"Ring of Fire" Quotes

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Source: "Ring of Fire"

Speaker: Johnny Cash

"I fell into a burning ring of fire."

I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher.

Context

This line is from the song "Ring of Fire," written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore and performed and recorded as a single by Johnny Cash (1963).

You'll find this in… the chorus of "Ring of Fire," one of Cash's most famous songs. But guess what? He didn't write it. His wife June Carter and their friend Merle Kilgore did. When June's sister Anita released it, the song kind of flopped, so Cash was like, "Let me play this, and let's add mariachi horns." Ta-da—it was a massive hit. Of course, the song is about love, and especially about how hard it was to love Cash, who was a bit insane thanks to drug and alcohol problems. Warm your heartstrings with this clip.

Where you've heard it

If you've seen the movie Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix, you probably know this song. It's been covered by a bunch of people: Blondie, Frank Zappa, Alan Jackson, Odonis Odonis, Dwight Yoakum, Social Distortion, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Adam Lambert (yes, of American Idol fame), etc., etc. There's also the possibility that someone's thrown this one out there when facing a really spicy dish at the dinner table.

Additional Notable References:

Geography

Music

TV

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Unless you are eating really spicy food, are visiting a volcanic zone, or are having issues with love and hard drugs, best leave this one to Cash.