A life-size image of the late Johnny Cash has spent the better part of the last week relieving itself on the iconic singer-songwriter’s birthplace of Kingsland, Arkansas from a punctured water tower.
Back in March of 2021, Kingsland added the six-foot, two-inch mural of Johnny Cash to the water tower as an homage to the town’s famous native son. Last Tuesday, the scale silhouette of the Man in Black emblazoned on the Kingsland water tower was reportedly struck by a gunshot. The shot pierced the side of the water tower around the Cash silhouette’s crotch, causing water to stream out from the bullet hole onto the ground below.
As Kingsland mayor Luke Neal told local news outlet KLRT-TV on Monday, “Somebody shot our water tower, shot the silhouette of Johnny Cash in a very sensitive area.” He continued, visibly straining to remain straight-faced, “It’s been… leaking… for almost the past week.” Neal noted that tower was losing nearly 30,000 gallons per day.
Related: Reliving Johnny Cash’s Greatest Live Performances [Videos]
Low-brow laughs aside, the water leak was reportedly costing the town, population roughly 500, about $200 per day on top of the $5,000 bill for the required repairs, which include draining the rest of the water from the tank. The repair process is ongoing. “It might seem small in bigger places,” Neal said of the cost, “but for here it’s a pretty large number.”
Local officials reportedly arrested suspect Timothy Sled on charges of criminal mischief and impairing the operation of a vital public utility. Below, watch a local TV news package about the leak and the search for the man who shot a tower in Kingsland just to watch it pee.
Johnny Cash Water Tower Leaks On His Arkansas Birthplace
[Video: FOX 16 KLRT]
[UPDATE 5/19/22]: Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert got wind of the story out of Kingsland, AR and had some fun with the story during Wednesday night’s episode of The Late Show. Watch the clip below.
Stephen Colbert Talks Leaking Johnny Cash Water Tower