Austin Prison

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"Austin Prison"
File:Everybody Loves a Nut (song).jpg
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album Everybody Loves a Nut
A-side"Everybody Loves a Nut"
"Austin Prison"
ReleasedMay 1966 (1966-05)
Genrecountry
LabelColumbia 4-43673
SongwriterJohnny Cash
ProducersDon Law and Frank Jones[1]
Audio
"Austin Prison" on YouTube

"Austin Prison" is a song written by Johnny Cash[2] and originally recorded by him on Columbia Records for his 1966 novelty album Everybody Loves a Nut.

It was first released in May 1966[3] as the flip side to the second single (Columbia 4-43673, "Everybody Loves a Nut" / "Austin Prison") from the yet-to-be-released album.[4][5][6][7]

Lyrical analysis

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[The song] tells the story of a prisoner who is helped to escape by his jailer. "Now all I want between me and there are a lot of friendly people," he says, "and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles." Cash wrote the song, and he must have felt a very personal connection with it, given that it was recorded soon after his release from jail in Texas.

— C. Eric Banister. Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black[4]

[In the song,] the outlaw narrator is imprisoned for murdering a woman he may not have killed. He's found guilty and sentenced to die, but in a rare happenstance the jailer helps him escape. There certainly is a sense of ambiguity since we don't know for sure if he did or did not kill anyone. But we know that he got away.

— John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash[8]

Track listing

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7" single (Columbia 4-43673, 1966)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everybody Loves a Nut"Jack Clement2:04
2."Austin Prison"Johnny Cash2:06

References

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