The Man Comes Around (song)
Encyclopedia
"The Man Comes Around" is the title track from Johnny Cash
's American IV: The Man Comes Around
, released in 2002
. It is one of the last songs Cash wrote in his life.
Of the album's fifteen tracks, only three were written by Cash, with "The Man Comes Around" the sole song specifically penned for it. Both sung and spoken, the song makes numerous Biblical
references, especially from the Book of Revelation
. The titular "Man" inferentially refers to Jesus Christ and the Second Coming
.
popularized by folk singer Lead Belly.
A spoken portion from Revelation 6:1-2 in the King James Version introduces the song. This portion of Scripture describes the coming of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
, each heralded by one of the "four beasts" first mentioned in Revelation 4:6-9. The musical portion then begins with Cash reciting that a man will one day come to pass judgment. The chorus indicates that these events will be accompanied by trumpet
s, pipers, and "one hundred million angel
s singing". The voice of the Lord in Revelation is often likened to the sound of a loud trumpet. (Revelation 1:10; 4:1; and 8:13) Revelation 5:11 states that John saw that there are millions of angels in Heaven.
The line "There'll be a golden ladder reaching down." references to Jacob's dream of a ladder or stairwell (Jacob's ladder
) from earth to heaven and God's subsequent blessing of Jacob in Genesis 28:12.
"Or disappear into the potter's ground" is a reference to the field that was purchased with the money Judas Iscariot received for betraying Jesus as recorded in Matthew 27:3-10. The field was purchased by the chief priests "as a burial place for strangers" (New American Standard).
"It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come" is a reference to the book of Revelation. Jesus Christ refers to himself as "the Alpha and the Omega
" in Revelation (1:8; 21:6; 22:13). Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, hence God is, "the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
The lines "Whoever is unjust, let him be unjust still. Whoever is righteous, let him be righteous still. Whoever is filthy, let him be filthy still." is another reference to the book of Revelation (22:11).
The chorus also repeats the point that "the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
". This reference is explained in Cash's 1997 autobiography with Patrick Carr, "Cash" (HarperCollins). He writes that Queen Elizabeth II (whose coronation Cash witnessed while he was serving as a US Airman) appeared to him in a dream and said "Johnny Cash, you're a thorn bush in a whirlwind". Cash later found the same reference in the Book of Job, and was inspired to write thirty-three verses of what would become "The Man Comes Around".
In the line, "Till Armageddon, no Shalam, no Shalom," Armageddon
refers to the climactic battle between good and evil in Revelation 16:16. Shalom
means "peace" in Hebrew. Shalam might reference Salaam
, meaning "peace" in Arabic, or could refer to "Shalam" the equivalent word in Aramaic language spoken by Judean contemporaries of Jesus (and as Syriac language by Iraqi Assyrian Christians today). Or possibly it could reference the Hebrew verb Shālam meaning "to be in a covenant of peace."
"The father hen will call his chickens home" is a reference to a lament Jesus spoke regarding Jerusalem as recorded in Luke 13:34.
One line says "The virgins are all trimming their wicks." This refers to a parable
told by Jesus in Matthew 25:7. The women who were "trimming their wicks" were ready for Jesus' return.
The line "It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks" is from Acts 9:5. The apostle Paul also refers to the time when he was knocked to the ground by a voice from heaven in Acts 26:14. It reads, "And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." The Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech here reads, "You are finding it painful to kick against the ox-goad." Saul had been hunting and killing Christians and was now being called to reform by Jesus.
Cash then returns to spoken form, ending the song with a quotation from Revelation 6:6, 8 (just a few verses after the verses he quoted at the beginning of the song):
The pale horse is the fourth horse.
(2005).
The song was listed as the 296th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media
.
as well as the closing credits for the films The Hunted
and Linewatch
, and the 2008 HBO mini-series Generation Kill. It is also featured in the film My Best Friend's Girl
.
The song has been used in Gordon Ramsay's
television series Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
.
In 2008, the song was featured prominently in the final scenes of the season one finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It also featured in the closing scenes of the HBO miniseries Generation Kill
. It was also played in the Criminal Minds
's episode Elephant's Memory.
In 2009, the song was used on the final episode of BBC's Being Human
in the warm up to what is supposed to be a battle between Mitchell and Herrick.
In 2010, the song was featured in the episode "The Comeback Kid" on the series Chase
.
In 2010 the song was featured in the teaser of the video game Operation Flashpoint: Red River
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
's American IV: The Man Comes Around
American IV: The Man Comes Around
American IV: The Man Comes Around is the fourth album in the American series by Johnny Cash, released in 2002. The majority of songs are covers which Cash performs in his own spare style, with help from producer Rick Rubin...
, released in 2002
2002 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...
. It is one of the last songs Cash wrote in his life.
Of the album's fifteen tracks, only three were written by Cash, with "The Man Comes Around" the sole song specifically penned for it. Both sung and spoken, the song makes numerous Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
references, especially from the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
. The titular "Man" inferentially refers to Jesus Christ and the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
.
Symbols and references in the lyrics
The phrase "There's a man going around taking names" which begins the song is not merely a Biblical reference, it also refers to the song of that nameThere's a Man Going Around Taking Names
There's a Man Going Around Taking Names is a folk song made famous by Lead Belly....
popularized by folk singer Lead Belly.
A spoken portion from Revelation 6:1-2 in the King James Version introduces the song. This portion of Scripture describes the coming of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to Saint John the Evangelist at 6:1-8. The chapter tells of a "'book'/'scroll' in God's right hand that is sealed with seven seals"...
, each heralded by one of the "four beasts" first mentioned in Revelation 4:6-9. The musical portion then begins with Cash reciting that a man will one day come to pass judgment. The chorus indicates that these events will be accompanied by trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, pipers, and "one hundred million angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s singing". The voice of the Lord in Revelation is often likened to the sound of a loud trumpet. (Revelation 1:10; 4:1; and 8:13) Revelation 5:11 states that John saw that there are millions of angels in Heaven.
The line "There'll be a golden ladder reaching down." references to Jacob's dream of a ladder or stairwell (Jacob's ladder
Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder is a "ladder to heaven", described by biblical Jacob in the Book of GenesisJacob's Ladder may also refer to:* Ladder of Jacob, a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament...
) from earth to heaven and God's subsequent blessing of Jacob in Genesis 28:12.
"Or disappear into the potter's ground" is a reference to the field that was purchased with the money Judas Iscariot received for betraying Jesus as recorded in Matthew 27:3-10. The field was purchased by the chief priests "as a burial place for strangers" (New American Standard).
"It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come" is a reference to the book of Revelation. Jesus Christ refers to himself as "the Alpha and the Omega
Alpha and Omega (Christianity)
The term Alpha and Omega comes from the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" , an appellation of Jesus in the Book of Revelation ....
" in Revelation (1:8; 21:6; 22:13). Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, hence God is, "the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
The lines "Whoever is unjust, let him be unjust still. Whoever is righteous, let him be righteous still. Whoever is filthy, let him be filthy still." is another reference to the book of Revelation (22:11).
The chorus also repeats the point that "the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
". This reference is explained in Cash's 1997 autobiography with Patrick Carr, "Cash" (HarperCollins). He writes that Queen Elizabeth II (whose coronation Cash witnessed while he was serving as a US Airman) appeared to him in a dream and said "Johnny Cash, you're a thorn bush in a whirlwind". Cash later found the same reference in the Book of Job, and was inspired to write thirty-three verses of what would become "The Man Comes Around".
In the line, "Till Armageddon, no Shalam, no Shalom," Armageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
refers to the climactic battle between good and evil in Revelation 16:16. Shalom
Shalom
Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye...
means "peace" in Hebrew. Shalam might reference Salaam
S-L-M
Shin-Lamedh-Mem is the triconsonantal root of many Semitic words, and many of those words are used as names. The root itself translates as "whole, safe, intact".-Salam "Peace":...
, meaning "peace" in Arabic, or could refer to "Shalam" the equivalent word in Aramaic language spoken by Judean contemporaries of Jesus (and as Syriac language by Iraqi Assyrian Christians today). Or possibly it could reference the Hebrew verb Shālam meaning "to be in a covenant of peace."
"The father hen will call his chickens home" is a reference to a lament Jesus spoke regarding Jerusalem as recorded in Luke 13:34.
One line says "The virgins are all trimming their wicks." This refers to a parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
told by Jesus in Matthew 25:7. The women who were "trimming their wicks" were ready for Jesus' return.
The line "It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks" is from Acts 9:5. The apostle Paul also refers to the time when he was knocked to the ground by a voice from heaven in Acts 26:14. It reads, "And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." The Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech here reads, "You are finding it painful to kick against the ox-goad." Saul had been hunting and killing Christians and was now being called to reform by Jesus.
Cash then returns to spoken form, ending the song with a quotation from Revelation 6:6, 8 (just a few verses after the verses he quoted at the beginning of the song):
- And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts...
- And I looked and behold, a pale horse
- And his name that sat on him was DeathDeath (personification)The concept of death as a sentient entity has existed in many societies since the beginning of history. In English, Death is often given the name Grim Reaper and, from the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood...
- And HellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
followed with him
The pale horse is the fourth horse.
Music
The arrangement of the song is sparse; two guitars, left hand piano, and an electric organ.History
An alternate "early take" of the song appears on the Unearthed box set (2003) and The Legend of Johnny CashThe Legend of Johnny Cash
The Legend of Johnny Cash is a single-disc compilation album of country music legend Johnny Cash's career. It is the first such album to contain material from Cash’s American Recordings era in addition to songs from his time at Sun and Columbia...
(2005).
The song was listed as the 296th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
.
Use in other media
This song was used during the opening credits of the film Dawn of the DeadDawn of the Dead (2004 film)
Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depict a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall...
as well as the closing credits for the films The Hunted
The Hunted
The Hunted may refer to:* The Hunted , film noir featuring a woman just out of prison after a jail heist* The Hunted , directed by J. F...
and Linewatch
Linewatch
Linewatch is a 2008 crime film directed by Kevin Bray starring Cuba Gooding Jr..-Plot:Mike Dixon is an agent working linewatch for the United States Border Patrol on the US/Mexico Border in New Mexico...
, and the 2008 HBO mini-series Generation Kill. It is also featured in the film My Best Friend's Girl
My Best Friend's Girl (2008 film)
My Best Friend's Girl is a 2008 romantic comedy film by Howard Deutch and stars Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, Diora Baird, Alec Baldwin, and Lizzy Caplan. It was released on September 19, 2008.-Plot:...
.
The song has been used in Gordon Ramsay's
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
television series Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is a television programme featuring British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. The BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning programme debuted on Channel 4 in 2004....
.
In 2008, the song was featured prominently in the final scenes of the season one finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It also featured in the closing scenes of the HBO miniseries Generation Kill
Generation Kill (TV series)
Generation Kill is a 2008 HBO television miniseries based on the book of the same name by Evan Wright about his experience as an embedded reporter with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was adapted for television by David Simon,...
. It was also played in the Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
's episode Elephant's Memory.
In 2009, the song was used on the final episode of BBC's Being Human
Being Human (TV series)
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama...
in the warm up to what is supposed to be a battle between Mitchell and Herrick.
In 2010, the song was featured in the episode "The Comeback Kid" on the series Chase
Chase (2010 TV series)
Chase is an American police procedural drama television series created by Jennifer Johnson for the NBC network. The series follows a U.S. Marshals fugitive-apprehension team, based out of Houston, Texas. Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnson serve as executive producers for the one-hour drama...
.
In 2010 the song was featured in the teaser of the video game Operation Flashpoint: Red River
Operation Flashpoint: Red River
-Reception & Sales:The game has received mixed reviews from critics. Strategy Informer thinks the game fills in a niche between fast-paced action games and hyper-realistic military simulators. VideoGamer.com says the campaign in Red River is of far higher quality than in its predecessor Dragon Rising...