They Weren’t Singing the Blues

After watching a film called Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, a man by the name of Johnny Cash became interested in Folsom Prison and prison life. You see, Folsom State Prison, in California, was the kind of place that people didn't come back to because if its conditions.  In fact, it is said that no other prison during the 1960's could boast the record that Folsom had. Of the inmates incarcerated there, most all of them were working toward learning some kind of trade. The cost of housing them barely registered on the state's budget. When men were freed from Folsom, most of them never returned to prison.

With that in mind, and a song written and performed by Gordon Jenkins called "Crescent City Blues" serving as inspiration, Cash put pen to paper and wrote the infamous song called "Folsom Prison Blues". It was released as his second single by Sun Records in 1955. In it he describes a man who had been warned from his youth not to "play with guns", but had "shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die". Now, every time he hears the train roll by the prison walls, he just hangs his head and cries.

In an even more interesting turn of events, Cash had the opportunity to perform the song live in 1968 - to prisoners in Folsom prison. On the famous live album from Folsom, the crowd of prisoners is heard to yell and cheer when Cash sings that terrible line about the man in Reno. The truth? The yelling and cheering were added to the track in post production! While it is supposed that the listeners to this concert felt these words hit home, the truth is far from that notion of drama.

On the other hand, we do read about a couple other men in the Bible singing in prison. In Acts 16:25, Luke records these simple words: 

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25 NKJV)

We are not told exactly what Paul and Silas were singing. The original language suggests that they were actually singing their prayers to God (Jackson)! But something else major to note in this verse is that the prisoners were listening. Whatever it was that Paul and Silas were saying was being paid attention by those prisoners. 

 
 

In the next verse we read that there was a great earthquake (vs. 26). In this obviously divinely enacted earthquake, the roof and the walls didn't fall down, but the prisoner's chains were loosed, and all the doors in the prison were opened. As the jailer awoke, you probably remember that he supposed that since the doors were open, all had escaped (vs. 27). He was just about to take his own life (a noble thing to do in Roman eyes, since he would ultimately be held responsible for their escape) when Paul called out to him.

 

But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." (Acts 16:28 NKJV)

Now, why do you suppose that these men stayed behind? Why did all of the other prisoners not escape? They had ample opportunity! The reaction of the jailer suggests that events had transpired to the effect that he thought they should have been gone. Instead, Paul makes it quite clear that they were all still there.

 
 

We are not told exactly why in the text, but I wonder if maybe it wasn't the singing. Maybe the things that Paul and Silas sang had been so impressed on the minds of the listeners that they decided to stay! This is perfectly in line with what we are told the purpose of singing is to be:

 
 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16 NKJV)

 
 

Now again, we are not told exactly what Paul and Silas had to say, or why the prisoners stayed. But if this were true it only goes to underline the importance of singing. Could it be that they had persuaded these criminals through the things they sang? I also can't help but notice the obvious lack of mechanical instrumentation in this account. They didn't need it to make their singing "better" or to have more impact! Their praise and prayers to God were sufficient in the circumstances to make an impression. 

Even though Johnny Cash had the help of Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers, and a full band behind him, he couldn't make the same impact on Folsom's inmates that two honest and humble hearts singing praises to God had on those prisoners in Philippi. Had the guards been asleep and an earthquake caused the doors to Folsom prison to open, how many do you think would have stayed due to Johnny Cash's performance? I can't help but wonder if those prisoners stayed in that Philippian jail because Paul and Silas weren't singing the blues!