BAD NEWS
Words and music by John D. Loudermilk
As recorded by Johnny Cash on “I Walk the Line” (1964)

1. Well, bad news travels like wildfire; good news travels slow.
They all call me Wildfire, ‘cause, everybody knows—

CHORUS: I'm bad news ev’rywhere I go,
Always gettin’ in trouble and leavin’ little girls that hate to see me go.

2. They tried to hang me in Oakland, and they did in Francisco,
But I wouldn't choke; I broke the rope and they had to let me go,
‘Cause—CHORUS

3. Now, from north to south, to east to west, the story is the same:
From one state to another, I have to change my name,
‘Cause—CHORUS

4. Well, now, I picked peaches in Georgia, I lumberjacked in Maine.
I've been hired ‘n’ fired ‘n’ jailed, any town you can name,
‘Cause—CHORUS