“One” covered by Johnny Cash

One of the first songs Marc played for me was Johnny Cash’s cover of “One” (3:53 minutes), the Irish rock band U2’s benefit single often used to promote human rights and social justice causes. 

Cash included the song on his American III: Solitary Man album, his first after various ailments curtailed his touring and permanently altered his voice. Cash’s biographer, Graeme Thomson, sees Solitary Man as “an act of emotional preservation” (2011, p. 218-19) as Cash came back from his illness with a version of Tom Petty‘s “I Won’t Back Down“, as well as this version of “One,” so raw compared to U2’s original.

Lyrics to "One" by U2

[Chorus]
Well, it’s too late tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We’re one, but we’re not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One

[Bridge]
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law