The Man Comes Around Johnny Cash

"The Man Comes Around" is the title track from Johnny Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around, released in 2002. It was written several years prior to the release of the album; 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.

There are numerous biblical references in the lyrics. A spoken portion from Revelation 6:1–2 in the King James Version introduces the song. The passage 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 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 phrase, "It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks" cites Acts 26:14, where Paul the Apostle describes 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, intended to represent 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). "Alpha and Omega" refers to God himself (Rev. 1:8, 11; 21:6, 22:13), but also to the cries of the newborn and the dying. "Whoever is unjust… etc" is a quote from Revelation 22:11

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.

The song was used during the opening credits of the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.
The song is used in the last episode of the first season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
The song was used in the ending sequence for the final episode of the 2008 miniseries Generation Kill.
The song was used in the live action debut trailer for the 2011 video game Operation Flashpoint: Red River.
The song was used in the trailer and soundtrack for the 2012 film Killing Them Softly.
The song is used over a montage of Raymond Reddington investigating and executing members of an attack against him in the eleventh episode of the first season of NBC's The Blacklist.
The song was used during the ending credits of the movie Logan.
The song is used in the wedding scene of the 2008 film My Best Friend's Girl.
The song was used during the end credits of the 2003 film The Hunted, which also featured opening credits voiceover by Cash himself.
The song was used for the final sequence in the ninth episode of the first season of TNT's continuation of Dallas.
The song was used in the opening sequence on season 10 episode 10 of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation "Better Off Dead".
The song is used in the opening credits on Season 3 Episode 16 of Criminal Minds "Elephant's Memory".
The song was used in the trailer and soundtrack for the 2022 film Father Stu.

The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
2002
Written by: John R Cash

"And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying, come and see
And I saw, and behold a white horse"

There's a man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Everybody won't be treated all the same
There will be a golden ladder reaching down
When the man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and in each sup
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
Or disappear into the potter's ground
When the man comes around?

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

'Til Armageddon, no shalam, no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chickens home
The wise man will bow down before the throne
And at his feet, they'll cast the golden crowns

When the man comes around
Whoever is unjust, let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteous, let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy, let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks
In measured hundred weight and penny pound
When the man comes around

"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"