Johnny Cash - Cremation of Sam McGee

[bseaman2000]

I am so glad that I am not the only person who screws up the middle couple of verses - even Johnny Cash messed it up! Thanks Johnny, you always were a human being!

[tommyghallett]

Brrr! Having grown up between the cold wastelands of Northern Minnesota and the freezing, endless sprawl of Alaska, this poem (first read to me by my mother, who had a paper copy of it framed and hanging on the wall, if I recall correctly) has always struck a chord deep inside of me. Especially that last bit- check it out! Cash may have flubbed a line, but I can't think of a more perfect voice to read this poem. The fact that it's a "lost file"found after he passed makes it all the more spooky!!

[CanadianHitman08]

I would love to hear Morgan Freeman read this!

[brucifer44]

Good stuff

[Mzungu64]

The men that "moil" for gold. But I love Johnny Cash.

[JSS1932]

8 people prefer burial.....

[arponto]

I have heard many versions of this poem but was not aware JC had done this. His voice is perfect for this, I really like this version of the poem.

[bubbah671]

wayne samuel smith you are in my familys thoughts.rest in peace you sob.the roses love you.

[FernRichardsMusic]

The thing about Johnny Cash's voice is that when he recites this poem, you believe him...

[ginchafle]

BEST ODD POEM EVER

[leisureacademy]

Johnny Cash should have done so much more of this kind of stuff. He was fantastic and poetry like this takes him to another level.

[southernclassik]

I had to read this poem in 6th grade.... It scared the living shit outta me..

[Mariogamer985]

this poem + johnny cash = me almost crying

[pagangurl100]

wow

[francophileMUC]

This is perfect, and it will forever make me think of my first time camping when a friend recited it. It's dark, and eerie, and I absolutely love it.

[AtrumSilva]

Johnny Cash is auditory perfection.

[Nikodi91]

Listened to this on a tourbus heading north on the Dalton to Deadhorse....WOW!

[freeman2545]

just a great poem...

[sethnet1022]

My father read me this poem when I was young. The way he tells it with a slight grin and true passion in his tone always kept shivers racing up my spine throughout the untire telling and long after.

[IcYLuVa]

(: Kinda weird tradition but every family reunion someone stands up and recites this(:

[USMC12694]

I was told this story by a friend at a campfire at the Boy Scout camp I work at last night.....It moved me in ways I thought impossible. It is a beautiful, but terrifying poem.

[humboldtsgt]

@USMC12694

I was there as well, he did an awesome job!

[redfordforpresident]

Someone recited this poem to me a few years before I moved to Alaska. I think I would have stayed in that incredibly beautiful "last frontier", but this poem kept haunting me.

[akclark09]

Remember how, while this is a great recitation, he gets a verse wrong.

[fadmacat]

@akclark09 Well, here's the thing. Cash recorded the tracks on this album in his own home and it was discovered in a filing cabinet by his son after his death. He never meant for anyone to hear it or make sure it was perfect.

[FredBrighton]

My dear old Daddy used to read this to us for fun. He sounded very much like Mr. Cash and I treasure these memories.

[Bartman1260]

Really great poem johnny cash read it well!!

[teetoj]

Fantastic...Robert Service could do it better...

[CallOfDutyChan]

Nice job changing the words, Johnny ya jerk.

[heyizjules]

u=i have to recite this peom in front of class tommorow from memory oo thanks for postning this its helping me rember

[leonidas762]

here I am I told you this was great

[VanderTheGreat]

My Grandfather used to recite this poem front to back word for word off the top of his head out of nowhere. He would do this poem and countless others. I hear it and strangely i know most of the rhymes. I love and miss my Grandfather dearly. Also; Johnny Cash is a badass.

[MrAndrefe3]

It'd be better if he read the right words.

[Babydog31]

No he didnt but he is a fun character

[peachyjudy]

my favourite poem from elementary school!!!

[498sweetpea]

omg this is my fave poem ever

[zaaritha]

Who was Sam McGee?

has he lived?

[zaaritha]

Never heard before!

[forry671]

That and dangerous dan McGrew were 2 of services poems that a dear old friend and mentor of mine who sadly no longer with us would recite on many occasions it brought back memories! God bless u Tom watt !!

[tmb91225]

All my life, my dad recited this poem!!! Loved it then and this is a GREAT recitation!! Nice trip down memory lane!

[MyBlanket]

Actually 123Alayne.... Johnny mispronounced Moil for Toil..

[vaughan4082]

@MyBlanket no he didnt he changed it a bit

[Galletin64]

@MyBlanket

They mean the same thing, and his original audience was dense, they wouldnt have got it.

[almostavgjoe]

Johnny Cash does almost everything well, but I have heard a very good version of Sam McGee done by a Canadian author named Pierre Burton. If you can find it it's worth a listen. He did an album of Robert Service poems.

[MsColleeners]

I have heard this poem since I was little and I think my uncle tells it better he is good at being scary.

[DonQuixote109]

A fantastic, if quirky, epic poem, narrated by a man who could do it justice.

[Ggreenvideos]

Very cool :o)

[OntarioUrbanMusher]

its been like 10 years and i still have this story memorized haha thats ridiclous

[youngdowlin]

wow johnny cash really hits a nerve here,what a legend,he reads the way he sings!

[123Alayne]

Thank You for sharing this recitation, I love to listen. Is there anything Johnny did poorly?

This is so so great!

[LilLeo67]

Johnny Cash has the perfect voice for this poem. Robert Service was a wiz for writing it but he does not have a pleasant voice to recite it.

[DixieEntertainment12]

This is a badass poem i have liked for years, and I have loved johnny cash forever. He has the perfect voice for this!

[Ryoden235]

@DixieEntertainment12 Johnny Cash does it well indeed, however, Hank Snow did it very well also. I love his rendition in his rare album tales of the Yukon, which is a tribute featuring many of Robert Service's poems.

[ThePhinalPhantasy]

I have this album, and I was so surprized to see a poem in the song list!