You must be aware of the “Man in Black” if you are a 90s kid. And if so, you might have experienced your fan-girl moment with one of the most renowned musicians in your time. The man in black, or simple, Johnny Cash was in the limelight for various reasons besides his amazing bass-baritone voice and a vivacious personality. He was the king of genres like country, rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel. Although most of the songs contained some special theme of sorrow or redemption, any concert of his would begin with his signature track, Folsom Prison Blues. He would often introduce himself with a simple, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.”

Moving forward from his reminiscences, there have been millions of fans who have been under his spell and just to honor the legend, have gone as far as getting his portrait inked on their skins. If you too are a tattoo enthusiast and are aware of everything Cash, then I think this list is quite appropriate for you to have a look at. We have compiled 60+ Johnny Cash inspired tattoo designs for you to travel back in time and remember what it was like to watch him perform.

• Chest Tattoo

The chest is one of the places where any tattoo would look amazing. It describes how close and significant the tattoo means to you.

• Cash Inside Head Tattoo

This is quite a creative design with a full-length picture of Johnny Cash inside his own head. That’s quite a unique design to get on your skin.

• Wallet Full of Cash Tattoo

Once again, a very witty design. It s related to his surname, which is Cash and so he is inside a bag full of cash. The mind behind this tattoo is rather creative, I must say.

• Shadow Cash Tattoo

Shadowy tattoos look amazing and classic. The wearer has added an autograph along with the design.

• Amazing Cash Tattoo

This shaded tattoo makes it lifelike. The shading done here is amazing and makes the tattoo look very realistic.

• Black Ink Tattoo

This tattoo is totally done with black ink. If you look closely, you will see that the face of the man is done very intricately. You can even notice the fine lines that have been accentuated.

• Johnny Cash Themed Tattoo

This one if for the crazy fans out there who claim to be Cash’s number one fans. The whole back is filled with Johnny Cash’s design. Only black and white ink is used which gives it a classic look.

• Smoking Cash Tattoo

This portrait of Cash on the back of the arm is very real life.

• Ring of Fire Tattoo

The tattoo is inspired by his song “Ring of Fire” which was a hit rock and roll song at his time. Interestingly, the lyrics of the song were co-written by his second wife, June.

• The Man in Black Tattoo

Inspired by the protest song, Man in Black, this tattoo is quite a piece. He was named man in black for a very specific reason which was that he always wore black clothes. The black clothes were his way of protest of global issues like the Vietnam war and gender and racial inequality.

• Piercing Eye Tattoo

You can look at Johnny sitting on the chair and his piercing eyes looking right into your soul.

• Autograph Tattoo

Just a simple autographed tattoo is great for someone who is crazy about the artist. Even if you have not met him in real life, it should not be the reason for you to not get an autograph.

• Zombie Themed Tattoo

Here, Cash is transformed into a zombie. The two crossed bones beneath his zombie green head signify something deadly, just like the popular skull pattern.

• Fantastic Johnny Cash Tattoo

This tattoo shows his expressions very vividly. It is quite a great design.

• Johnny With Guitar Tattoo

It is a very somber looking tattoo and the mn is dressed again in black. The black color is therefore very dominant in this tattoo.

• Thinking Johnny Tattoo

Seems like the artist is in deep thinking mode. Probably he was thinking about the lyrics to his next song…. or who knows? deep existential crisis!

• Close-up Tattoo

This image has both a close up picture of him and a full-length design. Quite a convincing pattern.

• Finger Pointed Tattoo

Looks like Johnny is making someone understand something in a very authoritative way.

• Simple Johnny Tattoo

This design, I will say, is quite simple. For those who do not like anything boisterous, this design will suit them best. However, those who like something interesting with their design, this one is probably not for them.

• Deep Thinker Johnny Tattoo

Once again, Johnny is in some deep thoughts. I like how amidst the black background his signature is done with the white ink.

• LA Tattoo

This is Johnny with a background of Las Vegas. It stands for his stardom and popularity that made him reach such heights in his career.

• Fabulous Tattoo

The artist has worked hard on this tattoo design as it looks very lifelike. You can add some more elements if you do not want something so simple for yourself.

• Winking Johnny Tattoo

This is a winking Johnny tattoo smoking a cigarette. The artist gotta have some spark, right?

• Abstract Johnny Cash Tattoo

Abstract art is very much in trend and so why not you try and apply it on your  Johnny Cash tattoo too? I think it will not only render a uniqueness to your design but also make your tattoo look quite modern.

• Colored Portrait Tattoo

This colored portrait of Johnny is quite well made, although, it looks a bit cartoon-like and probably tat is because of the vibrant colors that have been added.

• Haunted Johnny Tattoo

To be honest, this tattoo is quite scary. His eyes make him look kinda possessed by some demons. Overall, I think that it is a great design and has some very fine work done on it.

• Adding Roses Tattoo

Johnny Cash tattoo can be added with certain elements that have nothing to do with him. Since it is your tattoo design, you can add something that means something to you. Here, the wearer has added some roses which is probably a method of giving tribute to him or probably just because he likes roses!

• Bold Johnny Tattoo

The tattoo is quite bold in its appearance. It looks great on arm.

• Creative Johnny Tattoo

The addition of some colors makes the tattoo look quite real. In fact, the fine lines on his face are amazing and give a glimpse of what he actually looked like. It is probably an image of his later age.

• Cash in a Box Tattoo

This tattoo is cemented in a black box with “Cash” written in white ink.

• Monotone Johnny Tattoo

The whole design is done in a monotone color which looks amazing.

• Jack Daniels Tattoo

The tattoo is added with a bottle of Jack Daniels and a paper where you can clearly see some lyrics of Man in Black. If you may have notice you would see that the objects are done in darker color while his own portrait is in a lighter shade.

• Singing Johnny Tattoo

This tattoo is added with a mic which is probably one of his favorite things that led him to the stage and concert world. A mic is obviously symbolic of an artist’s career.

• Fantastic Johnny Tattoo

This is a great Johnny tattoo design. It can be done on the arm as well as legs, which I think is the second great placement option.

• Johnny Skull Tattoo

The portrait of Cash is replaced by a skull which is quite enchanting. The sudden twist on the portrait is quite appealing to someone who is looking for some gothic elements for the design.

• Somber Looking Tattoo

• Quote Tattoo

This is taken from one of Johnny’s popular track, Happiness is You. You can add some other lyrics instead of this which you like, or probably your favorite Cash song. Here are some suggestions:

• Listen to your heart.
• You build on failure.
• There’s no cure for life.
• Close the door on the past.
• I’m thrilled to death with life.
• We don’t let her touch the ground.
• I don’t give up because…I don’t believe in it.
• The best way to say anything is just to say it.
• Because you’re mine, I walk the line.
• Life and love go on. Let the music play.
• You can choose love or hate… I choose love.
• For you, I know I’d even try to turn the tide.
• My arms are too short to box with God.
• Drive on, don’t mean nothin’, drive on.
• There’s always rhythm going in my mind.
• I keep the ends out for the tie that binds.
• At my door, the leaves are falling.
• Get rhythm when you get the blues.
• The beast in me Is caged by frail and fragile bars.
• There is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell.

• Upper Back Tattoo

You can get a shadowed tattoo right on your upper back.

• Full Arm Tattoo

It looks like this tattoo is done with a pencil-shaded effect. It is very intricately done.

• Forearm Tattoo

The tattoo on the forearm looks quite amazing.

• Half Skull Tattoo

This is a half skull and half-human face that Johnny tattoo has donned. It is quite creative. You can get a half skull tattoo or even a full skull tattoo as shown in one of the images above.

• Black and White Design

Black and white inks are always classic.

• Colored Background Tattoo

Once again a half skull design. This has been added with a full-length picture of him with his guitar.

• Johnny Cash Tattoo

This image of Johnny with his drink looks very realistic. The bold black ink makes it looks great.

• Dot Work Tattoo

You can see the dot work on the tattoo works amazingly to give the tattoo design a certain texture. Dot work tattoos are quite popular these days and we now know why!

• Antique Looking Tattoo

The kind of ink sed makes the whole design look quite classic and antique. The whole leg is done on the theme of Johnny Cash and it looks fabulous. There are many elements that is related to the musician that has been added.

• Song Lyrics Tattoo

• Guitar Tattoo

This is a simple looking Cash tattoo with a guitar and his name on the shoulder of the wearer.

• Front Arm Tattoo

• Lyrical Tattoo

This is a very cool tattoo design for those who actually understand what this means. Well, the inspiration behind this tattoo is a song by Cash, called Ain’t No Grave. So well, adding an actual grave is pretty cool.

• Lines and Crosses Tattoo

This tattoo is totally made out of some criss-cross lines which is very charming. The design is completely creative and gives the portrait a serious look.

• Hand Tattoo

Hand tattoos are quite exclusive. I think it is the place where the tattoos are pretty visible and I like how his name “Cash” is written creatively on his knuckles.

• Shadow Johnny Cash Tattoo

Shadow tattoo brings a sort of mysteriousness to the whole design.

• Colored Cash Tattoo

Although this tattoo is quite somber-looking, however, the beautiful colors that have been used do not only make the image look real but makes it pop out on the skin too.

• Unique Johnny Tattoo

This piece is quite unique. You can notice geometrical figures in it along with different colors at unexpected places. The portrait is done with shades of pink, mostly, which gives it a quite retro vibes.

• Pencil Sketch Tattoo

Pencil sketch looks amazing when the tattoo is in a portrait form.

Celebrities With Johnny Cash Tattoos

• Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus got herself a brand new tattoo in 2014 which was rather lighter in color as compared to her other inks. The tattoo said, “I’m in your corner” which was said by Johnny Cash with his signature below the words. Interestingly, the line is not taken from his famous songs but rather a letter that he sent to Miley’s dad, Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992 when his song “Achy Breaky Heart” topped the charts. He wrote: “Thirty-six years ago, I was working with Elvis and saw him take the same kind of flak you’re taking now. Congratulations on the way you’re handling it all. In your case, as in Elvis’, the good outweighs the bad. Let ’em have it. I’m in your corner.”

Billy has the letter framed on his wall and that’s probably where Miley got her inspiration from. Miley hasn’t really taken to any platform to speak about this tattoo, yet Billy mentioned the letter once in a video:

“Johnny Cash wrote me the letter I carry around in the [“Thin Line” music] video. He wrote it to me in June of 1992. In some ways, he wrote it at a time that I was going through the storm of my life. To receive that letter from Johnny Cash, and he ends it with ‘Let ’em have it, I’m in your corner.’ Knowing that Johnny Cash was in my corner, quite frankly, that was my rock. It not only was the cornerstone of that time period in my life but in some ways, it became the cornerstone of the rock I stand on now.”