It’s wonderful that in 2024 we’re still talking about ‘new’ music from Johnny Cash. ‘Hello Out There’ is a gloriously cosmic hymn that steadily builds, rising to the heavens thanks to backing vocals from Ana Cristina Cash and Harry Stinson, sweeping strings and Marty Stuart’s compelling guitar. Although written many years ago, Cash’s words, as he sings out from the Great Beyond, remain sadly relevant: “This is planet Earth calling // Our net worth is falling.” It’s as if he really is looking down. Johnny’s son and co-producer, John Carter Cash describes the song as a, “…cleverly disguised gospel song.” He reminisces: “I believe dad wrote it about the Voyager spaceship sometime around when it launched. I remember him sitting in Cowboy Jack Clement’s office in the early ‘80s and singing it for him.”
The Matt Paskert-directed video stars Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s youngest granddaughter. Six-year-old Grace June Cash, the daughter of John Carter and his wife Ana Cristina Cash, goes on an adventure and happens upon Cash Cabin. It was there that some of Johnny’s final songs were written and recorded and where this song was produced. Once inside, Grace is transported across the generations by the wealth of family treasures within. Paskert describes what working on the video meant for him: “Directing the video for Hello Out There’ and the visuals for Johnny Cash’s Songwriter album was an unexpected and profound honor. What truly set this project apart for me was our commitment to honouring the Cash legacy. We had the privilege of filming entirely on the Cash family’s property, starring Grace June Cash, who is a spitting image of her grandmother. The visuals are full of authenticity, showcasing many genuine Johnny Cash artefacts…from his personal Bible to original handwritten lyric sheets, and much much more. A heartfelt thank you to John Carter Cash, Ana Cristina Cash, Grace Cash and the entire Cash estate team for not only their trust, but also their involvement and support in bringing the Cash Songwriter legacy to life on screen. The opportunity to collaborate with such a talented team at UMe, Mercury Nashville, Sandbox Succession, and Taillight made the entire creative process seamless.”
While rooted in the past and memories of grandparents she never knew, there is a connection across multiple generations highlighted towards the end of the video. John Carter explains: “It’s a black and white video but right at the end of it you see you my daughter’s beautiful blue eyes that are just the same as my mother’s. I can’t help but cry every time I watch it.”
‘Hello Out There’ features on ‘Songwriter’, the new Johnny Cash album co-produced by John Carter Cash and David ‘Fergie’ Ferguson. The album features Johnny’s voice and guitar from a set of demos recorded in 1993. The rest of the instrumentation sounded dated, so in an inspired project, a host of talented musicians were brought in to record new layers and textures, bring the songs up-to-date and breathing new life into them. It’s gorgeous stuff.
