John Carter Cash discussed Chris Cornell’s “You Never Knew My Mind” song he wrote based on lyrics Johnny Cash left behind in a new Legacy of Music interview (the quote is translated from Dutch so some words may be off). John Carter revealed that Cornell’s past divorce to his first wife Susan Silver and depression made him the only musician who could bring the song to life due to his similarities to his father Johnny.
“The words are from the sixties. My father wrote them when he had already fallen in love with June Carter, my mother. However, he was still married to his previous wife. He looked back at that relationship with those words. It is a gloomy, desperate text of someone who is torn by feelings of love, desire and loyalty.
We knew that Chris was the only one who could do this justice. He also had a divorce behind him, with all the turbulence that entails. There was more, however. My father had a dark, sombre side. Depression was not strange to him. I inherited that from him. There have been times in my life that they would have become fatal if I had gone the wrong way. Fortunately, I have always chosen the right side. Both my father and I also saw that in Chris.
That also created a bond. It is so intensely sad that he has not saved it. Every time I think of him or talk about him, I get overwhelmed with emotions again. ”
