"God's Gonna Cut You Down", also known as "Run On" and "Run On for a Long Time", is a traditional folk song which has been recorded by numerous artists representing a variety of genres. The lyrics are a warning to sinners that no matter how hard they try, they will not avoid God's judgment; in the chorus, God tells the narrator of the song to
| “ | Go tell that long tongue liar, go and tell that midnight rider, |
” |
The song has, in the past, been modified to fit the boundaries of genres like country, folk, gospel and techno. As "God's Gonna Cut You Down", it was performed by Odetta on Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956) and Johnny Cash on the posthumously released American V: A Hundred Highways (2006). As "Run On", it was recorded, among others, by Elvis Presley. A version incorporating sampled vocals by Bill Landford & The Landfordaires was included on Moby's album Play. The Blind Boys of Alabama also included the song on their Grammy-winning album Spirit of the Century in 2001. In 2007, Kevin Max of dc Talk covered the song as "Run on for a Long Time" with Chris Sligh.
Contents |
| "Run On" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Moby featuring Bill Landford & The Landfordaires | ||||
| from the album Play | ||||
| B-side | "Spirit", "Running", "Run On (extended)", "Down Slow (full length)" | |||
| Released | May 18, 1999 | |||
| Genre | Electronic, Gospel | |||
| Length |
3:45 (album version) 3:33 (single version) 3:09 (radio edit) |
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| Writer(s) | Traditional | |||
| Producer | Moby | |||
| Moby featuring Bill Landford & The Landfordaires singles chronology | ||||
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Electronic musician Moby released "Run On" as the second single from his studio album Play. Two versions of the CD were released. The first, with a red cover featuring a vertically-aligned mousetrap, featured two remixes of "Run On" and two other tracks. The second, with a yellow cover featuring a horizontally-aligned mousetrap, contained four different "Run On" remixes.
The vocal content of the song comes from a 1943 recording of "Run On" by Bill Landford and the Landfordaires, and features a mix of house music and instrumental music.
The song's video involves Moby working at an office where everyone wears white. It then shows an earlier scene involving a workout instructor teaching a class when she passes out. Moby then comes in and puts an inhaler in her mouth. It then continues to show an earlier scene, going backwards to tell the entire story: the office Moby works in is heaven, the instructor is self-conscious and not sure of her capabilities, and heaven is a self-help phone line. Eventually, it shows a scene of Moby dead in a parking lot, with another employee checking his pulse. It then concludes with a shot of Moby working in the same office, but it has a green light to it, and everyone is unkind and emotionally distant.
| "God's Gonna Cut You Down" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Johnny Cash | ||||
| from the album American V: A Hundred Highways | ||||
| Released | July 4, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2003 | |||
| Genre | Country, Folk, Gospel | |||
| Length | 2:38 | |||
| Label | American Recordings Lost Highway Records |
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| Writer(s) | Traditional | |||
| Producer | Rick Rubin | |||
| Johnny Cash singles chronology | ||||
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Johnny Cash recorded a version of "God's Gonna Cut You Down" on American V: A Hundred Highways in 2003, with an arrangement quite different from most known gospel versions of the song.
A music video, directed by Tony Kaye,[1] was made for this version in late 2006. It featured a number of celebrities, including:
It also briefly features archive footage of Cash himself. The video was shot entirely in black and white. Since its release, both the song and video have seen moderate airplay.
The video won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.
The video was also covered by Rebel Son, Adding a little bit more upbeat sound to the song, Released on the "All my Demons" album.
The Johnny Cash version can also be heard in the following:
The single hit number one on the Christian charts after being released by Rick Hendrix and his positive music association. Musician Sean Michel covered the song during his audition on Season 6 of American Idol. Matchbox Twenty also used the song before playing "How Far We've Come" on their "Exile in America" tour. The New Jersey rock band The Gaslight Anthem have done a cover of this song as well. Recently, the Canadian rock band Three Days Grace has used the song in the opening of their live shows. Bobbie Gentry recorded a version as "Sermon" on her album The Delta Sweete. FireHouse guitarist Bill Leverty recorded a version for his third solo project Deep South a tribute album of traditional songs that have been around for well over the last century. Tom Jones recorded an uptempo version which appears on his 2010 album Praise & Blame.
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 33 |
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 77 |
The African American all women's singing group, "Sweet Honey in the Rock" also made a popular recording of the song called, "Run on for a Long Time" on their album entitled, "Still on the Journey".
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