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My Gen X Playlist: Ring of Fire – Social Distortion

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Daily writing prompt
Have you ever been camping?
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As I got older, I came to the realization that I was no longer in shape to continue playing basketball. A few other friends found themselves in the same boat and we looked for other means of exercise. We landed on hiking, camping and backpacking.

Our first camping trip was an eye opener. A bunch of city guys in the mountains. If setting up our tents was any indication of how the rest of the trip would go, we were in trouble. My buddy dug out his father’s old camping stove from the garage. I was a little concerned to learn that it wasn’t a gas stove. It used gasoline. Interesting.

We split up the duties. My job was to get a camp fire going. I never was a Boy Scout when I was younger, but how hard could it really be? Strike a match and poof, you’ve got fire. After twenty minutes, there wasn’t any poof, the sun was setting and it was getting cold. I was beginning to get worried.

My friend came up with a genius plan.

Hey, why don’t you pour some gasoline on the wood. That should do the trick.

Perfect. Thank God we had gas on hand because of that ancient stove. I poured a little here and a little there. Then I struck the match.

What they don’t teach you in business school is the fact that the gasoline fumes are flammable. Some would argue that’s common sense. But when you are clueless in the woods, the sun is quickly setting and it’s getting cold, sometimes common sense is repressed. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it). A huge burst immediately blew when I struck that match. I flew backwards due to shock and surprise. I checked both eyebrows to make sure they were still there. There was silence for a moment as we all looked at each other. Then somebody said the obvious.

Maybe we shouldn’t do that next time.

And then we laughed. Our first lesson in camping. Don’t light gasoline.

We’ve come a long way since then. We’ve accumulated a lot more lessons learned along the way. We’ve got camping down for the most part, meaning we won’t die out there. I’m still the fire guy, but I’ve gotten much better. My maiden voyage with fire is now only a fun story to laugh about.

Social Distortion released a cover version of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire in 1990. I was surprised to learn Cash wasn’t the original singer.

The song was originally recorded by … Anita Carter, on her Mercury Records album Folk Songs Old and New (1963) as “(Love’s) Ring of Fire”. Mercury released Anita’s version as a single and it was a featured “pick hit” in Billboard magazine. After hearing Anita’s version, Cash claimed he had a dream where he heard the song accompanied by “Mexican horns”. The mariachi horn sound had recently been popularized on American radio with 1962 hit song “The Lonely Bull” by Herb Alpert. Cash said, “I’ll give you about five or six more months, and if you don’t hit with it, I’m gonna record it the way I feel it.”

When the song failed to become a major hit for Anita, Cash recorded it his own way, adding the mariachi-style horns from his dream. 

– Wikipedia

I listened to both Carter’s original and Cash’s version. Both are not bad. I think I can do without the mariachi horns, though. I much prefer the guitar on the Social D version or even the synthesizers on the Wall of Voodoo version. But then I read the accolades. What do I know. It must be a generation thing.

It was named the fourth greatest country song of all time by Country Music Television, while Rolling Stone called it the number one greatest country song of all time and listed it as the 87th greatest song of all time.

– Wikipedia

When I read the history of the song, I had this sense that Cash bullied his way on to this song. Not cool. I could be wrong, but that’s the feeling that came through. I’m just glad after my first tangle with camp fire duties my buddies didn’t pull a Cash and yank that away from me. Pulling a Cash is not cool.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Love is a burning thing
And it makes a fiery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

The taste of love is sweet
When hearts like ours meet
I fell for you like a child
Oh, but the fire went wild

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire
The ring of fire, the ring of fire...

37 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: Ring of Fire – Social Distortion”

  2. Good camping story. A cub scout leader of mine used Sterno to help build a fire. I’ve since learned better ways.

    I’ve never heard this version of Ring of Fire. I like it. Kind of used to the Johnny Cash version though. I had no idea he didn’t write the song.

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  4. May I recommend a book called: Escape from Khasden, written by an 18 yr old in 1979 (published posthumously by family) It’s a story that starts like your group but goes up to another planet. Amazon Kindle e-Books

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  5. Are you sure you didn’t burn that damn forest?😂🤣
    I like Carter’s version of the song. I think Cash tried to make it sound more fun and joyful, but maybe he needed to replay one of Shakira’s songs.

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  6. It’s great that you guys still get out there and camp, despite early mishaps! There’s just something about the sound of Cash’s low, low, low voice in his version that’s unbeatable.

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  7. “Don’t light the gasoline”

    Words to live by.

    I feel like “lighting the gasoline” should be added to our lexicon like: “man, blockbuster video really lit the gasoline when they decided not to buy Netflix “

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  14. When I was in high school we did a thing called outdoor school where we went to Twin Rocks Oregon and acted as counselors for middle schoolers. Mr. Mulligan told a great campfire story about how mosquitos came to be. The highlight was flash powder on the fire. Years later, some college friends and I chartered a 33 foot Hunter and a captain to sail from Miami to Bimini. On mostly uninhabited South Cat Cay I told the same story with a styrofoam cup and a couple ounces of gasoline for the flash and almost burned us all up. That vapor explosion is a real thing. I’ll never try that again.

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  15. It would not surprise me if Cash did not bully the song away. It is a common theme. Didn’t Clapton and Gordon bully the ending of Layla off of Rita Coolidge? Giving her no credit? And what about Walter Keane taking credit for the Big Eyes paintings. Is there a natural bully in all of us males?

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      1. I find myself proud of my wife’s accomplishments. In a little way, her advancement is my own little achievement too, but never in a way that would steal her credit and accolades

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I’ve wondered that. I imagined such a gallery might be a shade creepy. Like being surrounded by starving waifs in a refugee camp. ‘Here, take my sack lunch, and all my cash’!

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