The Man Comes Around (song)

"The Man Comes Around"

"The Man Comes Around" cover
Song by Johnny Cash from the album American IV: The Man Comes Around
Released May 24, 2002
Recorded 4:26
Genre
Label
Writer(s) Johnny Cash
Producer(s)

"The Man Comes Around" is the title track from Johnny Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around, released in 2002. It was actually written a few years earlier; however, Cash updated it for the album. It is one of the last songs Cash wrote before his death.[4] Both sung and spoken, the song makes numerous Biblical references, especially to the Book of Revelation.[5]

Symbols and references in the lyrics

There are numerous Biblical references in the lyrics.[5] A spoken portion from Revelation 6:1–2 in the King James Version[REV 6:1-6:2] introduces the song.[6] 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 "the man" (Jesus Christ) will one day come to pass judgment. The chorus indicates that these events will be accompanied by trumpets, (as in Revelation ch.8,9,11), pipers (Rev.18:22), 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 song also alludes to the Parable of the Ten Virgins from the Gospel of Matthew (25:1–13) with the lyrics “The virgins are all trimming their wicks,” a reference to the virgins’ preparation of the Second Coming of Christ. The reference to the whirlwind might point to the prophet Elijah, one of the few Biblical characters taken to heaven without dying. He was transported by a "chariot of fire" borne by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Or it could allude to Hosea 8:7 where evildoers "sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." Or it's a paraphrase on the prophecy in Rev 7:1-4:[7] "After this I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding tight the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the sunrise, having a seal of the living God; and he called with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed+ the servants of our God in their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000" In this verse it's clear that the world will be hit by (whirl)winds when the angels let go. The Ten Virgins are a biblical parable on the 144,000 - the same who cast their "golden crowns" - that are going to be at the wedding of the Lord.[8]

The phrase "It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks" is a quote from Acts 26:14, where Paul the Apostle describes his meeting Jesus while traveling to Damascus. It is a reference to a Greek proverb where a kicking ox only injures himself by attempting to kick against a goad, an illustration of the futility of resisting the Lord.

Elsewhere, the song mentions the wise men who bow before the Lord's throne, and cast their "golden crowns" at the feet of God. Revelation 4 refers to elders who worship the Lord and "lay their crowns" before Him (Revelation 4:10), while Matthew 2 contains the well-known scene of the Wise Men bowing before the Lord's manger.

The "potter's ground" may refer to Matthew 27:3-10 and the demise of Judas Iscariot, symbolising condemnation.

"Alpha and Omega" refers to Jesus Christ (Rev.1:8,11, 21:6, 22:13).

"Whoever is unjust... etc" is a quote from Revelation 22:11.

Music

The arrangement of the song is sparse (although not so much as in some of Cash's later compositions, such as 'God's Gonna Cut You Down'); two guitars, piano (played in the bass register), and an electric organ.

History

Of the album's fifteen tracks, only three were written by Cash, with "The Man Comes Around" the sole song specifically penned for it, and the only song Cash wrote in its entirety.

The song was inspired by a dream Cash had about Queen Elizabeth II in which the queen compared Cash to "a thorn tree in a whirlwind." Haunted by the dream, Cash became curious if the phrase was a biblical reference and eventually found a similar phrase in the Book of Job.[9]

An alternative "early take" of the song appears on the Unearthed box set (2003) and The Legend of Johnny Cash (2005). The "Legend" version omits the spoken word intro and outro.

Legacy

The song was listed as the 296th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.

In 2003:

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References

  1. ↑ books.google.com Google Books
  2. ↑ American IV: The Man Comes Around album review - PopMatters Retrieved 10 February 2015
  3. ↑ Johnny Cash Joins Gospel Hall of Fame - Country Weekly Retrieved 10 February 2015
  4. ↑ Brinkley, T. (October 15, 2006), "Walking the Line", The New York Times (review), one of his last original compositions. (login required)
  5. 1 2 In the album's liner notes, Cash states that the song is "based, loosely, on the book of Revelation, with a couple of lines or a chorus, from other biblical sources".
  6. ↑ Beckett, Colin (1 September 2003). "Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  7. ↑ http://www.jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/revelation/7/
  8. ↑ http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402015203?q=ten+virgins&p=par
  9. ↑ Kamp, David (October 2004). "American Communion". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  10. 1 2 Lewis, J. S. (27 October 2014). "Movie Music Moment: Dawn of the Dead ("When the Man Comes Around")". Cineflect. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
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