Monday, February 06, 2006

A Boy Named Sue

I was a little disappointed that the song A Boy Named Sue didn't feature in Walk the Line. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Walk the Line. However, A Boy Named Sue is probably the only song I could have correctly identified as a Johnny Cash song before seeing the movie. I have strong associations with the song A Boy Named Sue.

First of all, we learned it at school. I think it was in English class. Bearing in mind that I studied English as a third language in Belgium. And yes, English actually is my first language. I thought it was a great song. The other songs I think I remember learning in English class, although they may be fake or implanted memories for all I know, are Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Russians and Good Night Saigon. Interesting taste in music, that teacher.

Then there was that time when I was a student and my boyfriend's band ThünderMönkey were playing their final gig. All the fans turned out to hear such classics as Hooters from Hell and Hot Knives on the Kitchen Stove. Instead they sang Johnny Cash covers, and Johnny Cash covers only. I'm pretty sure they must have sung A Boy Named Sue.

Finally there was that night, just last year actually, when I decided to sing shout A Boy Named Sue as my karaoke choice at a party. Twice. They loved it, honest.

R.

posted by flying kiwi @ 11:42 PM