Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian

"The Talking Leaves" is about Sequoyah inventing written words in 1821, which increased Cherokee literacy. ==Reception==

Bitter Tears and one single were successful, the album rising to No. 2 and "The Ballad of Ira Hayes", reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. But this required effort. Though the song started out quickly on the Billboard chart, seven weeks later the song was floundering in the mid-teens. According to later accounts, by stressing the Native American theme, Cash had entered contemporary controversial social issues and upheaval of the period. He encountered resistance to this work. Cash began a campaign to support the Ira Hayes song, buying and sending out more than 1,000 copies to radio stations across America. By September 19, the song had reached number 3 in Billboard. In 2010, the Western Writers of America chose "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. == Track listing ==

• Johnny Cash - vocals, guitar • Luther Perkins, Norman Blake, Bob Johnson - guitar • Marshall Grant - bass • W.S. Holland - drums • The Carter Family - vocal accompaniment Additional personnel • Produced by: Don Law and Frank Jones • Cover Photo: Bob Cato • Reissue Producer: Bob Irwin • Digitally Mastered by: Vic Anesini, Sony Music Studios, NY (CD Reissue) • Liner Notes: Hugh Cherry == Charts ==

Album – Billboard (United States) Singles - Billboard (United States) ==Reissue and revival==

The album was included on the Bear Family Records box set Come Along and Ride This Train in 1984. In 2011, after Antonino D'Ambrosio published A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears, there was renewed interest in the album. D'Ambrosio acted as executive producer, and also made a documentary film about the re-recording of the songs by various artists, who were chosen for their personal interest in the album. Called Look Again To The Wind: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited, the album was released by Sony Masterworks in 2014. The documentary is ''We're Still Here: Johnny Cash's Bitter Tears Revisited''. It first aired on PBS on February 1, 2016, and was scheduled to re-air in November 2016. Song listing Performers shown in brackets: • "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" (Gillian Welch & David Rawlings) • "Apache Tears" (Emmylou Harris w/the Milk Carton Kids) • "Custer" (Steve Earle w/the Milk Carton Kids) • "The Talking Leaves" (Nancy Blake w/Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) • "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" (Kris Kristofferson w/Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) • "Drums" (Norman Blake w/Nancy Blake, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) • "Apache Tears (Reprise)" (Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) • "White Girl" (Milk Carton Kids) • "The Vanishing Race" (Rhiannon Giddens) Additional words by Rhiannon Giddens • "As Long as the Grass Shall Grow (Reprise)" (Nancy Blake, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) • "Look Again to the Wind" (Bill Miller) Peter La Farge song not included on the original album. ==References==