The Tom Petty song inspired by one remark from Johnny Cash
As a wise man named Johnny Cash once said, “Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks”. It’s certainly a perceptive mantra to live by, knowing that in the heaviest moments of life, shining days still await you. The man was far more than just a voice and a guitar.
Indeed, Cash’s lyrics, largely centring on a darker and more downtrodden view of the world, may not have instantly seemed like a Mecca to flock towards in terms of the songwriting holy grail. What’s life if you can’t include the light along with the shade? But the poeticism he managed to create within this is where the true beauty lay – and for Tom Petty, the words alone were enough to spin him into a whole different artistic league of his own.
To emphasise the point even further, the quote “Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks” isn’t even a proper Cash lyric – it was just an off-the-cuff comment he made to Petty in passing one day. Yet the mark of the man was that his ordinary, everyday conversation could be turned into something totally transcendental. Ultimately, as the receiver of these precious words, it was almost Petty’s God-given duty to fulfil the task set upon him and make them known to the world.
Taking the lyric to the rest of the Heartbreakers to finish the job, they turned it into the song ‘Walls (Circus)’, which went on to become the lead single from Petty’s soundtrack of the rom-com movie She’s The One. Sure, a classic Cash gem may not be the standard thing you would find in the midst of a mid-1990s romp starring Edward Burns and Jennifer Aniston – but it proves that inspiration can be found in even the unlikeliest of places.
Using Cash’s words to open the song, it’s fair to say that Petty and the Heartbreakers made quite the spectacle of the whole thing. It’s slightly more questionable, then, and arguably somewhat taints the story that the Man in Black never gained any credit from the band over his inspiration to the track, and evidence that it ever was the case has been left solely to anecdotal word of mouth only. But in a way, this was also perfectly summative to the type of star that Cash was – he didn’t always have to be named to still have his presence felt.
With the song reaching number 69 and the album as a whole, Songs and Music from She’s The One, reaching number 15 in the charts, it’s clear that Cash’s lyrics did reach the world in a lot of ways, albeit not with the tag of his name attached. But the simple poetry of the song proved one thing: you don’t need massive frills or contrived metaphors to create something that connects. Just plain words on a page will suffice, and that’s certainly something that Cash would have agreed with.
Since She’s The One came about as Cash headed into the twilight years of his life, there is a lot to be said for how he covertly managed to pass on his knowledge, wisdom, and gems to the next generation. Petty happened to be the lucky custodian in that case, who has obviously since passed down his own legacy to the next set of legendary rockers as well.
Of course, the inspirations of himself and Cash lie everywhere, but their words have the utmost power when you hear them from the horse’s mouth.
