If the narrator of FOLSOM PRISON 'shot a man in Reno,' why is he incarcerated in a California penal institution?

If Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno, why is he in Folsom prison and not Reno prison? - Yahoo! Answers

One of my great Uncles shot at least 3 men in Miss. But he was jailed in Tenn. The shootings were ruled to be self defense. He stole money from a woman in Tenn. No self defense allowed there for that!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

'cause "Folsom prison" rymes nicer then "Reno prison".

Yeah, but he shot the man in Reno just to watch him die...

I assume he is in Folsom Prison 'cause they did not catch up with him for the Reno killing but for some other crime(s) committed in CA.

Johnny Cash only ever went to jail for misdemeanors, not prison for murder. "Folsom Prison Blues" is just a fictitious little ditty for our enjoyment.

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Soli Deo Gloria

Well, I'm glad we got to the bottom of this --- maybe now I can get some sleep without those pills...

John's talkin' about Reno Junction, California...

Reno Junction, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is just a song. Not a true story. Larry

Understood. But was it a real song, or did Johnny Cash just make it up?

It is a real song-I've heard it.

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It is very common for states to trade prisoners, for any of several very legitimate reasons. Virtually every prison in the US has jnterstate transfer prisoners incarcerated. Most frequently the Board of Pardons of the state where the prisoner was convicted retains jurisdiction.

One frequent reason is a person on a life sentence in a state geographically widely separated from his home state. The prisoner could be transferred to his home state for the comfort and convenience of his family, so they can visit reasonably. The "system" is not inhumane. Usually this involves a trade of prisoners so there doesn't need to be financial considerations for either state. It also can be for the reason that a prisoner has a terminal disease, see last. Or it can be for the safety of the prisoner if his life is endangered by others in the population.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

He wasn't a very good shot. The guy made it to South Lake Tahoe before he actually died. The cops and prosecutors in Nevada and California spent the next three days trying to convince each other who was stuck with jurisdiction.

What did the Man in Black shoot him with, what caliber and load, Mag-Na-Ported, P&R, stocks numbered to the gun, did Johnny have the correct box, screwdriver, etc.?????
Lots of stuff he left out of the song.

Kingston Trio had a song about a guy that got doped up and killed his old lady. When he was arrested, one of the lyrics was "the Great State of Texas gonna pay your rent", which I took to mean he was gonna be in Huntsville, or someplace similar.

When Johnny Cash did that song he got "99 years in the Folsum Pen".

Guess Johnny just liked California prisons.

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I always take precautions

Not true.
He also went to prison to sing. At least for one
album.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

Reminds me of "Cocaine Blues" done by Johnny Cash and other guys...

"Early one mornin' while makin' the rounds,
I took a shot of cocaine and shot my woman down,
I went right home and I went to bed,
I stuck that lovin' forty four* beneath my head".

(* S&W third model hand ejector, 5" barrel, Wolf & Klar, nickel, checkered wood grips)

Artistic license. Just enjoy the song, which I think was his first big hit.

As others noted Cash never spent more than individual nights in local jails. On the other hand, Merle Haggard spent a lot of his "yout" in reformatories and did time at San Quentin for burglary. His song "Mama Tried" was semi autobiographic.

David Allan Coe spent even more time in juvenile and adult facilities.

Probably more than you wanted to know.

Wyatt, yeah, Cocaine Blues is it. Kingston Trio called it Bad Man's Blunder, but it sure sounds like the same song.

BAD MAN BLUNDER THE KINGSTON TRIO 45RPM CAPITOL RECORDS FOR TINK - YouTube

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I always take precautions

Yeah, but he did shoot Delia . . . .

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Qui plantavit curabit

Hearsay.
You can't PROVE you heard it.
Give us some facts, man.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Now ever-body kin hear it!~
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (Live) - YouTube

GF

Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone.

He also went to sleep in Shreveport, woke up in Abeline, wondering why the H he's wanted in some town half way between.

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Front sight and squeeze

Johnny wrote Folsom after he watched a movie while in the Air Force in Germany. Now that explains Folsom, but where did he get Reno?

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Those of us who ever do prison/jail gigs never count it as "going to jail/prison" except in jest or when someone else points it out like that. THe OP was worded where a literal interpretation could be for any reason, to serve time or not, but in the colloquialism leaned to the everyday usage with an implication of going to jail/prison to serving time for a criminal conviction and sentence.

The question was asked seriously about Mr. Cash serving time in conviction of a crime. Going to work is not doing time. It might FEEL like it, but I assure you, it is not.

Prison gigs can be scary. The first time I took a job for a prison set I was fairly naive.

Fortunately, I was with an all male band who looked out for me.

1. I wore a skirt. It was long, but it was still a skirt.

2. I didn't clean out my gig bag from things like reed knives and machinist screwdrivers. Took longer to check me in security than I thought.

3. Bands behind chicken wire (or stronger) doesn't just happen in the Blues Brothers. But sometimes it's harder to tell who is being protected from whom...the band from the crowd, or the crowd from the band!


ETA: Sometimes (frequently) Folsom Prison Blues is interpreted as a three-act allegory of Mr. Cash's life. Writers take a lot of liberty. Enjoy the song, take what you will from it.

I find it more amusing to think about the fact that they couldn't afford a studio drummer so they did the dollar bill trick than it is to try to make a fictitious narrative too serious to be enjoyed at its face value.

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Soli Deo Gloria

Alpo:

Thanks for putting up "Bad Man's Blunder"--I remember it well, but don't think I've heard it for 30 years.

Cash was inspired to write this song after seeing the movie "Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison" (1951) while serving in West Germany in the United States Air Force. Cash recounted how he came up with the "Reno" line: "I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that's what came to mind."

Cash borrowed the melody for the song and many of the lyrics from Gordon Jenkins's 1953 "Seven Dreams" concept album, specifically the song "Crescent City Blues". Jenkins was not credited on the original record, which was issued by Sun Records. In the early 1970s, after the song became popular, Cash paid Jenkins a settlement of approximately $75,000.

Back when I was in "show biz", I occasionally booked these prison gigs. The saying was, "There's no more appreciative audience than a --- get ready ---



captive audience!"


Some of my louder acts also appreciated their occasional appearances at the Michigan School for the Deaf, where cranking every amp up to "11" was welcomed...

It's simple-California being the progressive state it is was more willing to accept a boy named Sue