The Man Comes Around (song)
| "The Man Comes Around" | |
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 "The Man Comes Around" cover |
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| Song by Johnny Cash from the album American IV: The Man Comes Around | |
| Released | 2002 |
| Recorded | 4:26 |
| Genre | Country, Americana, Folk |
| Label | American Recordings / Universal |
| Writer | Johnny Cash |
"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.
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[edit] 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 name 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 trumpets, pipers, and "one hundred million angels 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):
- 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 Death
- And Hell followed with him
The pale horse is the fourth horse.
[edit] Music
The arrangement of the song is sparse; two guitars, left hand piano, and an electric organ.
[edit] History
An alternate "early take" of the song appears on the Unearthed box set (2003) and The Legend of Johnny Cash (2005).
The song was listed as the 296th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.
[edit] Use in other media
This song was used during the opening credits of the film Dawn of the Dead 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[when?] 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
In 2012 the last four spoken lyrics were used to close off the story "Death's Sweet Serenade"
A remix of the song, particularly the intro and outro, was also used in the trailer for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
