The movie Ring of Fire tells us about the life of June Carter Cash. It briefly enlightens us of her hardships, her career in country music, and the struggles she had with her marriages. Aside from the story of the movie of June, another thing that also caught people’s attention were the songs played. Since the movie is quite short, only a few songs from the Carter Family, June, and Johnny were heard in the movie. Of course, the iconic song of Johnny was played constantly in the movie. Let’s take a look at how the song was created.
“Ring of Fire:” June Carter Cash’s Love for Johnny Cash
In the ’60s, June was struggling to fight her feelings for Johnny, as a result, she ended up writing the song “Ring of Fire.” The song she created was based on her passionate feeling towards Johnny. Since both were married at that time, it was difficult for June to confess her love or feelings. Therefore, she put all of which on a song that changed the course of her life.
Even though the song was written to express the way she felt, her sister Anita Carter was the one who first recorded it. When it didn’t become commercially successful, Johnny grabbed the opportunity to record it; and it’s truly meant for him because his cover reached number one on the Country Billboard chart.
The Song in the Movie
In the movie, the song “Ring of Fire” first appeared when June was strumming her guitar and thinking of how she felt of Johnny. Since she was married at that time, it was hard for her. We get to see Jewel, the actress, and singer who played June in the movie, sing “Ring of Fire.” It was beautiful, Jewel is certainly a great singer! The song appeared a couple of times in the movie: when Johnny, played by Matt Ross, was performing and the scene where Johnny was on rehab and June was struggling.
The most emotional part of the movie and of the song was that scene when June opened up about how she felt about Johnny’s drug addiction. The pain she went through was so heartbreaking, and people who’ve experienced it knows exactly how June felt. On that scene, a slow version of “Ring of Fire” was played on the background, and the emotions were felt best than the uptempo version of it.
Here’s Jewel’s version of the song:
Check June singing the song she created because of Johnny.
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