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Anna Wolfe

Prof. Johnson

English 1201

February 16, 2020

Hurting in Different Ways

“I hurt myself today” is the starting lyric to both versions of “Hurt, However the

difference in emotion is heard instantly. While “Hurt” by The Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash

are singing the same song, their meaning behind the lyrics are completely different. When Nine

Inch Nails sang this lyric, you can hear the pain in his voice and when Johnny Cash sang it’s

more of a sadness and nostalgic feeling. These emotions reach out to different audiences

depending on their age and life experiences. Johnny Cash is an older singer and he’s been around

longer so it’s assumed he will connect more with the elders and older adults more. Nine Inch

Nails will connect more with the younger people because they are more recent in the music

industry. The instrumental is rougher, whereas when Johnny Cash sings it’s a little softer.

Differences in the audiences will be based off of age, life experiences and their values in life.

This song “Hurt” was originally written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. The

meaning behind it to him is about drug addiction and how hard and lost Trent Reznor was when

he went through this painful experience. Johnny Cash covered “Hurt” in 2002 and he died

shortly after. This made his version of the song much more appealing to his older fans because

he sang the song about his life experiences of his past, some happy and some sad. His music

video of hurt was kind of like his life flashing before his audiences’ lives. Reznor was ecstatic

that Cash covered his song and exclaimed that the song now belonged to Cash because he did

such a great job on it. Both songs come from different places and emotions they have experience
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in life. This will greatly affect the type of audiences that listen to either versions of the song

“Hurt”.

“Hurt” by Johnny Cash visually shows more of a story than the version by The Nine

Inch Nails. Johnny Cash sings in front of the camera with a somber look. He is looking out into

the distance as if he is remembering his life in the past. He sings with a look of regret and

remembrance. As the song continues it’s as if Johnny Cash himself is having flashbacks to his

younger days. The snippets in the music video are specifically of Johnny Cash’s music career

and day to day life experience. The House of Cash Museum seems to be a recurring clip. Later in

the music video the viewers come to find that The House of Cash Museum is no longer open to

the public and has closed down. This metaphor is very heartbreaking to his fans especially

because Cash has passed on now. In this specific moment Cash looks especially regretful. More

small clips are seen of his past and his life experiences and not all of them are sad. Some clips

are full of love and any viewer will be able to see the look of pure happiness on Johnny Cash’s

face. The emotions emitting from this music video are nostalgic and full of past life experiences.

Anyone who is feeling nostalgic of their younger days can relate to Cash because he has also

been through it. This is why an older audience may like Johnny Cash’s version more. In Cash’s

version of “Hurt” it is obvious that he is accepting the heartache that came with his life as well as

being thankful for all the love and happiness he experienced.

Unlike Johnny Cash’s version, there is not really a story behind The Nine Inch Nails

version, at least in the music video. Their music video is actually just the band singing live with

photos and small videos of nature playing on the screen in the background. This itself shows how

a younger audience will relate more to Nine Inch Nails because younger people go to concerts

more than elders and older adults. The viewers may also have a different life experience than
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those who would be more interested in Cash’s version. Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” was

nostalgic, while The Nine Inch Nails video may show how their viewers enjoy living in the

present rather than reflecting on the past. This is also an example of how life experience and age

will determine the audiences of these two different versions of the song “Hurt”. The Nine Inch

Nails also sang with more anger, this shows that The Nine Inch Nails is letting their pain

consume them rather than accepting their pain. Elders and older adults have that life experience

and know that pain is to be accepted, not rejected.

“Hurt” by Johnny Cash uses ethos as a rhetorical appeal. This is shown through his life

experience which is displayed throughout the music video. Since his experience is shown

throughout the video, it makes him more credible to his audience, therefore his audience can

relate with him and his music better. “Hurt” by The Nine Inch Nails uses pathos as a rhetorical

appeal. This is shown through their performance on stage, which is also considered the music

video. Johnny Cash’s version will reach out to an older audience with more life experience,

while The Nine Inch Nails version will appeal to a younger audience who enjoys living in the

present, rather than reflect on their past life experiences.

In conclusion, Johnny Cash and The Nine Inch Nails version of the song “Hurt” do not

only mean something different to the artists, but the emotions and outlook on life are different as

well. Cash appeals to the audience with his ethical credibility using ethos. The Nine Inch Nails

appeals to their audience using pathos because they sing with a strong passion of anger and hurt

that is shown through their performance on stage. Johnny Cash’s version of the song was

nostalgic and of some remembrance to his younger days. The Nine Inch Nails version of “Hurt”

was about the lead singers drug addiction and pain that came along with it. With that being said,

the audience of Johnny Cash is more likely to be of an older age with more life experience
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because he is an older singer and he displays the value of accepting pain. Unlike Cash, The Nine

Inch Nails let pain control them and fight it. This may attract a younger audience because of their

life experience, and because the band is of a younger age.

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Work Cited

“Hurt’ by Johnny Cash.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AHCfZTRGiI.

Lunney, Lisa, et al. “Nine Inch Nails Vs Johnny Cash - Which Version of Hurt Is Best?” Louder

Than War, 1 June 2013, louderthanwar.com/nine-inch-nails-vs-johnny-cash-which-

version-of-hurt-is-better/.

“Nine Inch Nails - Hurt.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR4DjYczINM.