Good Hearted Woman - The Highwaymen

Cash – the Autobiography of Johnny Cash

What June did for me was post signs along the Way, lift me up when I was weak, encourage me when I was discouraged, and love me when I felt alone and unlovable. She's the greatest woman I have ever known. Nobody else, except my mother, comes close.

I wish the whole world could know how great she is. She's smart and she's brilliant. She's got a great personality. She's easy to live with, because she makes it a point to be so.

She's loving. She's sharing.

The main thing, though, is that she loves me and I know it. I used to take advantage of that - because I knew she loved me, I could get away with more - but again, that's not a healthy idea, and it demonstrates one of the reasons why she needs to love me so much. I don't do it so much these days. Perhaps she prayed me out of it.

 June is formidable; she's my solid rock. She's my spark plug. When there are people to talk to and my shyness is welling up inside me, she holds my hand, fronts for me, and makes it possible, though not easy, for me to act with enough grace to avoid hurting people's feelings.

As I've said before, I'm just fine on stage in front of ten thousand people I don't know, but I'm all awkwardness backstage with ten.

June always sees that I've got the right thing to eat, if I'll agree to eat it. She likes the same kind of movies I do, and the same kind of TV shows. She's got charm, she's got brains, she's got style,  she's got class. She's got silver, she's got gold, she's got jewelry, she's got furniture, she's got china ... she's got a black belt in shopping. She's the easiest woman in the world for me to live with, I guess because I know her so well and she knows me so well, and we get along handsomely. If it looks like there's going to be some tension between us, we talk it out and work it out, or I take a walk and she takes a drive until it's over.

Grandfather Rivers taught me that -'Your Grandma and I never fought, but I took a lot of walks,' he said, and that's what I do. By the time I'm back from a walk I'll be looking at the problem differently, and so will June.

Whatever I do, I try not to blow up the way I used to, just explode and say angry and hurtful things. Then the pain is there the damage is done, and there's no taking it back, no matter how many amends I make. These days I don't even have to walk away very often. June and I are usually on a pretty even keel in our home life, our social life, and our work.

She's a vital performer, and it's vital for me to have her on my concerts. This thing between us has been happening since 1961, and I just don't want to travel if she can't come with me. She almost always does. She's my life's companion, and she's a sweet companion. She's very loving, especially with me, and very kind - there are people who can be loving, but not kind, but she's loving and kind. She does everything she can to help me along with my day.

She's a good woman. She's got standards. She's got tradition. She's got dignity. She's got china ...