"God's Gonna Cut You Down" (also known as "God Almighty's Gonna Cut You Down", "God's Gonna Cut 'Em Down", "Run On" and "Sermon") is atraditional American folk song.^[1] The track has been recorded in a variety of genres, includingcountry,folk,alternative rock,electronic andblack metal.^[2] The lyrics warn evildoers that they cannot avoidGod's judgment.^[3]

As "Run On For A Long Time", it was released in 1949 byBill Landford & The Landfordaires.^[4][5] As "God's Gonna Cut You Down", it was recorded in 1946 byThe Golden Gate Quartet^[6] and was performed byOdetta onOdetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956), andJohnny Cash on the posthumously releasedAmerican V: A Hundred Highways (2006).Marilyn Manson also used this title for a non-album single in 2019.^[7] As "Run On", it has been recorded byElvis Presley andTom Jones, andthe Blind Boys of Alabama. The song has been covered by many other artists.^[1]

"Run On"
Single byMoby
from the albumPlay
Released	April 26, 1999 (1999-04-26)
Studio	Moby's home studio (Manhattan, New York)
Length	3:45 (album version) 3:33 (single version)
Label	V2 Mute
Songwriter	Moby
Producer	Moby
Moby singles chronology
"Honey" (1999) "Run On" (1999) "Bodyrock" (1999)

"Run On" is a remix of the version by Bill Landford and the Landfordairs, by Americanelectronica musicianMoby. It was released as the second single from his fifthstudio albumPlay on April 26, 1999.^[8][9][10]

Recorded by Moby for his fifth studio albumPlay, "Run On" features samples from "Run On for a Long Time", a 1949 recording by Bill Landford and the Landfordairs of the traditionalfolk hymn "God's Gonna Cut You Down", which make up the song's vocal content.^[11][12] Moby was unaware of the original hymn's considerable popularity incountry andgospel music as astandard while recording the song.^[13] He later recalled that "Run On" was "really hard to put together, because it has so many samples in it. I didn't use computers at this point, it was all done with stand-alone samplers. When it was finished, I collapsed in exhaustion."^[13]

The music video for "Run On" was directed byMike Mills.^[14] Mills' video depicts Moby working at an office whose employees all wear white. A flashback is then shown involving a workout instructor who faints while teaching a class; Moby then arrives and puts an inhaler in her mouth, reviving her. The video proceeds through subsequent flashbacks to explain the entire plot: the office Moby works in isheaven, the instructor is self-conscious and unsure of her capabilities, and heaven is a self-help phone line. Towards the end of the video, Moby is seen dead in a parking lot, with a man checking his pulse. The video concludes similarly to the opening scene, with Moby working in an office while still living, only everyone is unkind and emotionally distant.^[14]

• CD single(CDMUTE221)^[15]

1. "Run On" – 3:33
2. "Spirit" – 4:12
3. "Running" – 7:07

• CD single – extended(LCDMUTE221)^[16]

1. "Run On"(extended) – 4:24
2. "Sunday" – 5:00
3. "Down Slow"(full length version) – 5:56

• 12-inch single(12MUTE221)^[17]

1. "Run On"(Moby Young & Funky Mix) – 6:08
2. "Run On"(Dave Clarke Mix) – 5:08
3. "Run On"(extended) – 3:55

• CD single(63881-27583-2)^[18]

1. "Honey" – 3:27
2. "Honey"(Moby's 118 Mix) – 4:49
3. "Honey"(Sharam Jey's Sweet Honey Mix) – 6:41
4. "Honey"(Aphrodite & Mickey Finn Mix) – 6:24
5. "Run On"(extended) – 4:27
6. "Run On"(Moby's Young and Funky Mix) – 6:05
7. "Run On"(Sharam Jey's Always on the Run Remix) – 6:01
8. "Memory Gospel" – 6:42

"God's Gonna Cut You Down"
Single byJohnny Cash
from the albumAmerican V: A Hundred Highways
Released	July 4, 2006
Recorded	2003
Genre	Folk blues[25] country[26] folk[9] gospel[27]
Length	2:38
Label	American Recordings Lost Highway Records
Songwriter	Traditional
Producer	Rick Rubin
Johnny Cash singles chronology
"Hurt" (2003) "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (2006) "Help Me" (2007)
Music video
"Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down (Official Music Video)" onYouTube

Johnny Cash recorded a version of "God's Gonna Cut You Down" onAmerican V: A Hundred Highways in 2003, with an arrangement quite different from most known gospel versions of the song.^{[citation needed]} As of January 2016, this version of the song sold 672,000 copies in the United States.^[28]

Amusic video, directed byTony Kaye,^[29] was made for this version in late 2006, three years after Cash's death. The video was shot entirely inblack and white and features a number of celebrities:David Allan Coe,Patricia Arquette,Travis Barker,Peter Blake,Bono,Sheryl Crow,Johnny Depp, the Dixie Chicks (now known asThe Chicks),Flea,Billy Gibbons,Whoopi Goldberg,Woody Harrelson,Dennis Hopper,Terrence Howard,Jay-Z,Mick Jones,Kid Rock,Anthony Kiedis,Kris Kristofferson,Amy Lee,Tommy Lee,Adam Levine,Shelby Lynne,Chris Martin,Kate Moss,Graham Nash,Iggy Pop,Lisa Marie Presley,Q-Tip,Corinne Bailey Rae,Keith Richards,Chris Rock,Rick Rubin,Patti Smith,Sharon Stone,Justin Timberlake,Kanye West,Brian Wilson, andOwen Wilson.^[30]

This version has appeared in theFox seriesGotham, during the episode titled "What the Little Bird Told Him".^[31] It also featured in the season three episode ofNBC seriesThe Blacklist, "The Director: Conclusion", and in theCBC seriesRepublic of Doyle, where it closed episode 10 of season 2, "The Special Detective".^{[citation needed]} It is also the close-out song for the Australian road trip mini-seriesWanted.

"God's Gonna Cut You Down"
Single byMarilyn Manson
Released	October 18, 2019[34]
Genre	Gothic country[35]
Length	2:40
Label	Loma Vista[34]
Songwriter	Traditional
Producer	Tyler Bates[36]
Marilyn Manson singles chronology
"Cry Little Sister" (2018) "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (2019) "The End" (2019)
Music video
"God's Gonna Cut You Down" onYouTube

Marilyn Manson recorded a cover version of the track during sessions for their tenth studio album,Heaven Upside Down, which was released in 2017.^[37] They performed the song live several times during that album'ssupporting concert tour.^[38] Their studio version of the track first appeared on theEthan Hawke film24 Hours to Live,^[39] the soundtrack of which was issued viaVarèse Sarabande on December 8, 2017.^[40] The song was then released as a standalonedigital download andstreamingsingle on October 18, 2019, in tandem with a tour by the band.^[36] A vinylpicture disc was released on December 13, 2019, and limited to 3,000 copies worldwide.^[41] The vinyl single features one of Manson'swatercolor paintings as its artwork.^[36][42]

A music video directed by Tim Mattia, who previously directed the video for theBorn Villain track "Hey, Cruel World...",^[36] was filmed inJoshua Tree, California and was also released on October 18.^[42][43][44] The track peaked at number eight onHot Rock Songs and at number one onRock Digital Songs—the band's highest peak on either chart.^[45][46]

• American singer and civil rights activistOdetta recorded the song as "God's Gonna Cut You Down" in the style of a 19th-centuryrevival meeting preaching hymn, for her 1957 albumOdetta Sings Ballads and Blues.^[36][50]
• Bobbie Gentry issued a version of the song, under the title "Sermon", on her 1968 albumThe Delta Sweete.^[51]
• The Blind Boys of Alabama recorded a version in 2001 forSpirit Of The Century.^[1]
• Tom Jones recorded "Run On" for his 2010 albumPraise & Blame.^[52]
• Mercury Rev re-recordedGentry'sThe Delta Sweete album in 2019; their version of "Sermon" featured vocals byMargo Price.^[53]
• Bailey Zimmerman recorded a rendition of the song for his debut albumReligiously. The Album. in 2023.^[54]
• A version byBlack Rebel Motorcycle Club was used in episode 2 of the 2024Netflix miniseriesA Man In Full.^[55] On 11 July 2025, the band issued a "cease and desist" request via a post on theirInstagram page to theDonald Trump administration'sDepartment of Homeland Security for the unauthorized use of their recording of the song in a recruitment video.^[56]

• Used as theme tune for series 3 of Australian dramaJack Irish.
• Used in the official trailer forThe Chosen's 5th Season.

• "Moby - Run On" onYouTube
• Lyrics – "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (Johnny Cash cover)
• "Run On" atDiscogs (list of releases)

• 2006 singles
• Johnny Cash songs
• 2019 singles
• Marilyn Manson (band) songs
• Elvis Presley songs
• Gospel songs
• Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
• 1946 songs
• American folk songs
• Lost Highway Records singles
• American Recordings (record label) singles
• Loma Vista Recordings singles
• Anonymous musical compositions
• Songs with unknown songwriters
• Music videos directed by Mike Mills (director)

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