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{{For|the episode of ''Justified''|Dark As a Dungeon (Justified){{!}}Dark As a Dungeon (''Justified'')}}
{{RefimproveMore citations needed|date=January 2011}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Dark as a Dungeon
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| studio =
| venue =
| genre = [[Country music|Country]], [[Folk music|folk]]
| length =
| label =
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}}
 
"'''Dark as a Dungeon'''" is a song written by singer-songwriter [[Merle Travis]]. It is a lament about the danger and drudgery of being a coal miner in an Appalachiana [[shaft mine]]. It has become a rallying song among miners seeking improved working conditions.
 
The song achieved much of its fame when it was performed by [[Johnny Cash]] in his [[Folsom Prison]] concert (''[[At Folsom Prison]]''). During this live performance, one of the prisoners in the background was laughing, and Cash started to chuckle. He gently admonished the man, "No laughing during the song, please!" The man yelled something about "Hell!" and Cash answered, "I know, 'hell'!" When he finished the song, Cash made a comment that was largely repeated, somewhat out of context, by [[Joaquin Phoenix]] in the 2005 film ''[[Walk the Line]]'': "I just wanted to tell you that this show is being recorded for an album released on Columbia Records, so you can't say 'hell' or 'shit' or anything like that."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gross|first1=Jason|title=Prisoners Are the Best Audience: The Challenge of 'At Folsom Prison'|url=https://www.popmatters.com/65735-prisoners-are-the-best-audience-the-challenge-of-at-folsom-prison-2496102536.html|access-date=January 2, 2018|work=PopMatters|date=November 18, 2008|language=en}}</ref>
 
==Recorded versions==
{{example farm|section|date=September 2017}}
* [[Merle Travis]] on ''[[Folk Songs of the Hills]]'', 1946
* [[Maddox Brothers and Rose]], 1950
* [[Cisco Houston]], Early 1950s
* [[Tennessee Ernie Ford]], (1955)
* [[Harry Belafonte]] on "[[The Many Moods of Belafonte]]" (1962)
* [[Gordon Lightfoot]] and Terry Whelan on ''[[Two Tones at the Village Corner]]'', 1962
* [[Grandpa Jones]], 1963
*[[The Big 3 (folk group)|The Big 3]], 1963
* [[The_Wolfe_Tones|Wolfe Tones]] on "[[The_Foggy_Dew_(album)|Foggy Dew]]" -as "Down in the Mines" (1965)▼
* [[Johnny Cash]], studio version as the b-side of "[[Understand Your Man]]" single (1964)
▲* [[The_Wolfe_TonesThe Wolfe Tones|Wolfe Tones]] on "[[The_Foggy_Dew_The Foggy Dew (album)|Foggy Dew]]" -as "Down in the Mines" (1965)
* [[The Twiliters]] on "[[In Concert (The Twiliters)|In Concert]]" (1966)
* [[Johnny Cash]], live version on "[[At Folsom Prison]]" (1968)
* [[Merle Travis]] with [[The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band]] on ''[[Will the Circle Be Unbroken]]'' (1972)
* [[Peter Grudzien]] on The Garden Of Love
* [[Dolly Parton]] on ''[[9 to 5 and Odd Jobs]]'' (1980)
* [[The Weavers]] on ''Together Again'' (1980)
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* [[Frank Tovey]] on [[Tyranny and the Hired Hand]] (1989)
* [[Souled American]] on ''Sonny'' (1992)
* [[Ramblin' Jack Elliott]], duet with [[Guy Clark]], on ''[[Friends of Mine (Ramblin' Jack Elliott album)|Friends of Mine]]'' (1998)
* [[The Chieftains]] with [[Vince Gill]] on ''[[Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions]]'' (2002)
* Marley's Ghost on Ghost Country (1996)
* [[Queens of the Stone Age]], 2005 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDVRQ4BQcb0 |title=Queens of the Stone Age - Dark as a Dungeon (Johnny Cash cover / Portland, 2005) |publisher=youtube.com |access-date= |accessdate=2011-02-26}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}</ref>
* [[Mark Linkous]] (recording as [[Sparklehorse]]) ''MOJO Magazine Tribute CD to Johnny Cash'' (2006)
* [[Charlie Louvin]] on ''Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs'' (2008)
* [[Kathy Mattea]] on ''[[Coal (Kathy Mattea album)|Coal]]'' (2008)
* [[Willie Nelson]] on ''Country Music'' (2010)
* [[Amy Grant]] on the Lee C. Camp & Friends specialty album, ''Tokens 9: "Back to Green"'' (2010) <ref>{{cite web|url=httphttps://www.amazon.com/Dark-As-Dungeon-Amy-Grant/dp/B003YYV0PI |title=Dark As a Dungeon - Amy Grant: Lee C. Camp and Friends: MP3 Downloads |publisherwebsite=Amazon.com |access-date= |accessdate=2011-01-01}}</ref>
* [[Maddox Brothers and Rose]] 1950
* [[John Darnielle]] of [[The Mountain Goats]] on The Front Porch Sessions (The Front Porch Festival, 2012)
* [[Slobberbone]] recorded a version of Dark as a dungeon in 1998 on the Your excuse EP
* The Journeymen on Coming Attraction - Live (1962)
* [[Brock Zeman]] on "songs from the mud" (2004)
* [[The rebel]]Rebel Kroton -Krot (2014)
* Fret! on the "Killing Nico EP" (2016)
* [[John Cowan]] (2000) Self -titled CD for [[Sugar Hill Records (bluegrass label)|Sugar Hill Records]]
* [[John Mellencamp]] (2017)<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-john-mellencamps-reverent-dark-as-a-dungeon-for-coal-mining-doc-w490262|title=Hear John Mellencamp's Reverent 'Dark as a Dungeon' for Coal Mining Doc|last=Reed|first=Ryan|date=June 28, 2017|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=June 29, 2017}}</ref>
* Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio (2017) on ''Singin'''
*[[Bob Dylan]] on the archival release [[The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings]]
*[[Joni Mitchell]] on the archival release ''[[Joni Mitchell Archives – Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963–1967)]]'' (2020)
*Being a well-documented song publicised by [[EFDSS]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vwml.org/roudnumber/6392|title=Dark as a Dungeon|access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref> and Mainly Norfolk,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mainlynorfolk.info/sandy.denny/songs/darkasadungeon.html|title=Dark as a Dungeon|access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref> the song was recorded by [[Jon Boden]] and [[Oli Steadman]] for inclusion in their respective projects ''[[A Folk Song A Day]]'' and ''365 Days Of Folk''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://medium.com/@365daysoffolk|title=365 Days Of Folk: Song List|access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref>
 
 
==Published versions==
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==References==
{{reflistReflist}}
 
{{Johnny Cash|song}}
{{Tennessee Ernie Ford}}
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark As A Dungeon}}
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[[Category:Merle Travis songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Merle Travis]]
[[Category:1946 songs]]
 
 

Latest revision as of 15:14, 1 February 2024

For the episode of Justified, see Dark As a Dungeon (Justified).
"Dark as a Dungeon"
Song by Merle Travis
Released1946 (1946)
GenreCountry, folk
Songwriter(s)Merle Travis

"Dark as a Dungeon" is a song written by singer-songwriter Merle Travis. It is a lament about the danger and drudgery of being a coal miner in a shaft mine. It has become a rallying song among miners seeking improved working conditions.

The song achieved much of its fame when it was performed by Johnny Cash in his Folsom Prison concert (At Folsom Prison). During this live performance, one of the prisoners in the background was laughing, and Cash started to chuckle. He gently admonished the man, "No laughing during the song, please!" The man yelled something about "Hell!" and Cash answered, "I know, 'hell'!" When he finished the song, Cash made a comment that was largely repeated, somewhat out of context, by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2005 film Walk the Line: "I just wanted to tell you that this show is being recorded for an album released on Columbia Records, so you can't say 'hell' or 'shit' or anything like that."[1]

Recorded versions[edit]


Published versions[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gross, Jason (November 18, 2008). "Prisoners Are the Best Audience: The Challenge of 'At Folsom Prison'". PopMatters. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "Queens of the Stone Age - Dark as a Dungeon (Johnny Cash cover / Portland, 2005)". youtube.com. Retrieved 2011-02-26.[dead YouTube link]
  3. ^ "Dark As a Dungeon - Amy Grant: Lee C. Camp and Friends: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. ^ Reed, Ryan (June 28, 2017). "Hear John Mellencamp's Reverent 'Dark as a Dungeon' for Coal Mining Doc". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  5. ^ "Dark as a Dungeon". Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Dark as a Dungeon". Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  7. ^ "365 Days Of Folk: Song List". Retrieved 24 January 2024.


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