I'll readily admit this song is probably among Cash's cheesist: it's over-the-top folksy, the verses are uncomfortably Seuss-like once Johnny Cash leaves his apartment, and the orchestral accompaniment verges on tasteless at points.
...but the chorus alone can stop me dead and close my throat at 40 paces. I'll admit, it's got a lot of personally-shitty time spent alone and sleep-deprived in NYC as fuel, but as far as sledgehammer-bittersweet goes, this one's kinda got my number.