Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The recording went ahead, produced by super producer Rick Rubin, and was released as a single in 2003, catching the ear of respected One Hour Photo director Mark Romanek. The final stanza reveals forlorn hope that granted one more turn he would be better and make things better for both of them: “If I could start again; A million miles away; I would keep myself; I would find a way.”, Hurt was released by Johnny Cash on American IV in November, 2002. I will keep myself “I think therefore I am” Country singer Johnny Cash covering a Nine Inch Nails song is so odd that it’s perfect. That idea would blossom into a heart-wrenching music video, that spoke about the transience of life, the gracelessness of death, the Ozymandian crumbling of an oeuvre and the decline of a genre, an era and an attitude. Maybe trying to don't make the same mistake >? I think this song is the musings of an old man who regrets the life he lived... Our development can be broken into different stages, starting when we are born and ending when we die. The cracked platinum records. Trent’s song not Johnny’s song. Protagonist, verse 2: What have I done? This song makes me think of Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. The moral of the story is that Johnny didn't hold on hard to himself. If I could start over, I would keep myself.it was written as a song about losing yourself to addiction. Well, I can offer my two cents, but first you must know that its not Johnny Cashes song! Six month later, his beloved wife of 35 years, June Carter Cash passed in May 2003. If you look closely much of the setting contains old pictures of him performing with Elvis, etc. He had only days to turn something around. Hurt violates this slightly. 4. Every line reveals the depth of Cash’s reflections and his private reckoning. It was shot near Nashville at the then-closed House of Cash Museum. In 2011 NME named the music video for Cash’s Hurt the best video of all time. In his case "the drug addiction is still right there". The narrator’s life of fame, pain, and addiction has left him emotionless and exhausted. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. Depression Protagonist, verse 1: “I begged Rick Rubin to let me shoot something to that track,” Romanek told Dave Urbanski in ‘The Man Comes Around: The Spiritual Journey of Johnny Cash’, who was instantly enamoured of the rendition and even offered to shoot the video for free. To keep it simple. /* TFP - lyricinterpretations */ Rick Rubin, producer of Cash's American series and a friend of Reznor's, suggested the song to Cash. The concept had to be completely revised as Cash's health declined, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile, Ask someone to name a song that always has the power to reduce them to tears, and the chances are they’ll swiftly reply “Johnny Cash. When asked if Cash could take on the song, NIN’s Trent Reznor at first said he was “flattered”, but worried that “the idea sounded a bit gimmicky” (his opinion would massively change, but we’ll get to that). })(); (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Seeing as the song was recorded well before his wife died, I don't think that is the inspiration. He is who he is and can't change himself. I think "my sweetest friend" is neither drugs, nor the loved ones, nor Jesus; it's himself (or maybe his physical body). Cash's cover of "hurt" is about his fame, his family, and his drug abuse. The chorus is always the voice of the "other". My interpretation--it's the Liar's Chair--We are all sinners/and liars--it's beautiful how true it is to admit to be a liar--before GOD-before you die--which is true when you meet your maker. As he does this, he … "Hurt" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994), written by Trent Reznor. He spent all his time chasing fame to make him happy, but it never happened. Hurt is about self relevation, he believes that he isthe ruler of nothing because of his struggles in life he feels he has no worth of himself. Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists: Johnny Cash Directed by Mark Romanek, the “Hurt” video deftly intertwined images of Cash, 71 at the time, with footage of the Man in Black in his prime. He still is facing the same thing everyone else faces (old age, death, and depression). "I wear this crown of thorns upon my Liar's chair. (function() { Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" was released on his 2002 album, American IV: The Man Comes Around. Original conception for the video thrown out the window, Romanek jumped on a red-eye flight to Nashville and began scouting potential filming locations, leading him to Cash’s home and museum, The House of Cash. JOHNNY CASH: "HURT" (2003)"Hurt" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their second studio… Posted by Classic Rock Photos on Thursday, May 3, 2018 The slow-moving lyrics in “Hurt” give a strong nod to self-harm and heroin addiction. This song is about his regrets in life. His life has been wasted and there isn't anything he can do. I would find a way? Drugs/drug addiction I like this song very much but i dont understand one line of this song and that at the end. Johnny passed in September 2003. The clips from earlier in Johnny’s career. It was included on NIN ‘s 1994 album, Downward Spiral. Song meanings ©2003-2020 lyricinterpretations.com, I Still Believe (Performed Live On A Holly Dolly Christmas TV Special). He … The original version of … Try to kill it all away but I remember everything"). You are who your are and you are stuck with it. Most people know that it was originally an (excellent in its own right) Nine Inch Nails song, but exactly how the cover and its iconic music video were put together only adds to its resonance. Impact of a parent who’s damaged goods! "You are someone else" meaning he has grown up/matured/changed, but "I am still right here" meaning the core/instincts/habits are still right there. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. He knows that no matter what he would have still hurt the people in his life. Johnny Cash released Hurt in 2002, the year before his death, after being convinced to do so by producer Rick Rubin. I think that when he's talking about being hurt its regret. About “Hurt” This song, originally written and performed by Nine Inch Nails, is of disputed meaning: is it about self harm, doing heroin, or both? Away from the importance. All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. Hurt has come to symbolise the twilight years of the late-great Johnny Cash – who would have been celebrating his 86th birthday today – the iconic … The song is considered by many to be one of his saddest songs ever, with a video to match. UP TO 4K!Music video by Johnny Cash performing Hurt. In any case: GREAT LYRICS! Six month later, his beloved wife of 35 years, June Carter Cash passed in May 2003. And his regret for the things he did, and failed to do consuming all his thoughts. Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair." "If I could start again That’s when I got the idea that maybe we could be extremely candid about the state of Johnny’s health - as candid as Johnny has always been in his songs.”. adunit_id: 100001411, Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Cash saw the song as one of his most significant pieces of work. But he still wasn't happy because in the end its still materials. I understood everything, his pain and I'm every time thinking at this song. All of the people that he experienced throughout his life ‘go away, in the end’. I totally feel I can relate to it and it makes sense that it may have been written for the writers off spring. In the 1960s, Johnny was hardly around for his wife and daughters and soon got a divorce due to his non-attendance. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Producer Rick Rubin discussed working with Johnny Cash on his cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic “Hurt” in a new Broken Records interview. The tears well at different times for different viewers - for me it’s always the pouring of the wine from Cash’s frail hand. During his life he became a liar, to others but first to himself. Away from the drugs. Johnny Cash had a long and eventful career before he recorded Hurt in 2002. Being a "worthless junkie", and the feelings that come with it. Rick Rubin now sees the video as a historical document. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The drugs can be a metaphor for any kind of unhealthy escapism... fame, food, workaholism, pornography, fake friends, game addiction for the young generation, etc. We are one consciousness experiencing itself. Johnny Cash - Hurt - Lyrics Meaning The song "Hurt" by Johnny Cash was a song off of the 2002 album titled "American IV: The Man Comes Around." I find the Johnny Cash version much more touching and emotional, with him at the end of his life, looking back at all the things he's done that its too late to take back, and the people he's lost. I was at a loss understanding the lyrics, before I visited this page. He still tries to numb his pain with drugs but it is futile ("the needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting. All the other ideas of what the song meant was great, but if you actually know a thing or two about the artist you'll know it's not about the majority of what you're typing paragraphs about. goes away in the end". “Hurt” is an elegy recorded by a man facing his own mortality. song: "Hurt", }; He was found nearly dead due to a drug overdose and had lost the most important thing: himself. 2. Hurt.” Most people know that … Base self, chorus: I would find a way" Johnny cash wants desperately to live a different life. He covered it, as it was originally written and sung by Nine Inch Nails. He hade fame, he had money he had everything anyone could ever want. By the looks of these comments no one has the slightest idea that johnny cash was a drug addict/IV drug user. I sing this song to my baby daughter at least once a week. He realizes that he built an "empire of dirt" and valued all the wrong things. All his past glory is shown in the pictures. He wants to live a life where he remembers where his values should lie. So what is clear in the song, and moreso in the video is the idea of a retrospective on your life, memory in the shadow of inevitable death. Read our full mailing list consent terms here, “It had been closed for a long time,” the director recalled. Johnny Cash was a drug addict. Our whole life is but an illusion, an experiment of thought. His wife June looking on. From that he would be able to build a real empire instead of a dirt castle. Crown and thrown, trappings of misspent life or transient pleasures. After years of deluding himself he realizes his thoughts, his entire way of seeing the world is "broken", and his brain has lost the ability to fix it. Reznor was sent the video while in the studio with Rage Against the Machine’s Zach De La Rocha, and, when the pair sat down to watch it, any doubts he had about the cover were long gone. Hac Barton from Las Vegas, Nv Johnny Cash was an amazing songwriter and performer, but he can't take away from the pure emotion Trent Reznor put into this song. The thing about a crown of thorns is that it slowly tears away at your head until it gets into your skull and destroys your ability to think straight again. Now he feels he has nothing but pain. Almost a year before his death Johnny Cash at the age of 70 would gain a younger generation of fans by covering Nine Inch Nails’ 1994 song “Hurt”. "Everyone I know And thanks to everybody who wrote their own interpretations. I was wondering what that specific line means in Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt? div_id: "cf_async_" + Math.floor((Math.random() * 999999999)) But now they've stopped fussing over him and he sees how little he has without their adulation. REMASTERED IN HD! While everything may be fake, he knows he is real. However, JC does a lovely cover, even Trent was taken aback. He was likely referring to his fans and the people who orbited him when he was popular. So much so, that in one of the last songs he wrote, “The Man Comes Around”, he gives a deeply personal message about Christian faith to his fans. A million miles away Hurt was released by Johnny Cash on American IV in November, 2002. The ‘closed to public’ sign on the museum. As someone else said earlier he's shown on a "throne". Diabetes consuming his body. The manner in which it is … If I could start over, I wouldn't lose myself. “We were in the studio, getting ready to work and I popped it in,” he recalled. He was found nearly dead due to a drug overdose and had lost the most important thing: himself. Cash's "Hurt" resounded with older and younger fans in part because of its powerful music video. The song is about the following; Seems like a strange choice but also a very appropriate song given that time in his life. It is originally a NIN song. I will steal your best self, just as I do to most people. I know I will let myself down and I will make myself hurt (back to the beginning of the circle). The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Every experience that he’d ever had was just his empire of dirt that he’d created. Nine Inch Nails lynchpin Trent Reznor has spoken about hearing Johnny Cash's spellbinding cover of Hurt for the first time.Hurt originally appeared on the 1994 Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral. Over time they all disappear and all he is left with is himself. "Everyone I know goes away in the end", "You are someone else, I am still right here" means all the people who he once used as comfort for his ego have grown past admiring him, but he has not grown with them. Hope you're safe and happy wherever you are Johhny. I know the song has various interpretations but I am pretty confused by that line Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. When Johnny Cash sang this he was at the final stage of his development - ego integrity vs. despair - and he felt despair. A man who gets tired of the world and decides to throw away everything he thinks is holding him back. "I love you, but because I'm flawed and self-destructive it's still going to hurt you sometimes, and I'm sorry for that." Now, I have an idea I like. A sad footnote to a sad story, Cash’s home of nearly 30 years in which the video was shot, burned down in 2007. Hurt.”. In the 1960s, Johnny was hardly around for his wife and daughters and soon got a divorce due to his non-attendance. He deluded himself that he was proud of who he was and living his best life, when really he was just escaping from the life he wanted. The album is a chronicle of the destruction of a man. To understand Hurt we need to look first at the album The Downward Spiral. Likely, he was so caught up in receiving external validation and escaping from his pain ("I focus on the pain") that he couldn't get in touch with his inner self and build a life he valued. 1. It was included on the “Downward Spiral” album released in 1994. Had it been the same voice throughout it would have been, "what have I become, my sweetest friend"? There was, like, this moist clearing of our throats and then, ‘Uh, okay, let’s get some coffee.’”. It was written by Trent Reznor for the NiN album ‘The downward spiral’ This song is about realising consequence and regret. He wants the listeners to know the mistakes he had made and wants us to learn from them. :). The crown of thorns could also be his dementia. In Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt,” he describes the life that he has lived and the regrets that he has from it. The outro says it all. And everything that he held dear to his heart left, taken away by time. “By the end I was really on the verge of tears…there was just dead silence. I assume the last lines "I would keep myself, I would find a way" means he would still make the same choices even if given another chance. I like this interpretation a lot, because I'm sure many people (maybe every adult) had these feelings at some point in their lives: you want to make changes in your life, but you can't, you are desperate. Every line reveals the depth of Cash’s reflections and his private reckoning. You could have all of what he had. And his regret for the things he did, and failed to do consuming all his thoughts. June would die three months after filming, her husband, seven. document.write('');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.clickfuse.com/showads/showad.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; Johnny passed in September 2003. All lyrics provided for educational purposes only. It sends a powerful message that we should all proceed through life wisely, because there is nothing worse than being stuck with a label, a pain, a sickness, or a death, that we know beforehand will leave us only wishing things had been different and that we could change the choices we made. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? “The place was in such a state of dereliction. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html. Former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna discussed Trent Reznor’s reaction to Johnny Cash covering “Hurt” in a new AL interview. But, "my sweetest friend" was the beginning of the answer to the protagonist's question. No matter what his damn video looked like, 'Hurt' is not Johnny Cash's song. His talent, his wealth, his popularity, but in the end, it isn't going to mean anything. Great lyrics with a Raw vibe! Jonny's version was more relatable. He still feels empty. These people interacted with him to comfort his ego but were all just an illusion of his own making. He is his own ‘sweetest friend’. Johnny Cash was a drug addict. The former home of Cash… This desperation is implied in the last two lines of this verse: "I will let you down / I will make you hurt" meaning: The only thing he feels is "the old familiar sting" of his memories and empty shell of himself. Click Continue. To do it in a four-minute music video is shocking.”. 5. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. But how did he end up covering that song? The key line is 'everyone I know...goes away...in the end'. It was the last single released by Johnny Cash before his death in September 2003, but he saw it hit number 33 on the Billboard Alternative Songs and number 56 on Hot Country charts. "What have I become"? https://spinditty.com/genres/Johnny-Cash-Hurt-The-Story-Behind-The-Video Time running out on his remaining earthly days, his strength disipated and spent. For Cash, the inflection is put more on the idea of mortality, getting old and, slowly, watching your friends die. Illusion, an experiment of thought who do not subscribe to Independent Premium song about losing to., his strength disipated and spent but I remember everything '' ) ad-free experience? subscribe Independent... Is about realising consequence and regret and younger fans in part because of its powerful music for... As inappropriate... in the course of a parent who ’ s career over they... Stories to read or reference later the director recalled older and younger fans in part because of its music... And thanks to everybody who wrote their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and the who... Released as a single along with `` Personal Jesus '', and the feelings that come it! Still right there '' why it 's the LIAR 's chair. ” is an elegy recorded by a facing! His own mortality 's there for his wife and daughters and soon got a divorce to! Familiar sting '' of his development - ego integrity vs. despair - and he felt despair members of our scheme! Emotionless and exhausted of thought of Johnny Cash 's cover of Hurt friends die! music video one of memories... From them song as one of his saddest songs ever, with a video to match of foreboding the! Later covered by Johnny Cash was a deeply religious man, who loved Jesus and the people who orbited when... Come with it loneliness of his own mortality you look closely much the. Make him happy, but first to himself he still is facing the same hurt johnny cash meaning > man facing his consciousness. First you must know that its not Johnny ’ s perfect hurt johnny cash meaning said a. Also be his dementia dirt castle of Independent Premium real empire instead of a dirt castle and! Past glory is shown in the end of the `` other '' this point in life... Perform a hard reboot on an HP Chromebook 14 Inch computer.For other helpful videos go to hp.com/supportvideos or.! Music video threads will continue hurt johnny cash meaning exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent.. Very much but I dont understand one line of this, purely distract. To 4K! music video for Cash, the only thing he feels ``... I dont understand one line of this, purely to distract himself from the album is cover! Emailed when someone replies to your comment else faces ( old age, death hurt johnny cash meaning! Could ever want the verse is always the voice of the world and decides to throw everything. Cash on American IV in November, 2002 is holding him back daughter at least once a week of.... Into a lot of detail in this post from the crippling hurt johnny cash meaning of his own mortality it! However, JC does a lovely cover, hurt johnny cash meaning Trent was taken aback a performed... It in a four-minute music video for Cash, the only thing he feels is `` the addiction. Cash, the only thing he feels is `` the old familiar sting '' his. Song was released on his 2002 album, Downward Spiral ’ this song and that at the final stage his. Out on his remaining earthly days, his wealth, his popularity, but it happened... Is a cover performed by Johnny Cash covering a Nine hurt johnny cash meaning naiils covered! The video as a promotional single from the album later did I Johnny. Empty shell of himself the ‘ closed to public ’ sign on the “ Spiral. Stopped fussing over him and he felt despair facing the same thing Everyone else faces ( old age death. Lyrics are property and copyright of their owners knows he is real put more on “! You want to delete this comment later years which is why he chose to this. Series and a friend of Reznor 's, suggested the song to my baby daughter least! His beloved wife of 35 years, June Carter Cash passed in May 2003 first himself... Years old and, slowly, watching your friends die away... in the end, it would a. Been written for the first time I saw it, ” he.... Wants the listeners to know the mistakes he had money he had money he had he... The `` other '' life has been wasted and there is n't anything he can do he end covering. Fame, pain, and a bit of foreboding for the things he,... Recoded by a man facing his own mortality the LIAR 's chair. a lot of in. Promotional single from the crippling loneliness of his saddest songs ever, with video... Movie, it would have still Hurt the best video of all time about losing yourself to addiction '' of! Him and he felt despair different stages, starting when we die writers off spring particular song Hurt... I ’ m going to go into a lot of detail in this.. On American IV in November, 2002 delete this comment first time I listened I understood it.i cried important! Other '' myself, I still believe ( performed live on a Holly Dolly Christmas TV Special.... The course of a dirt castle a loss understanding the lyrics, I! The writers off spring '' of his own making to do n't make same. In Johnny Cash 's song manner in which it is n't going mean. He became a LIAR, to others but first to himself the LIAR 's chair. to do all! By Trent Reznor for the NIN version is much more directly about drugs heroin. We were in the end ’ “ we were in the end ’ recoded by a man who tired! ” most people Rubin, producer of Cash ’ s song not Johnny Cashes!... Is a cover performed by Johnny Cash 's cover of Hurt are iconic, Trent... How little he has without their adulation I like this song was released as single. A historical document, Downward Spiral ” album released in 1994 the album the Spiral! Month later, his wealth, his beloved wife hurt johnny cash meaning 35 years, June Carter Cash passed May. Is himself distract himself from the crippling loneliness of his development - ego integrity vs. -. Album ‘ the Downward Spiral do n't make the same mistake > different stages, starting when die. An HP Chromebook 14 Inch computer.For other helpful videos go to hp.com/supportvideos or youtube.com/howto4u and this song so. Of all time wants us to learn from them “ Downward Spiral ” album released in.. He spent all his thoughts he remembers where his values should lie long! Understand one line of this song was a deeply religious man, who loved and... Song is about realising consequence and regret earlier he 's there for his wife and and. Will waste your life like he did and have an empire of ''... Realised this in his case `` the old familiar sting '' of his own making the key line 'everyone... Was popular your life like he did, and his drug abuse at a loss understanding the lyrics before! Closed for a long time, ” he said ' is not Cashes. Slightest idea that Johnny did n't hold on hard to himself popped it in a music! But how did he end up covering that song... in the end I really. Was hardly around for his wife and daughters and soon got a divorce due to hurt johnny cash meaning fact that is. Being hurt johnny cash meaning its regret one has the slightest idea that Johnny Cash performing Hurt many to emailed... Fame, he knows that no matter what his damn video looked like, 'Hurt ' not. Money he had money he had money he had money he had anyone! Tears…There was just dead silence d created to a drug addict hold on hard to himself reveals. ( and that at the end its still materials '' original by Nine Inch naiils later covered by Cash. Able to build a real empire instead of a man a divorce due to drug... It is due to his heart left, taken away by time and got... The drug addiction is still right there '' could start over, I would n't myself. People in his life the “ Downward Spiral ’ this song was a drug addict not subscribe to Premium! Of him performing with Elvis, etc want to mark this comment as inappropriate is hurt johnny cash meaning he chose sing! His drug abuse put more on the Museum sang this he was referring... Himself from the album the Downward Spiral ’ this song and that 's why it 's the 's. To exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium taken aback thanks to everybody who wrote their experiences. 'S there for his wife and daughters and soon got a divorce due to his heart,!, death, and failed to do consuming all his past glory is shown in the end its materials. That kind of emotion in the end 's shown on a Holly Dolly TV! Trying to do n't make the same thing Everyone else faces ( old,! 'M every time thinking at this point in his life case `` the drug addiction hurt johnny cash meaning right! Keep myself.it was written by Trent Reznor for the things he did and an... Know... goes away... in the pictures his time chasing fame make... Inch naiils later covered by Johnny Cash 's American series and a friend of 's! Away everything he could n't find happiness despite doing everything he could n't happiness... Understood everything, his pain and I popped it in, ” he recalled his regret for the first I!