The Man Comes Around (song)

"The Man Comes Around"
Song

"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. Both sung and spoken, the song makes numerous Biblical references, especially to the Book of Revelation.

Symbols and references in the lyrics

There are numerous Biblical references in the lyrics. 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 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 (2Kings 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: "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.

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's a reference to ancient Greek proverb where a kicking ox only injures himself, 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. Revelations 4 refers to elders who worship the Lord and "lay their crowns" before Him (Revelations 4:10), while Matthew 2 contains the well-known scene of the Wise Men bowing before the Lord's manger.

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.

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 popular culture

In 2003:

• The song was used during the opening and closing credits of the 2003 film The Hunted

In 2004:

• The song was used during the opening credits of the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead

In 2008:

• The song was used during a scene in the 2008 in the movie My Best Friend's Girl
• The song was featured prominently in the final scenes of the season one finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
• The song was featured in the closing scenes of the HBO miniseries Generation Kill
• The song was used during the opening and closing credits of the film Linewatch
• The song was used in the opening sequence of the Criminal Minds episode "Elephant's Memory" (season 3, episode 16)
• The album Sleepytime Tunes Lullaby Renditions of Johnny Cash, credited to The Lullaby Players, features an instrumental cover version done in a lullaby arrangement for children

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
• The song was used in the opening sequence of the CSI episode "Better Off Dead" (season 10, episode 10)

In 2012:

• The beginning spoken lyrics were sampled in English Dj/Producer Doctor P's, song "Flying Spaghetti Monster" as part of his Animal Vegetable Mineral – Part 1 EP
• The song was used in the climactic penultimate episode of the first season of the new Dallas series in August 2012
• The song was used in the trailer and soundtrack for the 2012 film Killing Them Softly

In 2013:

• The first lines of the song were used in the pilot Sleepy Hollow

In 2014:

• The song was used in episode 11 of the first season of The Blacklist

In 2015:

• The song was the soundtrack for an ESPN promotional TV spot for SEC football featuring each team's coach.
• The song was used in the promo for Bray Wyatt vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania 31.