The versions of “On the Banks of the Ohio” done by Bill Monroe and the Monroe Brothers, and the version done by Johnny Cash differ greatly.  Both songs are pretty close in comparison in that they’re both talking about the same story, but other than that, there are a lot of differences between them.  Monroe’s recording has a kind of Southern drawl to it, making the two versions differ grammatically.  He uses phrases such as “Darlin’, say that you’ll be mine”; “Returnin’ home between twelve and one”; and “Thinkin’, Lord, what a deed I’ve done;” to articulate what he’s trying to say. Cash’s version does not have any of this kind of drawl, but instead just has a simplistic way of conveying the same words: “And only say that you’ll be mine”; “And going home between twelve and one”; “I cried, ‘Lord, what have I’ve done?’”

  Along with the lyrics of both of these songs being grammatically diverse, the two versions of the same story are a little different.  In Bill Monroe’s version, the narrator takes his love on a walk in the opening verse, where he talks about discussing their wedding day with her.  This is followed with him taking her down to the banks of the Ohio River, proceeding to drown her all of the sudden, and then watching her body float along the water.  The third verse entails the narrator thinking about what he has just done and telling the listener that he just killed the love his life because she wouldn’t marry him.  Finally, the fourth verse discusses the sheriff knocking on the narrator’s door and telling him that he’s going to pay for what he has done.

  Johnny Cash’s version goes a little differently.  The first verse is pretty much the same as Monroe’s with the narrator taking his love for a walk.  In the second verse, though, the narrator actually asks the woman whom he loves so much to marry him.  She didn’t really say anything, but instead just turned away in silence, showing that she didn’t want to accept his proposal.  This verse is followed by the narrator stabbing her in the breast with a knife and killing her.  In the fifth verse, he drags her by her hair and throws her into the Ohio River, watching her drift down it.  The last verse is with the narrator crying out to God about killing the girl he loved because she refused to marry him.  Cash’s lyrics are a lot more darker and sadder than Monroe’s, by going into more detail about how he killed this woman.

  In addition to using different versions and lyrics in their songs, Monroe and Cash use different methods of singing the song.  Bill Monroe and the Monroe Brothers use an acoustic guitar and what I can only describe as a mandolin, to play their version.  Their song is fast-paced and upbeat, with at least two singers singing a bluegrass style, making the listener almost want to dance or tap his or her feet.  The fact that their song is a lot faster and happy makes the song not seem so bad, even though it’s discussing a very sad event.  

  Johnny Cash just uses his acoustic guitar to play his version, with no help from any back-up singers or band members.  The fact that he only uses his guitar, and stays with the same riff the entire time, makes the song way more slower-paced and softer compared to Monroe’s version, and exemplifies more of a country music kind of style.  In addition, the way he sings is a lot more monotonous than Monroe and his band.  This method of staying consistently slow and unchanging helps Cash’s version seem a lot more depressing and sad, especially in conjunction with his darker lyrics that make this somber song even sadder, which makes the listener want to cry before he or she would possibly get up to dance to this song.