Flesh and Blood Lyrics
Where the willow grew,
Where the silver leaf of maple
Sparkled in the morning dew,
I braided twigs of willows,
Made a string of buckeye beads;
But flesh and blood needs flesh and blood,
And you're the one I need;
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood,
And you're the one I need.
And I breathed the honey dew;
I saw a north-bound flock of geese
Against a sky of baby blue;
Beside the lily pads
I carved a whistle from a reed;
Mother Nature's quite a lady,
But you're the one I need;
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood,
And you're the one I need.
And I thanked him for the song;
Then the sun went slowly down i'the west,
And I had to move along;
These were some of the things
On which my mind and spirit feed;
But flesh and blood needs flesh and blood,
And you're the one I need;
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood,
And you're the one I need.
I was still not satisfied,
For I knew everything I touched,
Would wither and would die,
And love is all that will remain
And grow from all these seeds;
Mother Nature's quite a lady,
But you're the one I need;
Flesh and blood needs flesh and blood,
And you're the one I need.
This song shocked me (in a good way) when I heard it playing in my local "Tuesday Morning" store. It's so...nakedly sensual? I didn't expect that from a song recorded so long ago (I should know better by now...). All I remember about Johnny Cash is that my dad played some of his songs on guitar when I was a preschooler; but after hearing this, I know I need to take a closer look at the Man in Black.
To me the singer is saying that the pleasures of solitude and communing with nature are fine and good, but in the end he's a man and he needs the raw erotic joy of making love to the woman he treasures even more. The imagery he builds up of the outdoors and his relationship to the wilderness is beautiful, touching, and full of wonder, but then the refrain hits like a blow to the gut, making the joys of Nature seem pale and thin, no substitute for the richer, thicker pleasures of joining in "flesh and blood."
It's a paeon to Nature, ultimately, to human beings as creatures OF Nature, showing that what we call our "base" instincts are no more (and no less) than the purest expression of wonder in Nature that we can know. It shoves the visceral intesity of erotic love in your face, while simultaneously raising it to the highest of sacraments. It's quite remarkable.
I think it's about him enjoying the beauty and peace of nature , but then saying that he is a human and humans need other humans for companionship (flesh and blood /humans need flesh and blood/other humans ) not just the environment that surrounds them. He is saying that although nature is beautiful and wonderful to look at and be around - we as humans ultimately need companionship of others - and he is singing about his wife June -saying that out if all the people in the world "you're the one I need ". So in this song he is saying how lovely nature is - but that companionship and his companionship and love /being with his wife June is better, and that's what he needs to be happy and ultimately fulfilled in his life more than anything else
It's about June. That much I know
This is a beautiful love song. It reminds me of Scripture. Beautiful