Give My Love to Rose

The story behind Give My Love to Rose dates back to a conversation Johnny Cash had with someone who was behind bars at San Quentin prison. This inmate asked Cash to deliver a message to his family. The song narrates the experience of a man leaving prison and traveling from San Francisco to Louisiana to reunite with his people. However, being gravely ill, he collapses near a railroad track. In his final moments, he asks the song's narrator to carry a message to his wife and son. This track, with a duration of 2:24, was originally recorded in 1957 at Sun Records, with Sam Phillips as producer. It was released as the B-side of the single Home of the Blues.

Throughout his career, Johnny Cash re-recorded Give My Love to Rose on several occasions. One of these new versions, made in 2002, earned him his fourth and final Grammy award in the category of Best Male Country Vocal Performance. The band accompanying Cash on the original 1957 recording included Luther Perkins on lead guitar and Marshall Grant on bass, while Cash himself handled rhythm guitar. This recording marked the last time Sam Phillips produced a work for Cash, being succeeded by Jack Clement. The song also appears on albums such as Johnny Cash Sings Hank Williams (1960) and All Aboard the Blue Train with Johnny Cash (1962). In 1999, Bruce Springsteen performed a solo acoustic version for a television program honoring Johnny Cash, and considered it one of his favorite songs by the artist.