"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 eventual 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 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.[6] 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" | ||||
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Single byMoby | ||||
from the albumPlay | ||||
Released | April 26, 1999 (1999-04-26) | |||
Studio | Moby's home studio (Manhattan, New York) | |||
Length |
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Moby | |||
Producer(s) | Moby | |||
Moby singles chronology | ||||
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"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.[7][8][9]
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.[10][11] Moby was unaware of the original hymn's considerable popularity incountry andgospel music as astandard while recording the song.[12] 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."[12]
The music video for "Run On" was directed byMike Mills.[13] 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.[13]
Chart (1999) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA)[18] | 93 |
Scotland (OCC)[19] | 35 |
UK Singles (OCC)[20] | 33 |
UK Dance (OCC)[21] | 27 |
UK Indie (OCC)[22] | 7 |
USDance/Electronic Singles Sales (Billboard)[23] | 49 |
"God's Gonna Cut You Down" | ||||
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Single byJohnny Cash | ||||
from the albumAmerican V: A Hundred Highways | ||||
Released | July 4, 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2003 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:38 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Traditional | |||
Producer(s) | Rick Rubin | |||
Johnny Cash singles chronology | ||||
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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.[27]
Amusic video, directed byTony Kaye,[28] 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.[29]
This version has appeared in theFox seriesGotham, during the episode titled "What the Little Bird Told Him".[30] 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.
Chart (2008) | Peak position |
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UK Singles (OCC)[31] | 77 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI)[32] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"God's Gonna Cut You Down" | ||||
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Single byMarilyn Manson | ||||
Released | October 18, 2019[33] | |||
Genre | Gothic country[34] | |||
Length | 2:40 | |||
Label | Loma Vista[33] | |||
Songwriter(s) | Traditional | |||
Producer(s) | Tyler Bates[35] | |||
Marilyn Manson singles chronology | ||||
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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.[36] They performed the song live several times during that album'ssupporting concert tour.[37] Their studio version of the track first appeared on theEthan Hawke film24 Hours to Live,[38] the soundtrack of which was issued viaVarèse Sarabande on December 8, 2017.[39] The song was then released as a standalonedigital download andstreamingsingle on October 18, 2019, in tandem with a tour by the band.[35] A vinylpicture disc was released on December 13, 2019, and limited to 3,000 copies worldwide.[40] The vinyl single features one of Manson'swatercolor paintings as its artwork.[35][41]
A music video directed by Tim Mattia, who previously directed the video for theBorn Villain track "Hey, Cruel World...",[35] was filmed inJoshua Tree, California and was also released on October 18.[41][42][43] The track peaked at number eight onHot Rock Songs and at number one onRock Digital Songs—the band's highest peak on either chart.[44][45]
Chart (2019) | Peak position |
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CanadaHot Digital Songs (Billboard)[46] | 44 |
France (SNEP Sales Chart)[47] | 154 |
Hungary (Single Top 40)[48] | 26 |
USHot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[44] | 8 |
USRock Digital Songs (Billboard)[45] | 1 |
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)In a marvelous new album of recorded folk songs (Vanguard Recording Co.), a gifted folk singer, Odetta, sings, 'God's A-gonna Cut You Down!' It is a powerful warning, in the style of the 'preaching hymn' of the old-time revivals and camp meetings which were such an important feature of frontier life during the entire 19th century.