Though Johnny Cash is credited with the popularity of “Ring of Fire,” his wife actually wrote the hit song with some help from his friend Merle Kilgore. June Carter Cash wrote the lyrics about her relationship with Johnny Cash prior to their marriage, using a ring of fire metaphor to describe what it was like to be around him. She was worried about his addiction to drugs. Later, Johnny Cash credited June with saving his life by helping him get off drugs. After having kids, the Cash’s daughter, Rosanne, described this song by saying, “the song is about the transformative power of love and that’s what it has always meant to me and that’s what it will always mean to the Cash children.”
June wrote the song and Johnny made it popular. Though the song is known as Johnny Cash leading vocals, listen to June Carter Cash perform “Ring of Fire” live:
Ring of Fire Lyrics:
And it makes a firery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell in to a ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire [x2]
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire [x2]
When hearts like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire went wild
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire [x2]
The ring of fire [x5]
The ring…
