Here are Johnny Cash’s lyric sheets where he wrote the song “Like the 309,” found in “House of Cash” by John Carter Cash.
“Dad’s song ‘Like the 309’ shows his magical ability to laugh in the face of his own sickness and mortality. Just as the lyrics imply, Dad suffered from chronic asthma during the last years of his life.”
After getting out of the hospital and coming home, Johnny went back into the studio. They had put an addition to the cabin and Johnny could not wait to use the new recording room. It was there that he recorded “Like the 309,” cheerfully mocking his illness right to the end. (p 140, paragraph 6)