Quite a few of the songs recorded on American Recordings are remakes
of some of Johnny's old ones. Mean-Eyed Cat, with lyric changes,
Country Boy, Give My Love To Rose; all written by Cash in the 50's.
Traditional songs such as Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie, Danny Boy,
Sam Hall, and the Streets of Laredo are songs that were recorded by
Johnny long ago, in the 50's and 60's and again on the
American Albums.
This Spider Ray Koerner would have been covering Johnny. A lot of
songs Johnny recorded were recorded numerous times, often with
alternate variations of the words and music; many were also
unreleased until a later date.
So, Spider Ray either got this from Cash, or it was by coincidence
that they would have the same lyrics.