Amber McKinney

Ms. Hunter

English 1201

26 January 2020

Controversy Vs. Classic

Broken hearts and broken car speakers, what do these two things have in common? The

song “Hurt.” This song was produced by two very different artists. The original by Nine Inch

Nails was a song about heroin addiction and a song you would not sing to but yell along with.

The original was released in 1994, as a punk rock song. However, in 2002, Johnny Cash turned

the song around by making it about the end of his life and career. Some would say that Cash is

walking the line between life and death, fortune and casualty. In this version of “Hurt,” Cash put

his southern twang into the song and gave it a solum country tune. Johnny Cash’s cover of

“Hurt”, originally performed by Nine Inch Nails, gave the song a mournful twist through visuals

and the classical style of Johnny Cash, as opposed to NIN’s punk rock. The original was believed

to be about drug addiction, however, Cash turned it into a song about the rise and fall of an era

and the sorrow brought by death.

When comparing the two songs based on their music videos, there are key differences in

style. Nine Inch Nails’ music video of “hurt” consists of their lead singer, Trent Reznor, standing

on a stage singing the song. While he is doing so there are various images, all in black and white,

projected on a large screen behind and on him. A few of the main images were a snake, war

soldier with battle scars, and an undepictable landscape. The images were of terrible quality,

however, this was purposeful due to the punk rock style of the band. In contrast to this, was
Cash’s music video of his version of “Hurt.” His video was a tribute to his life, and mainly his

career. Cash was seen in various settings, one of the most powerful was at his piano when he

closes it symbolizing the end of his era. Other images were of his life, most of his video was in

color, except the past footage of when he was younger. Also in his video were small tokens that

represented the idea of his time coming to an end. However, the videos were not the only

difference between the two versions.

The two portrayals were vastly different in the style of music itself. Johnny Cash’s

version was blatantly obvious when deciphering the meaning. In contrast, NIN’s version was

much bleaker. There are theories about the song alluding to drug addiction, but nothing was ever

confirmed. The video did not help with the decoding of the song’s meaning. There was

speculation due to the genre and the idea of going into a “downward spiral.”

Johnny Cash took “Hurt” and made a song, that was originally about depression and drug

usage, about his life’s accomplishments coming to an end. His video moves the audience and

tells the story of his career. There were little tokens such as a broken platinum record, the closed

sign on the “House of Cash,” and the clip of Cash closing the piano at the end of the song. Also,

Cash is not wearing any makeup and the lighting is natural in the video, showing that he is not

trying to look younger, but instead to look weathered. All of these symbols lead to the bigger

picture that the era of Johnny Cash is ending.

One last point to touch on is the differences between the two audiences of each song. The

audience for NIN’s version of “Hurt” was the edgy 90’s teen. However, Cash’s audience would

have been in their older days such as he. They would be able to relate to this version of “Hurt,”

because their lives are coming to a close. Meaning, there is no more work to be done, and what
matters in the time left. His audience would be more traditional as well, when in comparison to

NIN’s who wanted absolute controversy.

In conclusion, the two versions of the song “Hurt” are vastly different. Nine Inch Nails

created this song to allude to depressing events and the downward spiral of life. However,

Johnny Cash reproduced the song and changed its meaning. He added a traditional touch, and

through the use of images, told the story of his life and his closing era.