Sting » Tracks » I Hung My Head

Sting – I Hung My Head (4:41)

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About This Track

“I Hung My Head” is a murder ballad written by the singer-songwriter Sting and released on the album Mercury Falling. In 2002, Johnny Cash covered the song in the album American IV: The Man Comes Around along with several other contemporary songs.

The song begins describing a young man who takes his brother’s rifle out onto the hill early one morning, with time to kill (an idiomatic phrase originating from The Bible foreshadowing the event of the rider’s death) to practice his aim. As a lone rider rides across the plain, he takes aim at the rider as he moves to practice his aim (“I drew a bead on him; to practice my aim”) and accidentally pulls the trigger, killing the rider.

Without fully realizing the implications of his accident (“To wake from the dream”), he sets off running into the “salt lands”, throwing the rifle into a “stream” . Eventually he is discovered by a sheriff and in a moment of realization understands the implications of his actions even though he does not fully understand their meaning (“And all for no reason, just one piece of lead”).

He is brought before a Judge and jury and in front of his entire town to account for his actions and feels “the power of death over life” as the jury reach their verdict; realizing that he had “orphaned” the rider’s children and “widowed his wife,” he wishes he was dead.
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Albums featuring this track

  • Mercury Falling
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  • Symphonicities
    Sting Play
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  • 25 Years
    Sting Play
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  • granpubah

    Damn, You're right. drummer IS 9/4!

    September 2011

  • Neaera2410

    "the drummer must be a genius. incredible grooves!" The drummer plays in 9/4, whilst the other play in 9/8. I dig that. :)

    April 2011

  • llaz927

    Very nice melodies, and lyrics as usual, from Sting.

    March 2011

  • banapaulo

    Credit to Sting for the lyrics, but this version is the one that really lets them hit home. When I first heard this I was surprised it wasn't traditional, let alone that Sting wrote it.

    February 2011

  • Kershlaus91

    great song !

    February 2011

  • lidatcz

    love at first sight

    February 2011

  • jcaulk215

    Isn´t this a good use of this time signature?

    October 2010

  • gsm007g

    My Nan.....new this young lad Named ...GMS ...Gordon Mathew Sumner...but new his father her milk man in Newcastle...

    October 2010

  • san_music_fan

    Adore... <3

    July 2010

  • ShaniaEve

    Very good!

    January 2010

  • Fasstili

    GREAT song. And Cash did a great cover of it.

    July 2009

  • johnny008

    Sting's original is way better then Cash version! Stop talking about Cash, this is Sting's song and he's the best at performing it!!!

    June 2009

  • ShadyAdy

    Much as I like Johnny Cash's take on it, this here version by Mister Sting is frankly the original and best.

    May 2009

  • Fluechtling

    the drummer must be a genius. incredible grooves!

    January 2009

  • Barrettmann

    ¿que pasa con Johnny Cash? .... ¿Saben porque se llama así?, porque cuando era pistolero, robó en una mercería y se llevó todo lo que había en caja. Por eso le viene lo de el "Cash" y Johnny porque era perqueño y su abuelo se llamó Juan. Y esta es la historia de "Juanillo er caja"

    January 2009

  • tomelwood

    This song is in a 9-beat rhythm - that's what makes it so neat. Sting is amazing - there's an unusual time signature in 5 or 7 on almost every album.

    August 2008

  • Aardvarked

    Sting's original is much much better than the cover Cash did, stop wanking over him.

    June 2008

  • Hugo1979

    Great, great lyrics, I like Cash's version very much.

    March 2008

  • IamFlood

    Johnny Cash totally obliterates Sting's own version. Damn Sting and his fucking synths

    November 2007

  • weemies

    I LOVE this song. Totally flows... and it's in 9/8 like already mentioned. Btw the Johnny Cash version pretty much suck't.

    November 2007
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