Folsom Prison Blues

Who it's for

A prisoner hears a train passing and aches for the freedom he threw away by a violent act, wishing he'd listened to his mother's warnings.

Feelings it meets

• Regret
• Feeling Stuck
• Moral Injury

What it is

"Folsom Prison Blues" is a Johnny Cash song about a man serving time in Folsom State Prison for a killing in Reno, Nevada. It draws on both the train-song and prison-song folk traditions. Cash wrote it in 1953 after seeing the film Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison while serving in the U.S. Air Force in West Germany.

Where to find it

All major streaming services.

Before you start

Heads up: References to murder and prison.

Age: Suggested 13+

Release me from my unfulfilled past clinging to me from behind making death difficult.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 325