"Port of Lonely Hearts"
Single by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
from the album Sings Hank Williams
A-side"Port of Lonely Hearts"
"Mean-Eyed Cat"
ReleasedOctober 1960 (1960-10)
Genrecountry
LabelSun 347
Songwriter(s)Johnny Cash[1]
Music video
"Port of Lonely Hearts" (audio only) on YouTube

"Port of Lonely Hearts" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.[2][3][4]

The song was recorded by Cash at Sun Records in 1955.[3] Sun released it as a single (Sun 347, with "Mean-Eyed Cat" on the opposite side)[5][6][7][8][9] in October 1960[10][11][12] when Cash had already left the label for Columbia.[13]

Composition and background

According to C. Eric Banister's Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black,

"Port of Lonely Hearts" [...] offered an early glimpse at Cash's willingness to experiment with his sound by overdubbing a second vocal line, providing harmony as well as a call-and-response part. “Port of Lonely Hearts,” like several other songs from early sessions, would later be released after Cash had made his move to Columbia.[13]

Cash also recorded a few songs about boats as a means of escape. Initially, in "Port of Lonely Hearts," the narrator is dejectedly waiting for his ship to come in, preferably with a girl on board. He's determined to wait as long as it takes for love to arrive so he can leave the port of lonely hearts with the one he loves.

— John M. Alexander. The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Mean Eyed Cat / Port Of Lonely Hearts". Discogs. 1960. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  2. ↑ John L. Smith (1 January 1999). Another Song to Sing: The Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-3629-7.
  3. 1 2 "Cover versions of Mean Eyed Cat by Johnny Cash". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  4. ↑ Robert Hilburn (2013-10-31). Johnny Cash: The Life. Orion. pp. 70–. ISBN 978-0-297-86658-9.
  5. ↑ John Edwards Memorial Foundation (1974). JEMF Quarterly. John Edwards Memorial Foundation.
  6. ↑ Joel Whitburn (2002). Top Country Singles, 1944 to 2001: Chart Data Compiled from Billboard's Country Singles Charts, 1944-2001. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-151-2.
    Joel Whitburn (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005, Billboard. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
  7. ↑ Tim Neely (2004-05-01). Goldmine Records & Prices. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-781-7. Mean Eyed Cat Port of Lonely Hearts Sun 347.
  8. ↑ Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (1980). Sun Records: The Brief History of the Legendary Recording Label. Quick Fox. ISBN 978-0-8256-3161-0. Mean Eyed Cat Port of Lonely Hearts.
  9. ↑ George Albert (1984-01-01). The Cash Box Country Singles Charts, 1958-1982. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1685-5.
  10. ↑ Peter Lewry (2001). I've Been Everywhere: A Johnny Cash Chronicle. Helter Skelter. ISBN 978-1-900924-22-1.
    October
    "Mean Eyed Cat"/"Port Of Lonely Hearts" (Sun 347) released.
  11. ↑ The Johnny Cash Record Catalog. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1994. pp. 21–. ISBN 978-0-313-29506-5.
  12. ↑ Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (2011-03-01). Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll. Open Road Media. pp. 415–. ISBN 978-1-4532-1314-8.
    Colin Escott; Martin Hawkins (1 August 2017). Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'N' Roll. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-250-18211-1.
  13. 1 2 C. Eric Banister (2014-08-01). Johnny Cash FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Man in Black. Backbeat Books. pp. 41–. ISBN 978-1-61713-608-5.
  14. ↑ John M. Alexander (16 April 2018). The Man in Song: A Discographic Biography of Johnny Cash. University of Arkansas Press. pp. 41–. ISBN 978-1-61075-628-0.
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