‘Look Again to the Wind’

When I was about eight years old, my dad — knowing my passion for all things “frontier” — brought home a borrowed copy of Johnny Cash’s record “Bitter Tears,” a collection of ballads from the point of view of the American Indian. The album was recorded in 1964, and at that time it was a bold move for Cash, representative of his renowned sense of identification with the underdog. I listened to it incessantly, especially “Apache Tears,” and I was bereft when Dad had to return it.

Indian Country Today reports that now “a host of notable country and Americana artists have come together to re-record the work, which includes ‘The Ballad of Ira Hayes,’ a track that went to No. 3 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The album, Look Again to the Wind: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited, features such well-known artists as Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Bill Miller, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and Norman and Nancy Blake. The Milk Carton Kids and Rhiannon Giddens are also featured, lending a considerably younger flair to the proceedings.”

Here’s a track list.

(Lane, note that Steve Earle is doing “Custer.” Could be an ice cream day anthem. “The General, he don’t ride well anymore…”)

1. “As Long as the Grass Shall Grow” – feat. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
   2. “Apache Tears” – feat. Emmylou Harris w/The Milk Carton Kids
   3. “Custer” – feat. Steve Earle w/The Milk Carton Kids
   4. “The Talking Leaves” – feat. Nancy Blake w/ Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings
   5. “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” – feat. Kris Kristofferson w/ Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
   6. “Drums” – feat. Norman Blake w/ Nancy Blake, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
   7. “Apache Tears (Reprise)” – feat. Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings
   8. “White Girl” – feat. The Milk Carton Kids
   9. “The Vanishing Race” – feat. Rhiannon Giddens
   10. “As Long as the Grass Shall Grow (Reprise)” – feat. Nancy Blake, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings
   11. “Look Again to The Wind” – feat. Bill Miller

That’s a hell of a lineup and a hell of a piece of work to present to a new generation. Hats off. August 19. Can’t wait.