Nickajack Cave holds a special place in Johnny Cash lore. It's where he went, in 1967, with a plan to die. Instead, he had a spiritual awakening, walking out with faith in a higher power and a resolve to get clean. Fittingly, Nickajack Cave is where director John Hillocoat begins and ends his video for the "found" Johnny Cash track "She Used To Love Me A Lot," off Out Among the Stars, a collection of previously unheard recordings by the music legend.
John Hillcoat, director: 'She Used to Love Me A Lot' contains all the hallmark brilliance of Cash. The honest simplicity and deep conviction of his delivery shines through. The lyrics seemed to speak to America as it is now, to the nation that loved him and to the great divide he fought so hard against. This divide has only grown exponentially since he died, so we wanted to show America under this stark light and as a homage to the very reason Cash always wore black: to the shameful increase of the disenfranchised and outsiders. At the same time, we wanted to reference the great man's own struggle and journey from the love of his life to the burnt out ruins of his infamous lake house home, personal photographs, the cave where he tried to take his life but then turned it all around, the place he last recorded in and his last photo before his passing." [source]
Filmmaker Saam Farahmand says this short film is "inspired by the music and the magic of Daughn Gibson," a Pennsylvania born-and-bred singer who sounds like a reconnection to old weird America. Gibson stars in the piece, which is centered around his 2012 track "A Young Girl's World," and is a dark coming of age story, with Gibson ready to move on (which is different from wanting to move out).
