These are the lyrics for the Johnny Cash original. The lyrics for the Pulp version (if different) will appear when the song has been released
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, 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
Till Armageddon, no shalam, no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chicken's home
The wise man will bow down before the throne
And at his feet they will cast their 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, 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 it was Death
And Hell followed with him
This Johnny Cash cover appeared on a Pulp setlist in 2025. It was then featured in featured in "The Hack" (a TV dramatisation of the phone hacking scandal that led to the closure of "The News of the World" newspaper back in July 2011) in 2025 and is scheduled for release on 27th February 2026.