The Man in Black who was a proud Fifer

Johnny Cash was a true Fifer and a man whose Scottish heritage was hugely important to him. So much so that he filmed a TV special in Falkland in October 1981 and his Fife roots inspired him to create his own family emblem.

Beneath the hand-drawn crest he wrote: “Cash – originated in County Fife, Scotland, 1224. Cash progenitor: Ada, sister of King Malcolm IV,” and led him to say: “I’m so proud and happy that my family background is associated with such a fine place.”

Born in Arkansas in 1932, Cash learned guitar as a child and began writing songs aged 12, influenced by country, gospel and Irish music.

He decided to research his ancestral history after a chance encounter on a plane in the 1970s with the former laird of Falkland, the late Major Michael Crichton-stuart.

The two started talking, and Cash said he thought he had links to Scotland.

The laird replied: “Well, that is quite a coincidence because where I come from there are lots of places that still hold the Cash name.”

Cash then began to investigate his family tree, spending thousands in the days before computers.

He traced his ancestry back 800 years to King Malcolm IV and discovered they had links with the former country retreat of the Stewart kings at Falkland Palace.

Records held by Falkland Palace show that King Malcolm awarded a large estate to the Earl of Fife in 1160 when he married the king’s niece, whose name was Cash or Cashel.

A 15th Century map sited the estate between Falkland and Strathmiglo.

The clan Cash originated from Malcolm’s sister, Ada, and the street Cash Feus in Strathmiglo still carries the name, as do Easter Cash, Wester Cash and Cash Mill farms between Falkland and Strathmiglo.

The American Cash connection came about in 1612 when mariner William Cash sailed from Scotland to Salem, Massachusetts, with a boatload of pilgrims.

He later decided to settle in America.

Going back into his Celtic past made Cash realise that this was where he derived his tone of voice, which always had the texture of granite chips in a tar boiler.

Cash insisted on performing in Falkland for his 1981 Christmas in Scotland TV show and arrived in his trademark black trench coat and leather boots.

It was a memorable day, and Cash went down a storm with the locals and parked himself on a bench outside Falkland Palace to chat away to the villagers.

He recorded Footprints In The Sand before he was joined by fellow American superstar Andy Williams and the duo performed Greensleeves.

Williams also sang The Village Of St Bernadette at Falkland, which was the subject of controversy after the parish minister strongly objected to it being performed in the church.

His son, John Carter Cash, then aged 11, sang Wee Cooper Of Fife in another segment of the show, which was described as a “Highland fling for the whole family”.

Filming also took place on the beaches at Kinghorn, Anstruther and Elie before moving to St Monans Parish Church, where Cash sang Christmas carols, including Silent Night and O Little Town of Bethlehem, with pupils from St Monans Primary School.

Fans of the singer packed the church for the recording.

Cash said: “We’ve come here to Scotland to do this year’s Christmas show for several reasons.

“Since my ancestors come from County Fife or the Kingdom of Fife, and since the country had declared this to be the year of the Scot, now seemed like a good time to return to the roots.

“Another reason is that June and our son, John Carter, who is featured on this show, are dedicated tourists.

“We always find time for sightseeing.”

A performance at Edinburgh Playhouse was also filmed during his time in Scotland, where he performed songs like Ring Of Fire and I Walk The Line.

As 85 million fans of the Man in Black later