Music Blog

Twofer Tuesday 4.30

The Sicilian Storyteller

While Johnny Cash’s cover of Trent Reznor’s “Hurt” gets all the press, this Neil Diamond tune is just as good. The 1966 Diamond version was about young adult heartbreak, while Cash’s rendition is about going through life and never getting over it. It remains not only one of Cash’s best cover songs, but one of his finest moments on the American Recordings albums.

“Solitary Man” was Neil Diamond’s debut single as a recording artist, having already had moderate success as a songwriter for other artists. By July, the track had become a minor hit, rising to No. 55 on the US pop singles chart. It would then be included on Diamond’s first album, The Feel of Neil Diamond, which he released in August 1966.

The song is a ballad of a loner looking for love; the theme of the song has been closely identified with Diamond himself. In the lyrics, the singer lists some of his relationships and how they each ended. He laments “I know it’s been done, having one girl who loves you.” But he doubts it will happen for him. Indeed, Diamond himself would tell interviewers, “After four years of Freudian analysis, I realized I had written ‘Solitary Man’ about myself.“

Johnny Cash used “Solitary Man” for the title track of his third album under the American Recordings label, American III: Solitary Man, in 2000, featuring guest backing vocals by Tom Petty. The recording received a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

From 1966, this is the amazing Neil Diamond with “Solitary Man”.

And this is what it sounded like when Johnny Cash released it 34 years later.

That’s today’s Twofer Tuesday! Thanks for stopping by.

See you on the flip side. 😎

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28 thoughts on “Twofer Tuesday 4.30”

  4. I’ve always loved the Neil Diamond version of his song, but Johnny Cash brought something new to it. That world-weary feeling, looking back on his life, gives it a new dimension. For me they are equally good, just in different ways.

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    1. Absolutely, Clive! That’s what good cover songs are supposed to do …. bring something new to the song. Few others had the ability to deliver that world-weary feeling, as you accurately called it, better than Johnny Cash. Great comment!

      Thanks, Clive

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  5. I love the smooth feel of Neil’s version, what I used to wail out singing to when doing kitchen chores, as a kid.

    But Cash’s rougher, guitar-featuring sound isappealing, too. And pairing him with Petty as background. Kinda brilliant!

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  6. I love Neil. And this is his song all the way. It’s so funny. My mother is a country and western fan and “subjected” us to it when she listened. She never could stand Johnny Cash. I dunno. I kinda like him, just not for this song 😉

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    1. As I mentioned to Liz, this song belongs to Neil Diamond, no matter who covers it.

      I was never a Johnny Cash fan; as I child I thought he was mean-looking! He was a favorite of my father-in-law’s and I remember being surprised when I heard that.

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  10. Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man” was my song. As I reached 30, most of my friends, both male and female, were already married and I had resigned myself to being a solitary man. Then, in August of my 30th year I met the girl who would ultimately become my wife.

    FWIW, give me Neil Diamond’s original over Johnny Cash’s cover any time.

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