From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Around 1958, Johnny Cash was already a top singer enjoying nationwide fame, but in the bizarre world of the celebrity scene, he lost himself—

He was arrested and spent time in prison.

It was precisely because of this that he first noticed the wider world outside the spotlight of fame, a group of forgotten criminals in the dark and decaying corners.

In Johnny's faith, he insisted that everyone is born into this world as a sinner, and life is a process of constantly redeeming oneself and correcting mistakes. Everyone should have the opportunity to be forgiven, pardoned, and reformed. Making mistakes is not terrible; what truly matters is the courage to face mistakes and the perseverance to learn from them and start over.

Humans are not perfect; everyone makes mistakes, and mistakes themselves are not scary.

After being released from prison, Johnny truly began to pay attention to the people living in prisons, those who were forgotten, abandoned, and erased.

"I Got Stripes" was a song born under such a background. Johnny used "Stripes" to describe the zebra stripes of prison uniforms, using a cheerful and playful blues rhythm to showcase the bitterness and sadness hidden in the lyrics—

One mistake, just one mistake, could become the entirety defining their lives.

Before him, in Las Vegas, the city of sin, Johnny performed this song.

In a manic and unrestrained posture, the stage floor seemed exceptionally hot, and tap-dancing steps swayed happily in the brisk rhythm.

"On Monday, I was arrested."

"On Tuesday, I was locked in jail."

Light and joyful, yet one could feel a hint of mockery and sarcasm in Johnny's deep, husky voice, a subtle tremor in the aftertaste behind the understated performance, but no one knew what had happened.

"On Wednesday, my trial began."

"On Thursday, they found me guilty, the judge's gavel fell."

Increasingly cheerful, increasingly rapid, pouring down like a torrential rain, at this time, one could notice that Johnny's cheeks were slightly flushed, and in the torrential rain, his breathing rhythm was slightly out of sync.

A modulation, seamlessly connected, with no room to breathe, the tremor in his voice became more and more obvious, and the sweat on Johnny's forehead exposed his weakness.

However, miraculously, Johnny didn't stop, not only didn't stop, but even disregarding the conventional principles of breathing, he directly sang down in one breath.

Like a pufferfish that could explode at any moment.

But Johnny refused to compromise, refused to bow his head, finishing the entire song in one breath, then briefly took a breath, but without pausing, turned to look at his diagonal rear.

June Carter: ? ? ?

Obviously, June Carter did not expect this scene. Halfway through the performance, Johnny suddenly went crazy again, inexplicably looking at her?

In full view of the public, all the audience and band members followed Johnny's gaze. Everyone knew that Johnny was staring at June Carter.

Even June Carter, with her rich stage experience, was startled by Johnny's unexpected action at this time, and a slight embarrassment was naturally revealed on her face.

But Johnny didn't care—

Staring unblinkingly, fixedly at June Carter, the light penetrated his slender and thick eyelashes, and the shadows fell like a waterfall, covering the emotions in his eyes, making it difficult to see clearly, but the impassioned and panting singing could feel the tension of emotions.

On the verge of exploding!

Precarious!

The singing did not stop. The posture and scene were as if Johnny was singing loudly to June Carter, pouring out his heart, but this time it was not a love song.

"I wear stripes, zebra stripes around my shoulders."

"I wear shackles, iron shackles around my feet, they drag me down continuously."

It was accusation, it was anger, it was shouting.

Originally, this should have been Johnny's shout to the prison, this should have been the prisoners' protest against the prison.

But now, it has evolved into Johnny's accusation against June Carter, heartbroken, furiously, venting all his emotions without reservation.

Seeing each other again after several years, June Carter entered her second marriage, while Johnny was still trapped in his own marriage.

Johnny heard that June Carter's second marriage, although stable, was not happy. After experiencing a divorce, June Carter was so overwhelmed by public opinion that she couldn't breathe. Even if problems arose in her second marriage, she didn't dare to divorce, fearing that she would experience another pain, fearing that the children would experience another pain.

Worse, June Carter's career also encountered a bottleneck.

It was in such a predicament that Johnny invited June Carter to tour together, at least he could help her career get off the ground.

June Carter agreed.

During the tour, Johnny kept showing his affection for June Carter, while June Carter always kept her distance.

However, all of this fell into Vivian's eyes. Vivian didn't believe in June Carter's self-respect, but blamed all the faults on June Carter. She believed that June Carter was seducing Johnny, June Carter was destroying her family, and she locked onto June Carter's every move with vicious and cursed eyes.

Such hostility was aggressive and destructive, almost completely destroying June Carter's defense.

But June Carter has always been a bold and courageous woman, even in the different atmosphere of the 1950s, she was a unique pioneer:

Rather than bear accusations and insults for things she had never done, it was better to actually do them and let the other party continue to scold her with peace of mind.

So, June Carter finally compromised, finally broke through the last barrier with Johnny, and the persistence of these years finally crossed that line.

After a brief period of happiness and joy, a phone call pulled June Carter back to reality—

A call from the children.

The child complained to her mother about her sister's disobedience and the trivial matters at home, which suddenly made June Carter realize that she was a mother and had a family.

Just like Vivian.

She didn't even dare to look Johnny in the eye, just Johnny's presence alone made her feel a burning sensation in her stomach.

But what was worse was that Johnny didn't understand.

Johnny completely couldn't understand June Carter's torment and entanglement. Johnny didn't even think of Vivian and the children. Johnny didn't even know that June Carter thought of Vivian's situation and difficulties.

These things, only a woman can understand another woman, or rather, a mother understands another mother.

June Carter regretted it, regretted her impulsiveness, regretted that she had easily destroyed the persistence of these years, regretted her stupidity and willfulness.

She hated herself.

Then, June Carter was once again rejected by Johnny.

But what about Johnny?

He didn't understand. Just as June Carter thought, he didn't understand anything.

Johnny completely couldn't understand June Carter's back and forth. One second they were having a wonderful and happy time, the next second, why did she suddenly turn against him?

Johnny was trapped and angry, rushing around but never finding an exit or an answer. He stared at June Carter aggressively, using music to evolve into shackles and accusations, and issued his voice towards June Carter.