Ring of Fire ( song ) - wikipedia Ring of Fire ( song ) `` Ring of Fire '' Single by Johnny Cash from the album Ring of Fire : The Best of Johnny Cash B - side `` I 'd Still Be There '' Released April 19, 1963 Format Vinyl Recorded March 25, 1963 Genre Country rock and roll Length 2 : 38 Label Columbia Songwriter ( s ) June Carter Merle Kilgore Producer ( s ) Don Law Johnny Cash singles chronology `` Busted '' ( 1962 ) `` Ring of Fire '' ( 1963 ) `` The Matador '' ( 1963 ) `` Busted '' ( 1962 ) `` Ring of Fire '' ( 1963, 1968 ) `` The Matador '' ( 1963 ) `` Ring of Fire '' Single by Eric Burdon & the Animals from the album Love Is B - side `` I 'm an Animal '' Released 1969 Format 7 '' single Genre Psychedelic rock hard rock Length 4 : 58 ( album version ) Label MGM Songwriter ( s ) June Carter Merle Kilgore Producer ( s ) Tom Wilson Eric Burdon & the Animals singles chronology `` White Houses '' ( 1968 ) `` Ring of Fire '' ( 1969 ) `` River Deep Mountain High '' ( 1969 ) `` White Houses '' ( 1968 ) `` Ring of Fire '' ( 1969 ) `` River Deep Mountain High '' ( 1969 ) `` Ring of Fire '' Single by Social Distortion from the album Social Distortion B - side `` Story of My Life '' Released Format 10 '' single Genre Punk rock Length 3 : 51 Label Epic Songwriter ( s ) June Carter Merle Kilgore Producer ( s ) Dave Jerden Social Distortion singles chronology `` Ball and Chain '' ( 1989 ) `` Ring of Fire '' ( 1989 ) `` Ball and Chain '' ( 1989 ) `` Ring of Fire '' ( 1989 ) `` Ring of Fire '' Single by DragonForce from the album Maximum Overload Released 18 August 2014 ( 2014 - 08 - 18 ) Recorded 2013 -- 14 Genre Speed metal power metal Length 3 : 15 Label earMUSIC Metal Blade 3Wise JVC Victor Songwriter ( s ) June Carter Merle Kilgore Producer ( s ) Jens Bogren `` Ring of Fire '', or `` The Ring of Fire '', is a song written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore and recorded by Johnny Cash. The single appears on Cash 's 1963 album, Ring of Fire : The Best of Johnny Cash. The song was originally recorded by June 's sister, Anita Carter, on her Mercury Records album Folk Songs Old and New ( 1963 ) as `` ( Love 's ) Ring of Fire ''. `` Ring of Fire '' was ranked No. 4 on CMT 's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music in 2003 and # 87 on Rolling Stone 's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was recorded on March 25, 1963, and became one of the biggest hits of Cash 's career, staying at number one on the country chart for seven weeks. It was certified Gold on January 21, 2010, by the RIAA and has also sold over 1.2 million digital downloads. Contents 1 Conception 2 Chart performance 2.1 Johnny Cash version 2.2 Eric Burdon and the Animals version 2.3 Alan Jackson version 3 Legacy 4 References 5 External links Conception `` Ring of Fire '' excerpt From the album Ring of Fire : The Best of Johnny Cash. This sample a portion of the chorus. Flourishes from the mariachi are also featured. Problems playing this file ? See media help. Although `` Ring of Fire '' sounds ominous, the term refers to falling in love -- which is what June Carter was experiencing with Johnny Cash at the time. Some sources claim that Carter had seen the phrase `` Love is like a burning ring of fire, '' underlined in one of her uncle A.P. Carter 's Elizabethan books of poetry. She worked with Kilgore on writing a song inspired by this phrase as she had seen her uncle do in the past. She had written : `` There is no way to be in that kind of hell, no way to extinguish a flame that burns, burns, burns ''. Cash 's first wife, Vivian Liberto, offers a different conception of `` Ring of Fire '' in her book I Walked the Line. She contends that June Carter Cash was not a co-writer of the song : `` To this day, it confounds me to hear the elaborate details June told of writing that song for Johnny. She did n't write that song any more than I did. The truth is, Johnny wrote that song, while pilled up and drunk, about a certain private female body part. All those years of her claiming she wrote it herself, and she probably never knew what the song was really about. '' Liberto claims that Cash decided to give Carter co-writer status because `` She needs the money ''. The song was originally recorded by June 's sister, Anita Carter, on her Mercury Records album Folk Songs Old and New ( 1963 ) as `` ( Love 's ) Ring of Fire ''. Mercury released Anita 's version as a single and it was a featured `` pick hit '' in Billboard magazine. After hearing Anita 's version, Cash claimed he had a dream where he heard the song accompanied by `` Mexican horns ''. Cash stated, `` I 'll give you about five or six more months, and if you do n't hit with it, I 'm gon na record it the way I feel it. '' Cash noted that adding trumpets was a change to his basic sound. When the song failed to become a major hit for Anita, Cash recorded it his own way, adding the mariachi - style horns from his dream. This sound was later used in the song `` It Ai n't Me Babe '', which was recorded around the same time. Mother Maybelle and the Carter sisters are prominently featured in the Cash recording singing harmony. Cash tinkered with a few of the original phrases in Anita Carter 's version of the song. Cash 's daughter Rosanne has stated, `` The song is about the transformative power of love and that 's what it has always meant to me and that 's what it will always mean to the Cash children. '' In 2004, Merle Kilgore, who shared writing credit for the song with June Carter Cash, proposed licensing the song for a hemorrhoid cream commercial. When performing the song live, Kilgore would often `` mock dedicate '' the song to `` The makers of Preparation H ''. However, June 's heirs were not of a like mind, and they refused to allow the song to be licensed for the ad. Chart performance Johnny Cash version Chart ( 1963 -- 68 ) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles U.S. Billboard Hot 100 17 German Singles Chart 27 Swiss Singles Chart 77 Eric Burdon and the Animals version Chart ( 1969 ) Peak position Australian Single Chart 10 Dutch Charts German Singles Chart 24 UK Singles Chart 35 Alan Jackson version Chart ( 2010 ) Peak position US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) 45 Legacy Numerous cover versions of `` Ring of Fire '' have been produced, the most commercially successful version being by Eric Burdon & the Animals. Their version was recorded at the end of 1968, and made the top 40 in four different countries. In late 1974, the Eric Burdon Band released a hard rock version. Wall of Voodoo debuted with a cover of the song on their self - titled 1980 EP and featured a pulsing synthesizer. Dwight Yoakam covered it on his debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. Punk rock band Social Distortion covered it on their 1990 self - titled LP. A cover of the song by Alan Jackson with guest vocals from Lee Ann Womack was released as a single on December 6, 2010. It served as the lead - off single to his 34 Number Ones compilation album, and peaked at # 45 in the Hot Country Songs, becoming his first single to miss the top 40 since `` Just Put a Ribbon in Your Hair '' peaked at # 51 in 2004. It was his last single released by Arista Records. Cash 's version of `` Ring Of Fire '' was never released as a single in the United Kingdom. However, in 1993 / 1994, the song gained significant radio airplay in the UK after it was used in a popular television commercial for Levi Jeans ( entitled ' Campfire ' ). In 2014, British band DragonForce released a power metal version of the song on their sixth album Maximum Overload. Madonna sang a cover version of Cash 's song on the Nashville date of her Rebel Heart Tour on 8 January 2016. References Jump up ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. `` Ring of Fire -- Johnny Cash ''. AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2014. Jump up ^ Grein, Paul ( 2010 - 09 - 24 ). `` Chart Watch Extra : Songs From The Last Century ''. Nielsen Business Media. Yahoo ! Music. Archived from the original on 2010 - 10 - 05. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Obituary : Anita Carter ''. The poem was `` Love 's Ring Of Fire by Bob Johnston, according to Johnny Cash by Stephen Miller. The ( London ) Independent. August 4, 1999. Retrieved on March 23, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Google Books Search, Johnny Cash, by Steve Miller ''. Jump up ^ `` Ring of Fire ''. RollingStone.com. December 9, 2004. Retrieved on March 23, 2007. Jump up ^ Vivian Cash ; Ann Sharpsteen ( 4 September 2007 ). I Walked the Line : My Life with Johnny. Simon and Schuster. p. 294. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4165 - 3292 - 7. Retrieved 3 September 2012. Jump up ^ Johnny Cash interviewed on the Pop Chronicles ( 1969 ) Jump up ^ `` Cash family blocks haemorrhoid ad ''. BBC.com. February 18, 2004. Retrieved on March 23, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Cash Family Draws Line Around ' Ring of Fire ' ''. Fox News. Retrieved 2016 - 09 - 27. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits : 1944 -- 2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 75. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits : Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 111. ^ Jump up to : The Animals chart entries, tsort.info. Jump up ^ `` Alan Jackson -- Chart history '' Billboard Hot Country Songs for Alan Jackson. Jump up ^ Alan Jackson USA chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved June 11, 2012. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Preceded by `` Act Naturally '' by Buck Owens Billboard Hot Country Singles number - one single July 27, 1963 ( 7 weeks ) Succeeded by `` Abilene '' by George Hamilton IV Johnny Cash Studio albums With His Hot and Blue Guitar Sings the Songs That Made Him Famous The Fabulous Johnny Cash Greatest ! Songs of Our Soil Sings Hank Williams Now, There Was a Song ! Now Here 's Johnny Cash The Sound of Johnny Cash All Aboard the Blue Train Ring of Fire : The Best of Johnny Cash The Original Sun Sound of Johnny Cash I Walk the Line Orange Blossom Special Everybody Loves a Nut Happiness Is You Old Golden Throat More of Old Golden Throat Hello, I 'm Johnny Cash The World of Johnny Cash Man in Black A Thing Called Love Any Old Wind That Blows Ragged Old Flag The Junkie and the Juicehead Minus Me John R. Cash Look at Them Beans One Piece at a Time The Last Gunfighter Ballad I Would Like to See You Again Gone Girl Silver Rockabilly Blues The Baron The Adventures of Johnny Cash Johnny 99 Rainbow Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town Classic Cash : Hall of Fame Series Water from the Wells of Home Boom Chicka Boom The Mystery of Life American Recordings Unchained American III : Solitary Man American IV : The Man Comes Around Personal File American V : A Hundred Highways American VI : Ai n't No Grave Out Among the Stars Concept albums Ride This Train Blood, Sweat and Tears Bitter Tears : Ballads of the American Indian Sings the Ballads of the True West From Sea to Shining Sea America : A 200 - Year Salute in Story and Song The Johnny Cash Children 's Album The Rambler Gospel albums Hymns by Johnny Cash Hymns from the Heart The Holy Land The Gospel Road ( film soundtrack ) Sings Precious Memories A Believer Sings the Truth Believe in Him Return to the Promised Land ( video soundtrack ) My Mother 's Hymn Book Christmas albums The Christmas Spirit The Johnny Cash Family Christmas Classic Christmas Johnny Cash Country Christmas Collaborations The Lure of the Grand Canyon Carryin ' On with Johnny Cash and June Carter Johnny Cash and His Woman The Legend of Jesse James The Survivors Live Highwayman Class of ' 55 Heroes Highwayman 2 The Road Goes on Forever VH1 Storytellers Live albums At Folsom Prison At San Quentin The Johnny Cash Show På Österåker Strawberry Cake Koncert v Praze ( In Prague -- Live ) At Madison Square Garden A Concert Behind Prison Walls Non-gospel soundtracks I Walk the Line Little Fauss and Big Halsy Compilations Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 Heart of Cash Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Sunday Morning Coming Down International Superstar Five Feet High and Rising Destination Victoria Station Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 The Unissued Johnny Cash Johnny & June Tall Man Encore Biggest Hits The Man in Black 1954 -- 1958 The Man in Black 1959 -- 1962 Come Along and Ride This Train The Essential Johnny Cash ( 1992 ) Wanted Man The Man in Black 1963 -- 1969 The Man in Black -- His Greatest Hits 16 Biggest Hits Love, God, Murder The Essential Johnny Cash ( 2002 ) Unearthed The Legend The Legend of Johnny Cash Johnny Cash : Patriot 16 Biggest Hits : Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash The Legend of Johnny Cash Vol. II The Complete Columbia Album Collection Songs `` 25 Minutes to Go '' `` Seasons of My Heart '' `` Any Old Wind That Blows '' `` The Ballad of Boot Hill '' `` The Ballad of Ira Hayes '' `` Ballad of a Teenage Queen '' `` Big River '' `` Blistered '' `` A Boy Named Sue '' `` Busted '' `` Cat 's in the Cradle '' `` Cocaine Blues '' `` Cry ! Cry ! Cry ! '' `` Daddy Sang Bass '' `` Dark as a Dungeon '' `` Do n't Take Your Guns to Town '' `` Engine 143 '' `` Flesh and Blood '' `` The Folk Singer '' `` Folsom Prison Blues '' `` Forty Shades of Green '' `` Get Rhythm '' `` Give My Love to Rose '' `` Goodnight, Irene '' `` Green, Green Grass of Home '' `` Greystone Chapel '' `` Guess Things Happen That Way '' `` Hey, Porter '' `` Home of the Blues '' `` Hurt '' `` I Could n't Keep from Crying '' `` I Love You Because '' `` I Still Miss Someone '' `` I Walk the Line '' `` If I Had a Hammer '' `` If I Were a Carpenter '' `` In My Life '' `` In the Jailhouse Now '' `` It Ai n't Me Babe '' `` Jackson '' `` Kate '' `` The Man Comes Around '' `` Man in Black '' `` The Matador '' `` Oh Lonesome Me '' `` One Piece at a Time '' `` Oney '' `` Orange Blossom Special '' `` The One on the Right Is on the Left '' `` Remember the Alamo '' `` ( Ghost ) Riders in the Sky '' `` Ring of Fire '' `` Rock Island Line '' `` So Doggone Lonesome '' `` Sunday Mornin ' Comin ' Down '' `` Tennessee Flat Top Box '' `` There Ai n't No Good Chain Gang '' `` A Thing Called Love '' `` Understand Your Man '' `` What Is Truth '' `` What 'd I Say '' Television The Johnny Cash Show Family June Carter Cash John Carter Cash Rosanne Cash Carlene Carter Vivian Liberto Tommy Cash Carter Family Related Albums discography Singles discography Sun Records discography The Highwaymen Carter Family Fold Man in Black : His Own Story in His Own Words Cash : The Autobiography Johnny Cash ! The Man, His World, His Music Walk the Line We Walk the Line : A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash Ring of Fire ( 2013 film ) Ring of Fire ( musical ) My Father and the Man in Black Dyess, Arkansas The Tennessee Three Book Alan Jackson singles Here in the Real World `` Blue Blooded Woman '' `` Here in the Real World '' `` Wanted '' `` Chasin ' That Neon Rainbow '' `` I 'd Love You All Over Again '' Do n't Rock the Jukebox `` Do n't Rock the Jukebox '' `` Someday '' `` Dallas '' `` Midnight in Montgomery '' `` Love 's Got a Hold on You '' A Lot About Livin ' ( And a Little ' bout Love ) `` She 's Got the Rhythm ( And I Got the Blues ) '' `` Tonight I Climbed the Wall '' `` Chattahoochee '' `` Mercury Blues '' `` ( Who Says ) You Ca n't Have It All '' Who I Am `` Summertime Blues '' `` Livin ' on Love '' `` Gone Country '' `` Song for the Life '' `` I Do n't Even Know Your Name '' The Greatest Hits Collection `` Tall, Tall Trees '' `` I 'll Try '' `` Home '' Everything I Love `` Little Bitty '' `` Everything I Love '' `` Who 's Cheatin ' Who '' `` There Goes '' `` Between the Devil and Me '' `` A House with No Curtains '' High Mileage `` I 'll Go On Loving You '' `` Right on the Money '' `` Gone Crazy '' `` Little Man '' Under the Influence `` Pop a Top '' `` The Blues Man '' `` It Must Be Love '' When Somebody Loves You `` www. memory '' `` When Somebody Loves You '' `` Where I Come From '' `` It 's Alright to Be a Redneck '' Drive `` Where Were You ( When the World Stopped Turning ) '' `` Drive ( For Daddy Gene ) '' `` Work in Progress '' `` That 'd Be Alright '' Greatest Hits Volume II `` It 's Five O'Clock Somewhere '' ( w / Jimmy Buffett ) `` Remember When '' What I Do `` Too Much of a Good Thing '' `` Monday Morning Church '' `` The Talkin ' Song Repair Blues '' `` USA Today '' Like Red on a Rose `` Like Red on a Rose '' `` A Woman 's Love '' Good Time `` Small Town Southern Man '' `` Good Time '' `` Country Boy '' `` Sissy 's Song '' `` I Still Like Bologna '' Freight Train `` It 's Just That Way '' `` Hard Hat and a Hammer '' 34 Number Ones `` Ring of Fire '' Thirty Miles West `` Long Way to Go '' `` So You Do n't Have to Love Me Anymore '' `` You Go Your Way '' Angels and Alcohol `` Jim and Jack and Hank '' `` The One You 're Waiting On '' Other songs `` Tequila Sunrise '' `` Good Year for the Roses '' ( w / George Jones ) `` Redneck Games '' ( w / Jeff Foxworthy ) `` Margaritaville '' ( w / Jimmy Buffett ) `` Murder on Music Row '' ( w / George Strait ) `` Designated Drinker '' ( w / George Strait ) `` Hey, Good Lookin ' '' ( w / Jimmy Buffett, Clint Black, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and George Strait ) `` You Ai n't Just Whistlin ' Dixie '' ( w / The Bellamy Brothers ) `` Barefootin ' '' ( w / Jimmy Buffett ) `` As She 's Walking Away '' ( w / Zac Brown Band ) `` A Million Ways to Die '' See also Singles discography Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ring_of_Fire_(song)&oldid=807784582 '' Categories : 1963 singles 1969 singles 2010 singles 2014 singles Songs written by Merle Kilgore Johnny Cash songs Dwight Yoakam songs Mark Collie songs George Canyon songs Alan Jackson songs The Animals songs Social Distortion songs Billboard Hot Country Songs number - one singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Columbia Records singles MGM Records singles Epic Records singles Arista Nashville singles Songs written by June Carter Cash 1963 songs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014 Articles with unsourced statements from November 2011 Singlechart usages for Billboardcountrysongs Singlechart called without song Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Dansk Deutsch Euskara فارسی Français Hrvatski Italiano Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 30 October 2017, at 03 : 00. 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Question: what is the burning ring of fire song about
Answer: falling in love