"I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (traditional) performed by the Soggy Bottom Boys (Dan Tyminski) (Good Friday)

Connect with Scripture: John 19:17-30
And [Jesus] went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. [18] There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. [19] Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." [20] Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. [21] So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.' " [22] Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."

[23] When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, [24] so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

"They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots."

So the soldiers did these things, [25] but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [26] When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" [27] Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

[28] After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." [29] 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. [30] When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.


Song: “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” (Traditional) performed by the Soggy Bottom Boys (Dan Tyminski) on the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?

(In constant sorrow through his days)

1. I am a man of constant sorrow
I've seen trouble all my day.
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
The place where I was born and raised.
(The place where he was born and raised)

2. For six long years I've been in trouble
No pleasures here on earth I found
For in this world I'm bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now.

[chorus] He has no friends to help him now

3. It's fare thee well my old lover
I never expect to see you again
For I'm bound to ride that northern railroad
Perhaps I'll die upon this train.

[chorus] Perhaps he'll die upon this train.

4. You can bury me in some deep valley
For many years where I may lay
Then you may learn to love another
While I am sleeping in my grave.

[chorus] While he is sleeping in his grave.

5. Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger
My face you'll never see no more.
But there is one promise that is given
I'll meet you on God's golden shore.

[chorus] He'll meet you on God's golden shore.

Behind the Music
1. What lines in this song could be applied to Jesus?
2. Which lines clearly can’t be about Jesus?
3. The Good Friday sermon is based on Isaiah 53, especially verses 1-4. Why would this passage have made me think of this song?

Isaiah 53:1-6
Who has believed what they heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
[2] For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
[3] He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
[4] Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

English Standard Version, Copyright(C) 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles. All Rights Reserved.

4. What in the song might sound like something you’ve felt?
5. How does it help to know that Jesus also knew what sorrow felt like?
6. What is the Gospel (“Good News”) in this song?