Port of Lonely Hearts
1960 single by Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Port of Lonely Hearts" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash.[2][3][4]
| "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" |
| Released | October 1960 |
| Genre | country |
| Label | Sun 347 |
| Songwriter | Johnny Cash[1] |
| Music video | |
| "Port of Lonely Hearts" (audio only) on YouTube | |
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]