions we have now. But the struggle of the working class is more relevant than ever.
I always felt this song was done too fast and after playing it here at 0 .75 speed i feel i was correct. Should also be performed in a much deeper tone.
"Deeper tone"? Johnny Cash's baritone was near the benthos bottom of the musical scale. The tempo of his "Sixteen Tons" cover likely was dictated by the need to fit it into a limited performance time slot. But yes, likely too opera-trained basso profundos like Paul Robeson and Brock Peters could have sung it with deeper vocalic justice to the injustice theme. Yet Johnny's relatively less bass voice may fortuitously express the injustice of a less burly man career-long being made to do work that more overburdened his body. Covers wise, Vivres les varietie et differences !
This song is great and here, in Brazil, we have a portuguese version named "16 toneladas", with Noriel Vilela, that is awesome, too. It is available on TH-cam as well
man i listened to tennesse then one day i asked my dad if johnny covered it he said most likely it wasnt a no but now getting to look this up now just wow
![[Ghost] Riders in the Sky](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3LtmZM0OWO8/mqdefault.jpg)
"I owe my soul to the Company Store"
The tragic history that provides the backdrop for this song is understood by few, regardless it resonates deeply with the common man. A true gem.
+Cyrus Farid The lower class must feel the weight of the upper class. It is simply what must happen.
@@SherlockHolmes000 why?
@@etherealg3940 Throughout all of human history, there must always be a lower and upper class, minimum of 2 classes. The upper class form the educated, nobility, elite. Lower class the uneducated, slaves, or otherwise. Lower class perform menial tasks, upper class perform more complex tasks.
It's how it has been for thousands of years, abolishing this class system ultimately destroys your civilization in record time.
Reagan pulled such a slick trick and convinced poor people that it's not corporations and their unmitigated greed, but the government that's creating your situation...
The recording by the original artist, Merle Travis, includes a bit about what the song means.
Company Store = If an employee survived a month of work in the mines he was paid not in U.S. currency but in metals and paper called Coal Strips, which were printed by the coal mining company. Because only the company that printed the strips honored it, or would redeem it, the coal miner had to purchase all of his goods, his food, clothing, and tools from the company store. Hence, the miner would pay monopolistic prices for his goods.
"I owe my soul to the Company Store" - I hope people can come to better understand and respect the pain in that sentence.
^ This guy knows what he is talking about.
Bill Bob Thank you.
MrsPaul Some people have made public statements that Wal-mart is like the Company Store. That is the highest form of ignorance.
Chrisfragger1 Also most of the time their pay wasn't enough to pay for the basics they needed. like say they had 20 coal strips but bread was 25. they could make a tab and still get the bread but they had to work off what they owed. But since it what they got paid never enough to pay for past expenses plus what ever they would need to make it to the next pay period, they had a choice. To either starve themselves and families to pay off the debt or work the mines until the day they died.
LittleFallenAngel11 Yes, what I said was basically an over simplified explanation of the meaning of the sentence in that song. I did not go into indepth detail, it would be a very long comment otherwise. I just wished to get the basic point across, but thanks for filling in some of the blanks.
Merle Travis, an american coalworker, wrote this song with the help of his grandfather and friends, who also worked in the mine, which was called Paradies, in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky,for generations. So the experience of a coalminers long family tradition influanced every line of this song. So this is a most authentic part of working class art, describing what went wrong in this times, and what we should remember every time, we hear this song.
Wait, like the one from the John prine song paradise, about the evils of mountain top removal/strip mining?
@Owen Wiggs Paradise was the mine and the town not the company, Peabody owned the mine. Merle Travis also never worked at the mines he just had a whole bunch of family who did. P&M and Peabody where the companies now its Kenamerican mainly
@@gifyifhkhmcucyk6865 yes, peabody didn't actually raze the town though it was the TVA
@@ragingnebula lmao course it was the damn tva. They have their cheap electricity at the cost of thousand of peoples homes and the natural environment. Same in Oregon and the southwest...
Thank you
Theres a terrible irony in getting ads from huge corporations before this.
Wack
For effing real
Right?? Macdonalds ad before this haha
Los artistas son trabajadores.Y ni Los Beatles se salvaron de esta...la culpa es del sistema capitalista.😱
learn to adblock
This video is notable for immortalizing Cash’s mercifully short-lived moustache.
It looks like he borrowed it from Burt Reynolds.
@@eEdselEdsel I saw the thumbnail thinking "Who the hell replaced Cash with Burt Reynolds?"
I thought he was Harvey Keitel.
He looks like a washed up 80s porn star.
It's called the Cash Stache.
The way Southpark puts the meaning of this song in context of modern monopoly-markets is just brillant!
Exactly
I’d also like a word.
R.I.P. Johnny Cash- The Man In Black...
1932-2003
+Khirsanth Thuecks I know, it's crazy how long it's been, compared to how short the time feels. Seems like it was a year ago or so...not 12. RIP Johnny! You're with Jesus, now.
After all these years people are still missing try to guess and listening to his music
Henry Johansson Or Frank Sinatra.
Yup
P,,R,I
This week was hell. Half our numbers sick and us who are left have to do 200% more work than all of us together usually do. This song and a couple of others carried us through the days.
And what did I get?
I feel 10 years older
and I'm deeper in debt.
Music is healing, motivating, and often helps to find humour in situations. Hopefully things get better soon, until then, know you are appreciated
I feel you brother. I have just changed lifestyle 2 weeks ago, after 12 years. Yes I earn like 1/3 that i used to, you know what?
I feel sooooo much alive now.
dont i know that ...mondays and friday...no union loading freight trailors for a Sicilian owner....we would load 4 forty foot trailors in 4 hours and when i would go home and sat down i could not lift my body....my missus would say carry the 5 year old to bed and I would bend down but have no energy to lift....and then wake at 5am to do the morning shift after finishing the night at 10 pm...
@Jack Hummell and the boss will sack you for thinking it...casuals?
@Jack Hummell I've seen blokes sacked for having a BBQ..it gets back to the owner of this transport company and he throws them over the fence....now this is the largest private own freight company in Australia.....when the business was developing he was prepared to pay 6 months unfare dismissal to get rid of the problem....the union comes and the brown paper bag comes out....besides when you know the minister then you cut out the secretaries of the union and pay direct to keep union out to the labor govt...he said he would sell and shut up rather then have the union run his business....plus the unions today receive more money from corporation then members....so who do they serve.
This song needs to make a comeback, dedicated to Amazon wanting to start up this practice again...
They're pretty far ahead and along that way it seems.
You know what else needs to make a comeback? The force that originally put an end to this practice: unions
You walk 16 miles and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt. St. Bezos don't call me cause I can't go, I owe my soul to yo to fuckin stoooooeeee
Oh boy, do I have news for you th-cam.com/video/CPW3YikDwEM/w-d-xo.html
@@johanneskeiler2045 I was about to say the same thing. To quote a parody of a line from another episode, "South Park already did it."
Man... Johnny NEVER lets down with his covers. It's either superior to the original - or it's a damn good rendition!!
I consider it equal. On one hand, Tennessee Ernie Ford didn't have a voice that smooth. On the other hand, Johnny Cash didn't hit that high note at the end.
It's good , but you can't better Tennessee Ernie Fords version
@@Big_Wash01 i mean, sometimes a rougher voice does suit a song more. I'd say that, for example, Sixsteen Tons does benefit from a rougher sound. Same thing I'd say about sungs such as "The Old Man's Tale" or "The Auld Triangle".
Or another example: Enter Sandman. In my opinion, Motörhead's cover is superior to Metallica's original. Lemmy's voice as well as the leading bass fit the text much better than Metallica's style.
@@tommurphree5630 i prefer the platters version.
Hurt, by Trent Reznor . Most excellent cover.
i love johnny and i love this song. finding out that he did this version is just pure gold
It ain’t pure coal which is even better
I must disagree. It's awful: no soul, no passion.
I love this song, and Johnny's deep voice is perfect.
If you like this you’ll you will like Ernie ford singing this he was the originator
For a deep voice on this song check out Geoff Castellucci
's version of it.
I prefer Ernie's
What a glorious voice this man had.
“If you see me coming you’d better step aside,
A lot of men didn’t and a lot of men died.”
...that got morbid quick!
ישתבח שמו לעד 🙏☝️💯😂🙃💜
I have to assume he’s driving a mine-cart.
”Outta the way! Sixteen tons coming through!”
This version is magnificent! Johnny covered it too well for words.
One of the greatest blue country . This awesome song will last for ever !
+marco brenni Hopefully the company store won't
+jcrowley1985 : Indeed !
A legend covering a song sung by a legend about legendary folk.... priceless!
Literally in terms of value.
@@alexanderdragonheart2036 Indeed good sir!
great lyrics it's so true about big business hurting people and it keeps going on
So true.
Im quite sure no one today has a harder job on the body than the coal miners
@@venkkooo Sheep shearers! Worse!
@@venkkooo Tell that to the miners in Africa who get paid pennies on the dollar for our smartphones.
Steel workers...
This song is about the coal mines people used to live next to, where people got paid in tokens only accepted at the coal company's store, and since they didn't get paid enough and had to buy overpriced food/necessities, they became in debt to the company, with no way out. Hence, he tells 'Saint Peter' to not call him, as he cannot die because he is indebted to the company: 'I owe my soul to the company store'. I remeber learning about it in primary school and having to memorize the song for some reason lol.
There called scrips
"Another day older and deeper in debt
For everything else there's MasterCard"
they call it master card because they become your master, Proverbs 22:7
Dearest daddy this was always your favorite song and every time I wonder why am the way I am I think of this and then I know!! Thank u
HIS BASS VOICE ROCKS IN THIS SONG
I had no idea Johnny Cash sang a cover of this song!
Indeed!
What do you think about it I like the fallout version more personally
@@FriedTendi it's Tennessee Ernie Fords song not fallout. He gets the credit
@@alexceballos2802 thank you, Tennessee I belive covered it as well, but his version is the gild standard, Johnny's isnt bad but ernie's is much hetter
Well Merle Travis wrote this song in 1947. Ford made it a number 1 hit in 1955..
Always thought this was a traditional ballad. When Cash sings it, it becomes his song. My pappy loved this song. hummed it while working throughout his life.
As a son of a german coal miner, grown up in the german hot spot of coal mining that made our country rich after WW2, i realy feel and love this song.
You know it's a classic when you, your parents, your grandparents, and your 23 year old daughter love this song.
RIP , Dad , had to play it for you
I woke up from my Dream and
heard one line of this song.
One day older and deeper in debt.!
You paid it all off before you passed
You always worked so hard Dad,
Miss you.
😇💕🦅🦉😇
This is definitely my favourite rendition of this song!
check Castellucci's
@@scriptdealers9898 I've already listened to it. Good, but not as good as Johnny Cash.
loads of comments about the lyrics, but to those who grew up non-catholyic:
Saint Peter had been given the keys of heaven, so when the lyrics says "Saint Peter don't you call me cuz I can't go." then he means that he's too busy for heaven. Let's hope that this part of detail makes the lyrics even better
During the 70s living in Western N.C. mountains, my best friends dad work in a Virginia coal mine. To visit his wife and children he had to walk and hitch a rides, but only could visit once every couple of years.. He sent home what he could, which was very little.
I'd like to read about it.
Черт,каждый раз вспоминаю эту песню когда смотрю в зеркало.37 лет тяжелой работы,драк,нищеты,болезней,выживания.да еще походу меня и посадят скоро.Жаль что таких людей нельзя объединить..песня про жизнь..Удачи парни!
За что посадят?
@@Georgiy-vo3vz мляяяя, походу посадили уже
Не ссы, всё хорошо будет. Ну даже если нары увидишь - по УДО выйдешь, не страшно. Жизнь штука такая, не знаешь что завтра будет
Thought criminal
Awesome Video and Song This is My Favorite Song of Yours Sixteen Tons
Hello beautiful
I grew up to this and finally fully understand what it means.. I'm sad yet glad to come full circle thanks Johnny❤
During the next 1460 days, this will be the anthem for people like me.
Великая песня, великий исполнитель. Пусть тебе земля будет пухом. Ты с нами.
The son of a coal miner from Southwestern Virginia here. Daddy had to leave in 1964 due to all the strikes, but he always loved coal mining. I was 12 and it was a hard move leaving everything i ever knew behind, but it had to be done to feed eight of us. In the end he did well in Construction and even bought some land and his dream of owning a small farm was realized. Daddy was paid half in a check and half in script. Coal companies had it all their way and it was a hard life for the workers, the wives and Mothers and even the kids although looking back i loved living 'down home' in the mountains. Best time of my life. It's changed now. No work, everyone depressed and many turning to drugs. What i lived is gone, but the memories of that time will always be a part of who i am now.
Молодец. У всяких выкидышей просмотров больше почему то. Голос просто огонь, а музончик для отдыха.
Дорогой Джонни, эта песня ждала тебя, и ты её лучший исполнитель! Спасибо тебе!
Он умер в 2003 году
as someone who has been in this situation and been garnished by his company for a year this song resonates well
Johnny you are in my heart !! perfect voice for this song !!! the pain and the feel !!! thancks for all !!!
Eric from France with my respect Mister RIP ..
Dedicated to my uncles the Walker's who were coal miners in the mountains of Panther,West Virginia.
Don’t forget us Boone county miners
COUNTRY ROADS TAKE ME HOME
You're beautiful btw :)
i live in panther mountain west virginka
My adoptive mom's dad and brother worked in the coal mines and my mom's dad died of tuberculosis and both my mom and her brother suffered breathing problems as reprecussions from it.
Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake by an ol' mama lion
Cain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
If you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't a-get you then the left one will
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
Thanks, sir!
this song gives me terrible nostalgia, not in a bad way but my grandpa would play this whenever he'd play music and drink a beer in our bar room and I'd sit and listen with him. He raised me because my parents werent allowed to be near me for a while so him and my grandma adopted me and i'd always favor him over my grandma. He passed away when i was 6 and i was very sad for a while and i still am but this song will always be apart of me
Man this guy is a legend 😎❤❤
Everything cash does is great-- I never even knew he covered this song but his voice is great for it
It's weird to see him with a mustache
palieterken exactly
He look ok with a mustache
Lmao ikr
He is supposed to be Tennessee Ernie Ford, who made this song.
palieterken My thoughts exactly.
god bless johnny cash how we need you now to bring country back to the blue collar roots
When this was released all those years ago, i couldn't picture him with a moustache, and after all these years, i still can't. But he is rocking it!
Excellent work. The Tennessee Ernie version was what I grew up on.
My father came from a sulphur mining town in Sicily. He loved the Tennessee Ernie Ford version of this son from the 50s
Bellissimo brano e interpretazione di Johnny Cash 👼† Grazie di cuore Mercury Records, per averlo condiviso 🙏 Complimenti!!
Si, veramente bellissimo
God, I miss you Johnny!
i sang this song when I was a kid. RIP Johnny and all those who've lost their lives in the coal mines.
Nothing extraordinary, but his voice is deep enough for the song.
It's amazing that both Ernie Ford , johnny cash can do 16 tons wonderfuly fantastic . I love both versions of the song . May the both of you rip,may God watch over you, keep you both safe.
Solidarity!⚒🏴
RIP Johnny Cash. You were awesome
This song needs to be longer.
If you like listen and the version of Robbie Williams! He swings with this song!!!!
Legend - Johnny Cash - Sixteen Tons
honor to the men who spent their lives building this big country, my father was an italian who worked in a mine for 10 years in USA
This is such an amazing song with such meaning
Singing this in choir and it's by far my favorite!
This is some of the best music ever written
Much respect to America's miners. Doing a hard back breaking job to give us essentially the energy we use everyday.
This is such a banger actually, I just discovered it
Tennessee Ernie Ford - Musing with morose humor about a life he once lived
Johnny Cash - Describing with little emotion the life he has always lived and always will, quickly so he can get back to work
There were a couple more recordings of this later in John's career when he was doing his "Man Comes Around" reissues done both live and in studio. Even more soul and "gravel" from him. Merle Travis, Tennessee Ernie, Johnny Cash...they all gave this song a twist of their own.
Johnny Cash and Elvis are the 2 greatest musicians of all time. I remember this song as a young boy and I loved it then and always will. Its a man's song! LOL. Cash 'The man in black' will live forever, in our hearts and minds.
I heard company stores are going to come back.
It reminded me of this song. I didn't know Johnny Cash.had a version. Very cool.
I hurt myself everyday... LEGEND
Love the captions.. ."Snappy guitar...Snappy piano" hahaha... this music is "Snappy"
RIP Tennessee Ernie Ford
Comrade Johnny!
This video is notable for immortalizing Cash’s mercifully short-lived mustache.
I've loved this song in Cash's version since I was a kid too may decades ago. It's the first time I see the video, though. Hmm, not that bad a 'tache if he aimed at being a 60's or 70's movie star, though! Heh, it's a night of revelations, all right, as it was also the first time I saw or heard The Chicken in Black... Having a good time!
Very very GOOD SONG☝️👍
Johnny Cash has an awesome voice
I work at a coal mine and have since 2010. Different times, be hard to do it like they did back in the day bf we had msha and they still had company stores. But you gotta be a different bread to make it in the mines. Gotta have a yes we can attitude. Love my brothers in stripes and hats off to all the brothern that passed in the mines
Un clásico maravilloso!!! No me canso de escucharlo! ❤
And to this day a surprising amount of people did not get the message and instead bow their head and close their eyes before the exploitation of their fellow workers.
I accidentally had it set to 2x speed when i started the video and you know what? Very different vibe but also kinda a bop
My life has been infinitely better since I found out about this video, hahaha. Look at him, he dressed up and everything
Johnny Cash is BACK!
Has never left us!
"Company store" refers to the stores in company owned towns where everything (including housing) was owned by mining companies.
The companies treated their workers very poorly. If the workers complained, they were evicted, beaten or killed by company security and police. The government was on the side of the rich mine owners in these struggles.
A lot of workers paid the ultimate price for giving us the working conditions we have now. But the struggle of the working class is more relevant than ever.
Johnny Cash with mustache is one of the greatest things i ever seen.
I will never forget hearing this song when I was a kid
I always felt this song was done too fast and after playing it here at 0 .75 speed i feel i was correct. Should also be performed in a much deeper tone.
"Deeper tone"? Johnny Cash's baritone was near the benthos bottom of the musical scale. The tempo of his "Sixteen Tons" cover likely was dictated by the need to fit it into a limited performance time slot.
But yes, likely too opera-trained basso profundos like Paul Robeson and Brock Peters could have sung it with deeper vocalic justice to the injustice theme. Yet Johnny's relatively less bass voice may fortuitously express the injustice of a less burly man career-long being made to do work that more overburdened his body.
Covers wise, Vivres les varietie et differences !
@@JudgeJulieLitdude it's not worth it
This song is great and here, in Brazil, we have a portuguese version named "16 toneladas", with Noriel Vilela, that is awesome, too. It is available on TH-cam as well
This song is stuck in my head and am glad
man i listened to tennesse then one day i asked my dad if johnny covered it he said most likely it wasnt a no but now getting to look this up now just wow
As a man who really does owe his soul to the company store, I hit like.
2024 anyone?
Yes sir
Ficou linda na voz inconfundível do Johnny Cash.
After the blues "Sixteen Tons", heard in my childhood on the record, I became a fan of music of the USA and England.
J.C a true legend
I always sing this while working in night shift. It helps..
If you don't like johnny cash, are you even a real person
I was in a ghoul cave when this came on and man I felt invincible lol
Salute from Slovakia Johnny.
Great version of this song.