Written by Johnny Cash
Recorded 4/2/56
Debuted 9/5/56
Number one - Country Chart; Number 17 - Pop Chart
Number 26 - Top 100 Country Hits of All-Time

History

"I Walk the Line" is a song written by Johnny Cash and recorded in 1956. UK goth/industrial band Alien Sex Fiend released a track of the same name in 1986. A 1970 movie starring Gregory Peck and featured a soundtrack of Johnny Cash songs including the title song.

The song is about Cash staying faithful to his wife at the time, Vivian while on the road: I find it very, very easy to be true/I find myself alone when each day is through/Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you/Because you're mine/I walk the line.

The song is very simple and like most Cash songs, the lyrics tell more of a story than the music conveys. (You've got a way to keep me on your side/You give me cause for love that I can't hide/For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide).

It is based upon the "boom-chicka-boom" or "freight train" rhythm common in many of Cash's songs. In the original recording of the song, there is a key change between each of the five verses, and Cash hums the new root note before singing each verse. The final verse is sung a full octave lower than the first verse, in the deep bass range that Cash (and relatively few others) could hit with ease.

The unique chord progression for the song was inspired by an accidental backwards playback on Cash's tape recorder while he was in the Air Force. Later, he wrote the lyrics in a backstage dressing room in Gladewater, Texas, after a discussion with fellow performer Carl Perkins encouraged him to adopt "I Walk the Line" as the song title. Cash originally intended the song as a slow ballad, but producer Sam Phillips preferred a faster arrangement, which Cash grew to like as the uptempo recording met with success.


Lyrics

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line

As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line

You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line

As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line

You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line