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I AM THE MAN THOMAS I am the Man Thomas I am the Man Look at these nail scars I carry in my hand They drove me up the hill Thomas I am the Man They made me carry the cross Thomas I am the Man I am the Man Thomas I am the Man Look at these nail scars I carry in my hand They crowned my head with thorns Thomas I am the Man They nailed me to the cross Thomas I am the Man I am the Man Thomas I am the Man Look at these nail scars I carry in my hand They pierced me in the side Thomas I am the Man I died on the cross Thomas I am the Man I am the Man Thomas I am the Man Look at these nail scars I carry in my hand They buried me in the tomb Thomas I am the Man In three days I rose Thomas I am the Man I am the Man Thomas I am the Man Look at these nail scars I carry in my hand (written by Ralph Stanley and Larry Sparks) |
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"I AM THE MAN THOMAS" is the first song since "Rise Again" (performed 12 times in 1980 and once in 1981), in which Bob Dylan speaks in the first person as Jesus. Both songs are very overt statements about the death and resurrection of Jesus. If "these nail scars" still wouldn't mean a whole lot to Bob Dylan, he probably would not have opened many a concert in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 with this challenging song. Thomas believed after he had seen his risen Lord. Blessed are those (on stage or in the audience) who do not see and yet believe. This song had not been performed by Bob Dylan outside the US until September 2000, when he chose to sing it in Europe. I was blessed to see the performances in Dublin, Birmingham and Sheffield. In 2001 Bob performed "I AM THE MAN THOMAS" only once, in Australia, one day before he told a world wide TV-Oscar-Audience: "God bless you all with peace, tranquility, and good will." In Missouri, one month later, Bob chose to perform his own overt statement about Jesus, "IN THE GARDEN", for the first time since July 1996. In February 2002 Bob Dylan started eight of his shows in the US with "I AM THE MAN THOMAS". In Europe in spring he sang it eight times as well, starting in Berlin and in Frankfurt, both times in the same show as "SOLID ROCK". Next it appeared in Ravenna, making its Italian debut, and six days later in Strasbourg, making its French debut. Five days later Bob sang it in Paris, before the song started Bob's first British show of the year, in Brighton. One weekend later Bob Dylan chose to open both shows in London with this intense song, once more including "I AM THE MAN THOMAS" in the same show as "SOLID ROCK" during the first show. I sure was glad to see all three performances in Britain. In August 2002 this song was performed for the first time in Canada, as Dylan chose to open the first five Canadian shows with "I AM THE MAN THOMAS". Next it appeared in Baltimore, then again twice in Canada, and finally in Utah. |
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59 PERFORMANCES 1999.09.04, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 1999.09.08, ANTIOCH, TENNESSEE 1999.09.09, NOBLESVILLE, INDIANA 1999.09.11, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 1999.09.12, LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA 1999.09.15, AUSTIN, TEXAS 1999.09.17, HOUSTON, TEXAS 1999.09.18, DALLAS, TEXAS 1999.10.26, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 1999.10.27, CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS 1999.10.29, OXFORD, OHIO 1999.10.30, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN 1999.10.31, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 1999.11.02, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN 1999.11.03, COLUMBUS, OHIO 1999.11.06, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA 1999.11.08, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 1999.11.10, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 1999.11.11, AUGUSTA, MAINE 1999.11.13, EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY 1999.11.20, NEWARK, DELAWARE 2000.03.10, ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA 2000.03.11, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA 2000.03.12, BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA 2000.03.14, VISALIA, CALIFORNIA 2000.03.16, SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA 2000.09.14, DUBLIN, IRELAND 2000.09.20, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND 2000.09.22, SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND 2000.09.27, ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS 2000.09.28, HAMBURG, GERMANY 2000.11.04, OXFORD, OHIO 2000.11.18, ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY 2001.03.24, NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA 2002.02.01, SUNRISE, FLORIDA 2002.02.02, TAMPA, FLORIDA 2002.02.06, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA 2002.02.08, WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA 2002.02.09, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 2002.02.17, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA 2002.02.18, TUPELO, MISSISSIPPI 2002.02.20, HOUSTON, TEXAS 2002.04.11, BERLIN, GERMANY 2002.04.15, FRANKFURT, GERMANY 2002.04.19, RAVENNA, ITALY 2002.04.25, STRASBOURG, FRANCE 2002.04.30, PARIS, FRANCE 2002.05.04, BRIGHTON, ENGLAND 2002.05.11, LONDON, ENGLAND 2002.05.12, LONDON, ENGLAND 2002.08.06, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA 2002.08.08, MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA 2002.08.09, SAINT JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA 2002.08.10, QUÉBEC CITY, QUEBEC, CANADA 2002.08.12, MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC, CANADA 2002.08.18, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 2002.08.24, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA 2002.08.27, EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA 2002.08.30, PARK CITY, UTAH video - I Am The Man Thomas - Brighton - 2002-05-04 Biblical references: ~ John 19 + 20 ~ Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands. Pilate went out again and said to them, "See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!" ... So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. ... Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. ... One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. ... They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. ... Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. ... On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ... Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” |
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