Dark as a Dungeon

"Dark as a Dungeon"
Written by	Merle Travis
Language	English
Original artist	Merle Travis
Recorded by	Johnny Cash

"Dark as a Dungeon" is a song written by singer-songwriter Merle Travis. It is a lament about the danger and drudgery of being a coal miner in an Appalachian shaft mine. It has become a rallying song among miners seeking improved working conditions.

The song achieved much of its fame when it was performed by Johnny Cash in his Folsom Prison concert (At Folsom Prison). During this live performance, one of the prisoners in the background was cutting up, and Cash started to chuckle. He gently admonished the man, "No laughing during the song, please!" The man yelled something about "Hell!" and Cash answered, "I know, 'hell'!" When he finished the song, Cash made a comment that was largely repeated, somewhat out of context^{[clarification needed]}, by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2005 film Walk the Line: "I just wanted to tell you that this show is being recorded for an album released on Columbia Records, so you can't say 'hell' or 'shit' or anything like that."

Recorded versions

• Merle Travis, 1946
• Cisco Houston, Early 1950s
• Harry Belafonte on "The Many Moods of Belafonte" (1962)
• Johnny Cash on "At Folsom Prison" (1968)
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1972)
• Dolly Parton on 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs (1980)
• Patrick Sky, 1985
• Wall of Voodoo, 1985
• Souled American on Sonny (1992)
• The Chieftains with Vince Gill on Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions (2002)
• Marley's Ghost on Ghost Country (1996)
• Queens of the Stone Age, 2005 ^[1]
• Mark Linkous (recording as Sparklehorse) MOJO Magazine Tribute CD to Johnny Cash (2006)
• Charlie Louvin on Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs (2008)
• Kathy Mattea on Coal (2008)
• Willie Nelson on Country Music (2010)
• Amy Grant on the Lee C. Camp & Friends specialty album, Tokens 9: "Back to Green" (2010) ^[2]
• Maddox Brothers and Rose 1950

Published versions

• Rise Up Singing page 145

References

1. ^ "Queens of the Stone Age - Dark as a Dungeon (Johnny Cash cover / Portland, 2005)". youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDVRQ4BQcb0. Retrieved 2011-02-26. 
2. ^ "Dark As a Dungeon - Amy Grant: Lee C. Camp and Friends: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Dark-As-Dungeon-Amy-Grant/dp/B003YYV0PI. Retrieved 2011-01-01.