Ain't No Grave

I'm pretty sure this is a (very different) reinterpretation of the soul/gospel/rocknroll singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe's 'Ain't No Grave' - but Cash does make it his own, bloomin amaazing. RIP Man In Black, hope you're jammin with the greats wherever you are now. PS Sister Rosetta Tharpe can be found on youtube for anyone a fan of esoteric gospel singers :)

You would have to have known Johnny's upbringing and his true beliefs about death. I believe he truely believed in Jesus Christ and with salvation he would be resureceted.

This song is about Salvation and the belief that faith in Jesus Christ will raise the believers in the end times with the sound of a trumpet. He's proclaiming that nothing will hold him down because Jesus already has him, ready for resurrection. There are quite a few biblical references here to back it up such as meeting Jesus in the air (Revelations), meet me by the river (Christian Hymn), and talking of rising right out of the ground. Amazing song.

Out of curiosity, you think this song is influenced by Blind Willie Johnson's "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed"? Both the Sister Tharpe, Cash, and Zeppelin have the lines "Well, meet me Jesus, meet me. Meet me in the middle of the air". The Tharpe and Cash version continue with "And if these wings don't fail me I will meet you anywhere" where the Zeppelin line ends with "And if these wings should fail me, please Lord, meet me with another pair".

Johnny Cash is amazing. This song just proves it and nothing can hold him down. Im sad this was his last album released after death. I love it nonetheless.

Also, for all you Johnny Cash die hard fans like me, check out this website to contribute your own drawing to the Ain't No Grave video!

http://www.thejohnnycashproject.com/#/about

Johnny Cash is THE American badass! This song is sick, I haven't heard much of the rest of the album but I'm excited to download it once I get home.

I first heard of this while watching wrestling and it was on a promo for Wrestlemania 26, and it was being played for Shawn Michaels and Undertaker, for their upcoming match, which was very good, I might add.

I think the singer is saying that he can't die, no matter what. Even if he gets put in the ground or in a coffin, he can't die, because he still has something he has to do in this life. He'll always be remembered by people, and that's why he can never die. It truly speaks to me in some way. I don't know why. It just does.

R.I.P. Johnny Cash (1932-2003) I thank you for making this song.

True what rone said. If anyone knows Johnny Cash in his later years, they know he was a born again Christian. This song means that death or Satan doesn't have a hold on his soul (immortal body) and he will rise to heaven to be with God. Because of his faith in Jesus, the devil can't hold Johnny down no more.

I think the song is about unfinished businesses. The man doesnt want to die yet. He asks those in Heaven who wanna see him to come down and meet him half-way and, even if he were to die, he would rise from the grave because he hasnt finished with this live yet and has powerful reasons to stay alive. Reasons that make him stronger than death. I also think this is Tarantinos interpretation of the song and thats why he chose it for his film Django Unchained. ;-)

I have to agree with a previous commenter that this song is about unfinished business, more precisely, about revenge.

This song sounds like a threat to someone who wronged him and "no grave will hold [his] body down".

The character in this song is close to death and he can already see the "angels" coming for him and even the ghosts of his dead parents with whom he will be reunited when he dies. However, he is not ready to leave yet because he has something to finish. He even tells death not come for him yet until he decides that he is ready to die: "But Gabriel don't you blow your trumpet 'til you hear it from me".

To me, this song speaks of determination and a promise to complete something, through religious imagery.