The Man Comes Around cover art

  Studio Album · No. 42

The Man Comes Around Songwriting Credits by Johnny Cash

2002 American Recordings / Universal 15 tracks 52 min

Produced by Rick Rubin  ·  Engineered by David Ferguson

American Recordings / Universal CountryFolkAmericanaGospel
20%
Authorship
Singer / Performer

Holds writing credit on 3 of 15 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 3 / 15 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 15 tracks with documented writers, by whether Johnny Cash carries a lyricist or composer credit.

20%
3 trackswritten by Johnny Cash 12 tracksoutside writers
Johnny Cash's roles on this album

Share of the 15 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist20%
Composer20%
Producer0%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

15
Tracks
16
Lyricists
1
Producers
1 million
US Copies Sold
2002
Released

Awards & Recognition 3

Best Cinematography (Hurt video) (2003)
Single of the Year (Hurt) (2003)
Best Short Form Music Video (Hurt) (2004)
Data Insight

American IV is the most celebrated entry in Rick Rubin's series, anchored by Cash's devastating cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt,' written by Trent Reznor. The record also covers Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus' (written by Martin Gore), Sting's 'I Hung My Head,' Hank Williams' 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry,' Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water,' and the Beatles' 'In My Life.' Cash himself wrote the apocalyptic title track 'The Man Comes Around,' plus re-recorded his own 'Give My Love to Rose' and 'Tear Stained Letter.' The 'Hurt' music video became one of the most acclaimed videos of the era.

The Man Comes Around is the sixty-seventh studio album by Johnny Cash, released in November 2002 on American Recordings, the final album of original recordings Cash completed before his death in September 2003, and the album that contains his cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt,' one of the most celebrated music videos ever made. Cash wrote the title track, 'The Man Comes Around,' a biblical narrative drawn from the Book of Revelation that Cash worked on for years and considered one of his most important compositions, alongside a set of covers that includes 'Hurt' (Nine Inch Nails), 'Desperado' (Eagles), 'Personal Jesus' (Depeche Mode), 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' (Paul Simon), and 'We'll Meet Again' (Vera Lynn). Trent Reznor has said that Cash's video interpretation of 'Hurt', directed by Mark Romanek and featuring Cash at age 70 surrounded by the physical detritus of a long life, supplanted his own original as the definitive version of the song; the video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography and was nominated for Video of the Year. Cash died on September 12, 2003, four months after the death of his wife June Carter Cash, making The Man Comes Around a genuine farewell document of a career spanning five decades. The album reached number 22 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified double platinum in the United States; 'Hurt' remains one of the most streamed and viewed recordings in Cash's entire catalog.

Track Listing & Credits 15 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash Johnny Cash Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
2
Hurt #33
Trent Reznor Trent Reznor Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
3
Give My Love to Rose
Johnny Cash Johnny Cash Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
4
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Paul Simon Paul Simon Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
5
I Hung My Head
Sting Sting Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
6
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Ewan MacColl Ewan MacColl Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
7
Personal Jesus
Martin Gore Martin Gore Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
8
In My Life
John LennonPaul McCartney John LennonPaul McCartney Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
9
Sam Hall
Tex Ritter Tex Ritter Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
10
Danny Boy
Frederic Weatherly Traditional Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
11
Desperado
Don HenleyGlenn Frey Don HenleyGlenn Frey Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
12
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Hank Williams Hank Williams Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
13
Tear Stained Letter
Johnny Cash Johnny Cash Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
14
Streets of Laredo
Traditional Traditional Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)
15
We'll Meet Again
Ross ParkerHughie Charles Ross ParkerHughie Charles Rick Rubin Johnny Cash (Vocals, Guitar)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 17 contributors

More from Johnny Cash

1957 42%
With His Hot and Blue Guitar!
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1958 42%
The Fabulous Johnny Cash
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1959 33%
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1959 58%
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1960 50%
Ride This Train
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1960 42%
Now, There Was a Song!
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1962 25%
Hymns from the Heart
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12 tracks
1962 50%
The Sound of Johnny Cash
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1963 30%
Blood Sweat and Tears
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1964 38%
Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian
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8 tracksProd. Don Law
1964 75%
I Walk the Line
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12 tracks
1965 42%
Johnny Cash Sings the Ballads of the True West
Columbia Records
12 tracks
1965 17%
Orange Blossom Special
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12 tracksProd. Don Law
1966 60%
Everybody Loves a Nut
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10 tracks
1966 30%
Happiness Is You
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1968 100%
From Sea to Shining Sea
Columbia
12 tracks
1969 100%
The Holy Land
Columbia
15 tracks
1970 70%
Hello, I'm Johnny Cash
Columbia
10 tracks
1971 60%
Man in Black
Columbia
10 tracksProd. Bob Johnston
1972 80%
A Thing Called Love
Columbia
10 tracks
1973 40%
Any Old Wind That Blows
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1974 100%
Ragged Old Flag
Columbia Records
12 tracksProd. Charlie Bragg
1975 70%
John R. Cash
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1975 60%
Look at Them Beans
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1976 80%
One Piece at a Time
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1977 70%
The Last Gunfighter Ballad
Columbia
10 tracks
1977 100%
The Rambler
Columbia
7 tracks
1978 78%
Gone Girl
Columbia
9 tracks
1979 56%
Silver
Columbia
9 tracks
1980 91%
Rockabilly Blues
Columbia
11 tracks
1981 50%
The Baron
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1982 56%
Adventures of Johnny Cash
Columbia Records
9 tracks
1983 0%
Johnny 99
Columbia Records
10 tracksProd. Brian Ahern
1985 30%
Rainbow
Columbia Records
10 tracks
1986 70%
Believe in Him
Word Records
10 tracks
1988 44%
Water from the Wells of Home
Mercury Records
9 tracks
1990 60%
Boom Chicka Boom
Mercury Records
10 tracks
1991 70%
The Mystery of Life
Mercury Records
10 tracks
1994 38%
American Recordings
American Recordings
13 tracksProd. Rick Rubin
1996 21%
Unchained
American Recordings
14 tracksProd. Rick Rubin
2000 38%
American III: Solitary Man
American Recordings/Columbia
13 tracks
2006 25%
American V: A Hundred Highways
American Recordings/Lost Highway
12 tracks
2010 10%
American VI: Ain't No Grave
American Recordings/Lost Highway
10 tracks

Frequently Asked Questions The Man Comes Around

Who wrote 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash?
'Hurt' was written by Trent Reznor and originally recorded by his band Nine Inch Nails on their 1994 album The Downward Spiral. Johnny Cash covered it for American IV in 2002, and Reznor later praised the version.
Who produced American IV: The Man Comes Around?
The album was produced by Rick Rubin, the fourth in his American Recordings collaboration with Johnny Cash. It was released in November 2002.
Which songs did Johnny Cash write on The Man Comes Around?
Cash wrote the title track 'The Man Comes Around,' a meditation on the Book of Revelation. He also revisited two of his own earlier compositions, 'Give My Love to Rose' and 'Tear Stained Letter.'
Who wrote 'Personal Jesus' that Johnny Cash covered?
'Personal Jesus' was written by Martin Gore of Depeche Mode and originally released in 1989. Cash's version was the lead single from American IV.
Did the 'Hurt' music video by Johnny Cash win awards?
Yes. The Mark Romanek-directed video won Best Cinematography at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, the CMA Award for Single of the Year in 2003, and the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 2004.
How did American IV: The Man Comes Around perform commercially?
The album reached number 22 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on Top Country Albums. It was certified Platinum in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada.

Sources