Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times." - Meaning and context.">

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

— Johnny Cash

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times." in the context of ""Man in Black'' · First public performance (17 February 1971)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Johnny Cash" (Song lyrics: All songs written by Johnny Cash, except as noted, Man in Black (1971)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Johnny Cash

About Johnny Cash

John R. Cash (26 February 1932 – 12 September 2003), born J. R. Cash and most famous as Johnny Cash, was a vastly influential American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter.