Lyrics:
"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"
(Revelation 6:1-2)
There's a man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Everybody won't be treated quite 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 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 a 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 trees
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn trees
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks
Until Armageddon, no shalam, no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chickens home
The wise man will bow down before the thorn
And at his feet they will 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 a 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 trees
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn trees
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."
(Revelations 6:7-8)
Biblical Allusions:
The phrase "There's a man going around taking names" also
refers to the song of that name popularized by folk singer Lead Belly.
A spoken portion from Revelation 6:1-2 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 chorus says that these events will be accompanied by trumpets,
pipers, and "one hundred million angels singing". The voice of the
Lord in Revelation is said to be 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. God 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.
"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." Saul had been hunting and killing Christians and
was now being called to reform by Jesus.
