23 Johnny Cash Quotes That Are As True Now As They Were Then

Johnny Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) is known to this day as one of the undeniably greatest country musicians and best-selling music artists of all time. Cash’s roots were humble enough growing up in a poverty-stricken farming community where he would go on to spend over 15 years working across cotton fields with his family to clear their debts. While Cash’s life was by no means easy, the very difficulties that life threw his way would inspire numerous beautiful songs. Cash started writing his songs when he was 12 and as the years progressed eventually he wrote and released “I Walk the Line”, a song that continues to be featured in a regular rotation by radios everywhere. We’ll take a look at some of Cash’s most unforgettable quotes that he left us with.

1. On happiness

“Happiness is being at peace, being with loved ones, being comfortable, but most of all, it’s having those loved ones.”

2. On choosing love

“All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate. I choose love.”

3. On learning from your mistakes

“I learn from my mistakes. It’s a very painful way to learn, but without pain, the old saying is, there’s no gain.”

4. On not giving up

“I don’t give up because I don’t give up. I don’t believe in it.”

5. On learning

“The more I learn, the more excited I get.”

6. On the blues

“Get rhythm when you get the blues.”

7. On our dark and light sides

“Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.”

8. On telling the truth

“If you aren’t gonna say exactly how and what you feel, you might as well not say anything at all.”

9. On acceptance

“I don’t like it, but I guess things happen that way.”

10. On voice lessons

“Don’t take voice lessons. Do it your way.”

11. On being thankful

“I’m thankful for the sea breeze that feels so good right now, and the scent of jasmine when the sun starts going down.”

12. On loneliness

“Loneliness is emptiness, but happiness is you.”

13. On gaining wisdom with age

“Those that have lived longer than us always have something to teach us, that we can take with us for the rest of our lives.”

14. On the thrill of life

“I’m thrilled to death with life.”

15. On being yourself

“You have to be what you are. Whatever you are, you gotta be it.”

16. On failure

“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone.”

17. On creativity

“Creative people have to be fed from the divine source. I have to get fed. I had to get filled up in order to pour out.”

18. On spirituality

“There is a spiritual side to me that goes real deep, but I confess right up front that I’m the biggest sinner of them all.”

19. On the wild ones

“The ones that you’re calling wild are going to be the leaders in a little while.”

20. On fame

“It’s all fleeting. As fame is fleeting, so are all the trappings of fame fleeting. The money, the clothes, the furniture.”

21. On nature

“I like to sit on the front porch of an old cabin I built in the woods and just listen to the birds. I like to fish in the pond and I always throw the fish back.”

22. On knowing your limitations

“You’ve got to know your limitations. I don’t know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out there weren’t too many limitations, if I did it my way.”

23. On Elvis

“However, neither he nor anyone else could have become the star Elvis was. Ain’t nobody like Elvis. Never was.”