A Powerful Cover Song: "Hurt" Johnny Cash (2002)

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Fourwalls has launched a top 25 songs by Johnny Cash list so I thought I would add my two cents on the Man in Black. "Hurt" is a major 1994 Nine Inch Nails song written by frontman Trent Reznor. Nine Inch Nails can be described as alternative goth grunge rock. They are not the kind of band you would think country legend Johnny Cash would cover. During the final years of his life, Cash furiously recorded songs many of which were covers despite being seriously ill and mourning the loss of wife June Carter. His album "American IV: The Man Comes Around" contains Cash's cover of "Hurt." That single and accompanying video proved a last stunning hurrah for the Man in Black. Critics, fans, admirers and fellow performers were wowed a final time by the revered musical icon. Could Reznor ever imagined his song being interpreted as this sad lament of regret by a dying old man? Cash's once strong baritone voice is noticeably weak and quivering enhancing the emotional impact. The sight of a frail Cash and June just prior to their deaths juxtaposed against footage of a younger Cash in the video contributed to the effect. "Hurt" is a powerful and moving experience, the perfect exclamation point to Cash's life and career. Most singers covering a song just sing it without putting anything into it. Adapting to style or putting a personal twist usually results in a travesty. Cash was a true musical artist not only applying his distinct stamp but reinventing a song into a whole new poignant meaning. Purists could complain Cash changed "crown of (word for excrement)" to "crown of thorns" in a bow to his Christian faith. How did Reznor feel about it? He was moved and honored a legend reinterpreted his song of despair while maintaining its integrity. The flip side of the "Hurt" single is none other than Cash's cover of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus." Rewritten from an article originally posted and deleted from Persona Paper.