Paul Revere by Johnny Cash

A lot can be learned from studying the past. People have been recording history through many forms of media; music being one of them. Country music artist Johnny Cash is one of those people that has attempted to do just that with his song Paul. In this song, Johnny tells a story about a person in history and the important role he played at the start of the American Revolution. In his lyrics, Johnny correctly describes key points about the events leading up to what we know today concerning Paul Revere.

A study of US History describes how the colonists were getting tired of King George and his taxes (Kennedy, pg. 90).

The king knew something had to be done before the situation deteriorated any further, hence the lyrics telling his generals “better get ‘em back in line” now, as they might be too strong later (Cash). Johnny goes on to narrate the use of signal light in the Northern Church Tower as the indicator to Paul Revere that the Redcoats were coming (Cash).

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This follows along with the known history of this reference. There are also some discrepancies in the song that do not follow history. One of them is Johnny’s lyric “…when the tower showed a light…” which eludes to only one light. History states that there were two lights used to signal that the British were coming by sea (Paul Revere). Another incorrect reference to note is Johnny’s mention of turning the redcoats around at Concord and Lexington.

The British Army was only slowed down at Lexington by the Minutemen and not turned around (Nash). In the very last set of lyrics to close out the song, Johnny Cash demonstrates his biased opinion of Paul Revere being the only reason that America is standing today. Many acts of heroism contributed to the colonists winning the war against Britain. Paul Revere’s role was just one of them.

In 1972, Johnny Cash released his album America: A 200-Year Salute in Story and Song to tell the history of America through song and narration (Elerwine). Noted in an article by Wikipedia, one author observes that, “[I]t comprises several tracks dedicated to…American history.” Johnny Cash’s song Paul Revere attempts to describe an important figure in American history through lyrical narration. Paul Revere will always be a very important figure in American history. His role in giving the colonists time to move their munitions and key personnel out of harm’s way could very well have been one of the most important occurrences of the war. Without his contribution, the American Revolution might have ended that night; changing the face of the country as it looks today. Johnny closes out the song with a reference to that very thought.