Johnny Cash Quotes: Lyrics To Remember Songwriter On His 86th Birthday

Monday marks Johnny Cash's 86th birthday. The singer, who shaped music throughout the 20th century, sold more than 90 million records during his career. Some of his famous songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm", and "Man in Black."

Cash married singer June Carter on March 1, 1968, in Franklin, Kentucky. They had one child together, John Carter Cash, born March 3, 1970. June died in May 2003, just four months before Cash died on Sept. 12, 2003, from complications related to diabetes. Many believe that Cash's health deteriorated due to a broken heart over June's death.

Cash's legacy continues through his music and lyrics. Here are 10 quotes by the musician.

1. "I have tried drugs and a little of everything else, and there is nothing in the world more soul-satisfying than having the kingdom of God building inside you and growing." — Cash, during evangelistic conference Explo '72

2. "How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man."

3. "Hello, I’m Johnny Cash." — Cash's opening lines for a number of his concerts

4. "I keep a close watch on this heart of mine, I keep my eyes wide open all the time, I keep the ends out for the tie that binds. Because you're mine, I walk the line." — lyrics from "I Walk The Line"

5. "I'm thrilled to death with life. Life is — the way God has given it to me was just a platter — a golden platter of life laid out there for me. It's been beautiful." — Cash, during a CNN interview in 2002

6. "I ain't gonna repeat, what I said anymore, while I'm breathin' air that ain't been breathed before. I'll be just as gone as the wild goose in winter, then you'll understand your man, meditate on it, understand your man, you hear me talking." — lyrics from "Understand Your Man"

7. “I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town, I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, but is there because he's a victim of the times.” — lyrics from “Man In Black”

8. “What have I become, my sweetest friend, everyone I know goes away in the end. And you could have it all, my empire of dirt, I will let you down, I will make you ​hurt.” — lyrics from “Hurt”

9. "Love is a burning thing and it makes a firery ring. Bound by wild desire, I fell in to a ring of fire." — lyrics from "Ring of Fire"

10. “I bet there's rich folks eatin' in a fancy dining car, they're probably drinkin' coffee and smokin' big cigars, but I know I had it comin,’ I know I can't be free, but those people keep a-movin,' and that's what tortures me.” — lyrics from “Folsom Prison Blues”